Inpatient Hospice Care

Inpatient hospice care is a service, which can be used when a hospice eligible patient's pain or symptoms require acute management, including continuous nursing care observation and treatment, which cannot be managed at home.

Penn Wissahickon Hospice contacts with hospitals that have agreed to follow a comfort care focuses, Hospice Plan of Care. Our staff will continue to provide service and support to the hospice inpatient and their families during the inpatient stay. The hospital's registered nurses will continue to provide direct nursing care to hospice inpatients throughout the admission.

• Hospice patients at home who develop acute pain or symptoms which have not responded to interventions in the home setting and who require short-term aggressive intervention as an inpatient to resolve the problem.

• Inpatients, who no longer benefit from acute care, are hospice eligible and have a prognosis of less than fourteen days. If patient agrees to elect hospice care, aggressive management of pain and symptoms can be provided along with supportive services to the patient and family.

In-patient hospice admissions are handled by a strictly established protocol. For any questions regarding the appropriateness of this service, call 215-247-0277 or 1-800-700-8807.

To make an inpatient referral or access information at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) or Presbyterian Medical Center (PMC), please contact Christine Kriebel, MS, CHCE, Hospice Liaison, at 215-614-0117 or page 610-975-1462. If she is unavailable, please contact Penn Wissahickon Hospice directly at 215-247-0277 and someone will assist you.