One of Medicare’s requirements for home health providers is that they offer physical therapy. This requirement makes sense. Many patients on home health are recovering from surgery, illness, or injury. Physical therapy can dramatically help in their recovery. However, did you know that Medicare does not require hospice providers to offer physical therapy? Hospice’s purpose is to provide comfort and pain relief during end-of-life treatment. So, the common philosophy behind physical therapy’s existence does not necessarily apply. However, at Aspire, we are proud to offer this therapy to our hospice patients, even though Medicare does not require it.
While looking at home health and hospice providers, you may notice that the vast majority of providers do not offer physical therapy to their hospice patients. They do not provide it because this therapy is often only thought of as a healing practice and not a comforting practice. When it comes to home health, that’s great! Home health’s purpose is to help patients heal from an illness, injury, or surgery in their homes. But, many people have not considered the benefits it can have for hospice patients.
How Does Physical Therapy Help?
Hospice patients, who have received a terminal diagnosis, do not require physical therapy to help them recover from any injury, surgery, or illness. However, this therapy still helps these patients manage their pain, feel more comfortable, and feel happier in general. Because of this, we believe that offering this therapy to our hospice patients is the right thing to do. This belief stems from our commitment to doing everything in our power to help our patients feel as happy, healthy, and comfortable as possible.
Physical therapy engages its patients in light movements. A physical therapist specially curates these movements to fit the specific needs of each patient. Through these movements, hospice patients experience relief from pain and feel more comfortable. Learn more by visiting our website!
If you’d like to learn more about this and other therapies at Aspire Home Health and Hospice, call us today!
