Hospice Definition

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Rochester Area Right To Life

What's In A Word?

Comfort Care Home vs. Hospice House

You may have heard of a hospice as a place where terminally ill people go when they are interested in physical and mental comfort rather than potentially heroic efforts to cure.  It is much "homier" than a hospital.

"Hospice" is a philosophy of care. It is holistic care which encompasses the physical, spiritual and emotional person.  Keep reading to see how to interpret that philosophy in New York State.


New York State has chosen to legally redefine hospice as a mode of care which is given by a Certified Licensed Agency.  In New York, a health related facility is an institution providing physical care and supervised hygienic care to six or more residents not related to the operator. This is noted in Title 10 - Health, Section 4002 of the Public Health Law which defines a hospice residence.  A hospice residence is a physical structure operated for the purpose of providing more than two but no more than eight hospice patients with hospice care.

Certified Licensed Agencies provide hospice services within the guidelines as defined by New York state law.  These certified programs are reimbursed for their services by insurance such as Medicare, Medicaid, the HMO's and Blue Cross/Shield. 

Comfort Care Homes are not certified and they chose not to be.   The Comfort Care Homes in Rochester and surrounding counties are two bedroom, private homes which offer hospice-type services.  Comfort Care Homes rely on the Certified Agencies to oversee the medical needs of the residents, the same as they would do in a person's own home.

Therefore, in New York State, one can call these "Comfort Care Homes" or one can say they are hospice-type homes, but one cannot legally call them hospices.


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