🏠 What Is Hospice Care?
Hospice care is specialized, compassionate care for terminally ill seniors who are in the final stage of life, usually with a life expectancy of 6 months or less, where curative treatment is stopped and focus shifts to comfort, dignity, and quality of life.
💡 Key Objectives of Hospice Care:
- Relieve pain and symptoms (e.g., breathlessness, fatigue, nausea)
- Provide emotional, psychological, and spiritual support
- Assist with daily needs: hygiene, feeding, mobility
- Support caregivers and family members
- Avoid unnecessary hospital visits or ICU admissions
- Allow patients to pass peacefully at home or in a hospice center
👴 Who Needs Hospice Care?
Seniors with:
- End-stage cancer
- Advanced dementia or Alzheimer’s
- End-stage kidney, liver, or heart failure
- Stroke with severe impairment
- ALS or neurological decline
- Repeated hospitalizations and increasing frailty
🔹 Services Included in Hospice Care:
| Category | Services Offered |
|---|---|
| Medical | Pain relief, wound care, catheter care, tracheostomy care, oxygen therapy |
| Nursing | 24×7 nurses or visiting nurse shifts, vitals monitoring, end-of-life care |
| Personal Care | Bed bath, feeding, repositioning, diaper change |
| Psychological | Counseling for patient and family |
| Spiritual | Support based on religion or beliefs (optional) |
| Equipment Support | Hospital bed, air mattress, oxygen concentrator, wheelchair |
| Bereavement Support | After-death rituals, grief counseling |
🏥 Leading Hospice Care Providers in Tamil Nadu
1. Chennai Pain and Palliative Care Center (CPPC)
- Location: Villivakkam, Chennai
- Free hospice care for terminally ill
- Volunteer-run with trained nurses and in-home support
- Call: 📞 99401 03349
2. DEAN Foundation – Chennai & Kanchipuram
- Government-recognized NGO offering free and subsidized hospice care
- Rural and urban coverage
- Website: www.deanfoundation.org
- Helpline: 📞 +91 94440 07540
3. Inhouse Medicare – Coimbatore
- Private service offering 24×7 home-based hospice care
- Includes doctors, nurses, and counseling
- Website: inhousemedicare.com
- Contact: 📞 70944 03384
4. Anbu Sri Sai Home Health Care – Coimbatore & Salem
- Hospice and palliative care at home
- Trained nurses for bedridden patients
- Call: 📞 78715 31777 / 91597 66477
5. Nightingales Home Health – Chennai
- Home-based hospice and palliative support
- Phone: 📞 1800-103-4530
💰 Cost Estimate (as of 2025):
| Type of Care | Estimated Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Free NGO-based care | ₹0 – ₹5,000 |
| At-home hospice care (basic) | ₹12,000 – ₹20,000 |
| 24×7 private hospice nurse | ₹25,000 – ₹35,000+ |
| Hospital hospice admission | ₹1,500 – ₹3,000/day |
Some NGOs offer free or low-cost services for low-income families.
✅ Benefits of Hospice Care:
- Comfortable and peaceful environment at home
- Dignified dying with pain-free support
- Fewer hospital visits or ICU admissions
- Reduces stress for caregivers
- Offers family members emotional and spiritual closure
📍 How to Access Hospice Care in Tamil Nadu
Start nurse visits or admit to hospice unit, depending on patient condition
Contact a registered hospice NGO or palliative care center (e.g., CPPC, DEAN)
Get a doctor’s referral or palliative assessment
Choose between home-based or facility-based care
Arrange for necessary equipment (hospital bed, oxygen, mattress)