What is home health?
Home Health is skilled health care services offered in the comfort of your home. Our home health care professionals work with your physician to develop an individualized care program to best meet your health care needs. We strive to restore and maintain your health and assist you in becoming independent again.

Who is eligible for home health?
Our services are available to all qualified patients in Dickinson County and within a radius of 20 miles from either Abilene or Herington if outside Dickinson County.

Examples of skilled home health services include:

• Assessments
• Medication management
• Wound care
• Physical and occupational therapy
• Speech therapy
• Patient and caregiver education
• Intravenous or nutrition therapy
• Injections & lab draws
• Monitoring serious illness and unstable health status

Examples of home health aide service include help with:

• Dressing
• Bathing
• Light housekeeping
• Laundry
• Nail care
• Shopping
• Cooking for the patient

How do I make a referral?
Referrals may be made by a physician, social worker, neighbor, relative, minister, the individual, or other community service agencies. A free home care assessment can be completed by request.

What are the benefits of home health services?

• Helps give independence.
• Personalized care is tailored to the needs of the individual.
• Care delivered involves the individual and the family.
• Home health improves quality of life.

What payment(s) do you accept for home health services?

• Medicare
• Medicaid
• Private Insurance
• Area Agency Programs
• Private Pay
• VA
• HCBS (Home and Community-Based Services) Provider

If you have additional questions, call Home Health and Hospice’s Abilene office at (785) 263-6630 or Herington at (785) 258-3611.

Everyone wants to stay in their own home where things are comfortable and familiar. In the event of a fall or emergency, help is available at the push of a button with a personal emergency response system. The system can help you maintain your independence and reduce the worry of living alone.

In an emergency, delayed medical care can jeopardize your recovery. If you are alone, you never know how long it will be before someone realizes you need help. Having access to help at the push of a button can reduce these risks. So don’t wait for a fall or medical emergency.

You can have peace of mind for a little more than $1 a day.

The personal help button connects you to a trained personal response associate who can send help quickly – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You should wear the personal emergency transmitter all of the time. It is completely waterproof, so you can even wear it in the shower.

Call Home Health and Hospice of Dickinson County to have your unit installed, activated, and ready to use in minutes! There is no equipment to buy and no long-term contract to sign. The number for the Abilene office is (785) 263-6630, and the number for Herington is (785) 258-3611.

What is hospice?
Hospice is a special concept of care designed to provide comfort, compassion and support to patients and their loved ones when faced with a terminal illness. Hospice is a philosophy of care focusing on comfort, not a cure. Hospice care neither prolongs life, nor hastens death. The hospice philosophy involves caring for the whole patient—not just the illness. This means attending to:

• The patient’s physical needs, which may include:
  • Pain relief
  • Easing of symptoms of the patient’s illness
  • Care for other conditions that cause discomfort.
• The patient’s emotional and spiritual well-being
  • We consider these just as important as the patient’s physical comfort.
• The patient’s changing treatment needs
  • As the patient’s condition changes, he or she may choose to place more of a focus on palliative care (comfort, but not curing).
• The needs of the patient’s family by:
  • Providing respite care so family members may do grocery shopping, go to appointments, and complete other errands
  • Providing grief support

Our hospice staff and volunteers offer specialized knowledge of medical care, pain management and emotional support. Our goal is to improve the quality of our patients’ last days by offering comfort and dignity.

Who can receive hospice care?
A person is eligible for hospice care when the physician and patient have concluded that curative treatment is no longer of benefit and the physician estimates that the patient has a life expectancy of six months or less if the illness runs its expected course. Hospice care is available to all persons who meet admission criteria in Dickinson County or within a radius of 20 miles from either Abilene or Herington if outside Dickinson County.

How do I make a referral?
Referrals may be made by a physician, social worker, neighbor, relative, minister, the individual, or other community service agencies. A free hospice assessment can be completed by request.

Where is hospice care provided?
Hospice care is provided where the patient lives, which can mean the patient’s home, a friend or family member’s home, assisted living, or nursing home.

How much does hospice cost?
Professional services are reimbursed whenever possible through Medicare, Medicaid, or private health insurance.Hospice also relies on memorial gifts, bequests and donations to continue providing quality services and to assist in caring for those who have no resources.Care provided by Hospice of Dickinson County is always based on need, not on ability to pay. If you have additional questions, call Home Health and Hospice’s Abilene office at (785) 263-6630 or Herington at (785) 258-3611.

Donations are placed in the Hospice Memorial fund. These funds are used to help the Hospice program provide patient care and quality services to our community regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. We also use these memorials for bereavement support provided for our Hospice family members and the community at large.

All donations to Hospice of Dickinson County are appreciated. Your gift is tax deductible. You will receive proof of donation that will serve as your receipt for tax purposes. As required by the Internal Revenue Code, there were no goods or services provided to you in consideration for this gift. Hospice of Dickinson County is part of Memorial Health System, a 501c(3) corporation.

For information about giving, please contact Hospice of Dickinson County at (785) 263-6630, stop by the Hospice office, or mail donations to:

Hospice of Dickinson County
1111 N. Brady
Abilene, KS  67410

We thank you for your generosity.