Article reviewed by Karen Johnson, RN, BSN, CHPN, Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse with 19+ years experience providing continuous care for hospice patients in crisis.
One of the greatest fears families have about caring for a loved one on hospice at home is: What happens if there’s a crisis? What if pain suddenly becomes uncontrollable? What if breathing becomes extremely difficult? What if symptoms escalate beyond what we can manage?
The answer is continuous care—an intensive level of hospice support that many families don’t know exists until they need it. Continuous care provides predominantly nursing care for at least eight consecutive hours during a symptom crisis, often extending to round-the-clock care until symptoms stabilize. It’s the safety net that makes home hospice possible even during the most challenging medical situations.
This article explains what continuous care is, when it’s appropriate, how it works in Oklahoma homes, and how to access this crucial Medicare-covered benefit when your loved one experiences a symptom crisis in Tulsa, Muskogee, or anywhere in the state.
Quick Answer: What Is Continuous Care in Hospice?
Continuous care is an intensive level of hospice care providing predominantly nursing support for at least 8 hours within a 24-hour period during acute symptom crises that cannot be managed with routine hospice visits. Nurses provide round-the-clock bedside care at home, frequently assessing symptoms, adjusting medications, and managing pain, respiratory distress, terminal agitation, bleeding, or other acute medical needs. Continuous care is fully covered by Medicare Part A and Oklahoma’s SoonerCare program with no out-of-pocket costs, requires no prior authorization in true emergencies, and typically lasts 24-96 hours until symptoms stabilize and routine hospice care can resume. Oklahoma Home Hospice and other Medicare-certified providers in Tulsa and Muskogee implement continuous care within hours when families call the 24/7 line reporting uncontrolled symptoms.
What Is Continuous Care in Hospice?
Continuous care is one of four levels of hospice care defined by Medicare (the others being routine home care, general inpatient care, and respite care). It’s designed to manage acute symptom crises at home that would otherwise require hospitalization.
The Intensive Level of Hospice Care
Most of the time, hospice patients receive routine home care—periodic nursing visits (typically 2-3 times weekly), with hospice aides providing personal care several times weekly. This routine level works well for stable patients whose symptoms are controlled.
But sometimes symptoms escalate rapidly:
- Pain that was manageable suddenly becomes severe and uncontrolled
- Breathing becomes extremely labored and frightening
- Terminal agitation or delirium creates dangerous or distressing situations
- Bleeding complications require immediate intervention
- Other acute medical crises threaten comfort and safety
These situations require more intensive intervention than periodic nursing visits can provide. That’s where continuous care comes in.
Continuous Care Provides:
- Nursing presence at the bedside for extended periods
- Frequent assessment and reassessment of symptoms
- Authority to adjust medications and implement new interventions immediately
- Close communication with the hospice physician
- Hands-on symptom management until crisis resolves
- Support and education for family caregivers during the stressful crisis period
Predominantly Nursing Care for at Least 8 Hours in 24-Hour Period
Medicare defines continuous care as providing nursing care for a minimum of 8 hours within a single 24-hour day, with at least 50% of those hours provided by a registered nurse (RN) or licensed practical nurse (LPN).
In Practice, This Means:
- Nurses work in shifts at the patient’s bedside
- Coverage often extends to 16 hours or full 24-hour periods during severe crises
- Care is provided in the home (or wherever the patient lives—nursing home, assisted living, etc.)
- Focus is entirely on symptom management and crisis stabilization
Nurse Responsibilities During Continuous Care:
- Vital sign monitoring
- Pain and symptom assessment using validated scales
- Medication administration and adjustment
- Communication with physician about changes and new orders
- Family education and emotional support
- Documentation of all interventions and patient responses
- Recognizing when symptoms have stabilized enough to transition back to routine care
Often Extends to Round-the-Clock Care
While Medicare requires minimum 8 hours, many symptom crises require more extensive support. It’s common for continuous care to include:
16-Hour Shifts: Two 8-hour nursing shifts covering most of the day and night, with the hospice on-call nurse available for the remaining hours
24-Hour Care: Three 8-hour shifts providing continuous nursing presence around the clock
Multi-Day Continuous Care: Extending for 48-96 hours during prolonged crises
The duration and intensity depend on the severity of symptoms and how quickly they stabilize.
Covered by Medicare Hospice Benefit
Here’s critical information families need to know: Continuous care is fully covered under Medicare Part A hospice benefits and Oklahoma’s SoonerCare (Medicaid) program.
This Means:
- No out-of-pocket costs to the family
- No co-pays or deductibles
- No caps on hours of continuous care during legitimate crises
- No pre-authorization required when there’s a genuine symptom crisis
Some families hesitate to request continuous care, worried about cost. Don’t. If your hospice provider says continuous care is medically necessary, Medicare pays for it. You won’t receive a bill.
When Continuous Care Is Needed
Understanding when continuous care is appropriate helps families recognize crises and know when to call for help.
Acute Symptom Crises That Can’t Be Managed with Routine Visits
Continuous care becomes necessary when symptoms:
Escalate Rapidly: A patient who was comfortable yesterday is suddenly in severe distress that can’t wait for the next scheduled nursing visit.
Require Frequent Assessment and Adjustment: Symptoms need monitoring and medication changes every 1-2 hours, which isn’t feasible with routine visits.
Threaten Safety or Comfort: The patient is at risk of harm from agitation, confusion, or inability to maintain safety without constant supervision.
Cause Severe Distress: Symptoms like air hunger, severe pain, or intractable nausea cause suffering that demands immediate, intensive intervention.
Examples of Crisis Situations:
Pain Crisis: Gerald had stable bone pain from metastatic prostate cancer managed with oral medications. Suddenly he developed severe pain from a pathological fracture in his hip. Pain was 10/10 despite his current medications. The hospice nurse initiated continuous care, arriving within 90 minutes. Over the next 36 hours, nurses provided IV morphine, adjusted doses every 2 hours based on his pain scores, and worked with the physician to find an effective combination of medications. Once pain was controlled at 3-4/10 and he was comfortable on oral medications, continuous care transitioned back to routine visits.
Respiratory Crisis: Linda had end-stage COPD and lung cancer. She developed sudden severe shortness of breath and panic about breathing. Routine hospice visits couldn’t provide the frequent reassessment and medication adjustment she needed. Continuous care nurses stayed at her bedside for 48 hours, providing oxygen, positioning changes, morphine for air hunger, and anti-anxiety medication. They coached her through breathing techniques and reassured her constantly. As her breathing stabilized, care transitioned back to routine level.
Severe Pain Requiring Frequent Medication Adjustments
Pain crisis is one of the most common reasons for continuous care. When pain becomes uncontrolled, patients suffer tremendously, and families feel helpless.
Continuous Care for Pain:
- Nurse assesses pain level every 1-2 hours using pain scales
- Administers breakthrough pain medications as needed
- Communicates with physician to adjust baseline medications
- May use IV or subcutaneous routes for faster, more reliable medication delivery
- Monitors for side effects like excessive sedation or respiratory depression
- Documents what interventions work and what doesn’t
- Continues intensive management until pain is consistently controlled
Typical Duration: 24-72 hours for pain crises, depending on cause and complexity
Respiratory Distress
Difficulty breathing is terrifying for patients and families. Respiratory distress can result from:
- Lung cancer or metastases
- Congestive heart failure with fluid in lungs
- COPD exacerbation
- Pneumonia
- Pulmonary embolism
- Fluid accumulation (pleural effusion)
- Anxiety exacerbating breathing difficulty
Continuous Care for Respiratory Distress:
- Oxygen administration and adjustment
- Positioning to optimize breathing (elevating head of bed, leaning forward positions)
- Morphine to ease air hunger sensation
- Anti-anxiety medications to reduce panic
- Fan directed at face (simple intervention that often helps)
- Calm, reassuring presence reducing fear
- Suctioning if secretions are problematic
- Monitoring oxygen saturation and respiratory rate
Family Education: Nurses teach families that the goal is comfort, not maintaining specific oxygen levels. They explain that morphine treats the sensation of breathlessness without causing dangerous respiratory depression when dosed appropriately.
Terminal Agitation or Delirium
Terminal agitation (also called terminal restlessness) is extreme physical and emotional restlessness that can occur in the final days of life. Symptoms include:
- Severe confusion and disorientation
- Seeing or hearing things that aren’t there
- Thrashing, pulling at tubes or clothing
- Trying to get out of bed when not safe to do so
- Moaning, yelling, or aggressive behavior
- Inability to be calmed or comforted
This is profoundly distressing for families to witness and can pose safety risks.
Continuous Care for Terminal Agitation:
- Medications to reduce agitation (benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, barbiturates)
- Environmental modifications (reducing stimulation, dimming lights, quiet space)
- Gentle touch and calming voice
- Safety measures (padded bed rails, floor mats if fall risk)
- Family support and education that agitation is caused by the dying process, not pain or fear
- Reassurance that medications will bring peace
Typical Duration: Often 24-72 hours as patient transitions toward unconsciousness
Significant Bleeding
Bleeding complications can occur with:
- Cancer eroding into blood vessels
- Liver disease with clotting problems
- Blood thinners that can’t be safely stopped
- Gastrointestinal bleeding from tumors or ulcers
- End-stage kidney disease with platelet dysfunction
Continuous Care for Bleeding:
- Application of pressure to bleeding sites
- Use of topical agents to promote clotting
- Medications to reduce anxiety about bleeding
- Dark-colored towels and linens (to make blood less visually distressing)
- Sedation if bleeding is massive and death is imminent
- Family preparation and support
- Focus on comfort rather than replacing blood loss
Bleeding episodes can be frightening, but continuous care nurses are trained to respond calmly and keep the patient comfortable.
Other Acute Medical Symptoms
Other situations that may warrant continuous care include:
- Intractable nausea and vomiting requiring frequent medication administration and IV fluids for comfort
- Severe diarrhea requiring intensive skin care and frequent medication adjustments
- Seizures that are poorly controlled and require frequent monitoring
- Cardiac symptoms like severe arrhythmias causing distress
- Uncontrolled secretions causing choking or distress
The common thread is symptoms so severe and rapidly changing that they require bedside nursing presence to manage effectively.
How Continuous Care Works in Oklahoma
When continuous care is needed, here’s what happens in Tulsa, Muskogee, and throughout Oklahoma.
Provided in the Home (Not Hospital)
This is a key point: Continuous care is provided wherever the patient lives:
- Private homes
- Apartments
- Assisted living facilities
- Nursing homes
- Anywhere the patient receives routine hospice care
Benefits of Continuous Care at Home:
- Patient remains in familiar, comfortable environment
- No stressful ambulance transport
- Family can be present without hospital visiting hour restrictions
- Patient’s own bed, own belongings, own routines
- Pets can remain nearby if comforting
- Lower infection risk than hospital settings
The hospice nurse brings all necessary equipment and supplies to the home. You don’t need to go anywhere.
Nursing Shifts or Around-the-Clock Care
Continuous care is typically staffed in 8-hour or 12-hour nursing shifts:
Day Shift Example:
- 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM: Nurse A provides care
- 3:00 PM - 11:00 PM: Nurse B takes over
- 11:00 PM - 7:00 AM: Nurse C continues care
- Process repeats for 24-48 hours or until crisis resolves
Shift Changes: When shifts change, nurses provide detailed handoff communication, reviewing:
- Current symptoms and pain level
- Medications given and patient response
- What interventions have been effective
- What to watch for during the next shift
- Family concerns and questions
Consistency: Hospice agencies try to use consistent nurses throughout a continuous care episode when possible, but some staff rotation is inevitable. Each nurse has access to complete documentation about what’s been tried and what’s working.
Frequent Assessments and Medication Adjustments
During continuous care, nurses assess and document:
Every 1-2 Hours:
- Pain level
- Breathing pattern and comfort
- Level of consciousness
- Agitation or restlessness
- Other specific symptoms being managed
As Needed:
- Vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, respirations)
- Response to medications given
- New symptoms or changes in condition
- Family coping and support needs
Based on these assessments, nurses:
- Administer breakthrough medications for symptom spikes
- Call the hospice physician for new orders if current medications aren’t effective
- Adjust timing or doses within parameters of standing orders
- Document everything for continuity across shifts
This frequent reassessment allows rapid response to changing symptoms—the core value of continuous care.
Close Physician Communication
Throughout continuous care episodes, nurses maintain close communication with the hospice physician:
Regular Updates:
- Every 4-8 hours during stable continuous care
- More frequently if symptoms aren’t responding or patient is declining rapidly
- Immediately if new or concerning symptoms develop
Collaborative Decision-Making: The physician relies on the bedside nurse’s assessment to make medication decisions. The nurse describes exactly what they’re seeing, what’s been tried, and what they think might help. The physician provides new orders immediately.
Example Communication:
Nurse: “Dr. Williams, this is Karen calling about Mr. Johnson on continuous care. His pain is still 8/10 despite morphine 10mg every 2 hours. He’s grimacing and moaning. Respiratory rate is 16, he’s alert. I think we need to increase the dose. What would you like me to do?”
Physician: “Let’s increase to 15mg every 2 hours and give a 10mg bolus now. Call me back in 2 hours with his response.”
This collaboration ensures patients get exactly what they need, when they need it.
Family Support and Education During Crisis
Beyond managing patient symptoms, continuous care nurses provide crucial family support:
Emotional Support:
- Acknowledging the stress and fear families feel
- Providing calm, reassuring presence
- Validating emotions
- Offering appropriate physical comfort (hand on shoulder, etc.)
Education:
- Explaining what’s happening and why
- Describing what medications are being given and what they do
- Teaching what to expect next
- Answering questions honestly
- Preparing family if death is approaching
Practical Guidance:
- Teaching family members how to help (positioning, offering ice chips, gentle touch)
- Suggesting when to take breaks and care for themselves
- Encouraging family to talk to their loved one even if unresponsive
- Creating space for meaningful presence
Many families describe continuous care nurses as “angels” who held them together during the hardest moments of their lives.
How Long Does Continuous Care Last?
Continuous care is meant to be short-term crisis intervention, not long-term care.
Short-Term Bridge During Crisis (Typically 24-96 Hours)
Most Common Duration:
- 24 hours: For relatively straightforward symptom crises that respond quickly to intervention
- 48-72 hours: For more complex situations requiring time to find the right medication combination
- 96 hours (4 days): For severe, complicated crises or patients actively dying
Medicare Guidelines: Medicare allows continuous care when medically necessary, but expects it to be time-limited. Hospices must document that continuous care is required and that the crisis couldn’t be managed with routine care.
What Happens During Continuous Care:
- Symptoms are brought under control
- Medication regimens are optimized
- Family is educated about ongoing management
- Patient stabilizes enough for routine care to resume
- Or patient passes away during continuous care episode
Not Meant to Be Long-Term Care
Continuous care addresses acute, temporary crises—not chronic, stable symptoms.
Why Not Long-Term:
- Medicare doesn’t cover continuous care indefinitely
- It’s not sustainable for hospice staffing
- The goal of hospice is helping families manage care at home with routine support, not providing 24/7 nursing
If Symptoms Can’t Be Stabilized: When symptoms remain too severe to manage at home even with continuous care, the next step is inpatient hospice care in a facility with 24/7 medical oversight.
Once Symptoms Stabilized, Return to Routine Care
The goal of continuous care is stabilizing symptoms enough to transition back to routine hospice care:
Criteria for Transition:
- Pain controlled at acceptable level (patient reports 3-4/10 or less)
- Breathing comfortable with current medication regimen
- Agitation resolved with scheduled medications
- Patient and family feel confident managing symptoms with routine visits
- Crisis has resolved
Transition Process:
- Final 8-hour shift of continuous care
- Routine hospice nurse visits next day to ensure stability
- Family has clear instructions about medication schedule
- Family knows to call 24/7 line if symptoms escalate again
- Routine visit schedule resumes (typically 2-3 times weekly)
Peace of Mind: Families can take comfort knowing that if another crisis occurs, continuous care is available again. It’s not a one-time benefit.
Can Be Activated Again If Another Crisis Occurs
Continuous care can be provided multiple times during a hospice stay. Some patients have several episodes of continuous care over weeks or months:
- Crisis managed with continuous care → stabilize → routine care
- New crisis develops → continuous care again → stabilize → routine care
- Repeat as needed
Example: Margaret had continuous care for a pain crisis related to her breast cancer. Symptoms stabilized, and she returned to routine care for three weeks. Then she developed severe shortness of breath from pleural effusion. Continuous care was activated again, managing her respiratory distress for 48 hours until breathing improved. She passed away peacefully several weeks later during a third episode of continuous care when she actively began dying.
How to Request Continuous Care in Tulsa and Muskogee
If you’re experiencing a symptom crisis while on hospice, here’s how to access continuous care:
Call Hospice 24/7 Line Immediately When Crisis Occurs
Every Medicare-certified hospice provides a 24/7 phone line with a nurse always available. This number is provided at enrollment and should be kept easily accessible.
When to Call:
- Pain that’s uncontrolled with current medications
- Severe difficulty breathing causing distress
- Extreme agitation or confusion creating safety concerns
- Bleeding that’s concerning or frightening
- Any symptom causing severe distress that you can’t manage
What to Say: Describe specifically what you’re seeing:
- “His pain is 10 out of 10 even after giving his breakthrough medication an hour ago”
- “She can’t catch her breath and is panicking”
- “He’s trying to get out of bed repeatedly and is extremely confused”
- “There’s significant bleeding and we don’t know what to do”
Be specific about severity and what you’ve already tried.
Nurse Will Assess and Coordinate Continuous Care If Needed
When you call, the on-call nurse will:
Assess Over the Phone:
- Ask detailed questions about symptoms
- Determine severity and urgency
- Review current medications and what’s been given
- Assess whether the situation requires immediate in-person evaluation
Provide Immediate Guidance: While arranging an in-person visit, the nurse may suggest immediate interventions:
- Giving additional breakthrough medication
- Positioning changes
- Other comfort measures to use while nurse is en route
Determine Level of Care Needed: Based on assessment, the nurse determines if:
- Routine nursing visit can manage the situation
- Continuous care is medically necessary
- Transfer to inpatient hospice is needed
Coordinate Continuous Care: If continuous care is appropriate, the nurse:
- Notifies the hospice administrator on call
- Contacts available continuous care nurses
- Arranges the first shift
- Calls you back with expected arrival time
Usually Implemented Within Hours
Continuous care typically begins very quickly:
Response Time:
- Within 1-2 hours in most cases
- Faster if the patient is actively dying or in severe crisis
- May take slightly longer late at night or in rural areas, but still same day/night
What Happens:
- First continuous care nurse arrives
- Assesses patient in person
- Begins implementing interventions
- Contacts physician for orders
- Plans subsequent shifts
No Need to Go to ER: The whole purpose of continuous care is avoiding emergency room visits and hospitalizations. The hospice brings crisis-level care to your home.
No Pre-Authorization Required in True Crisis
Unlike some medical services that require insurance pre-approval, continuous care during a legitimate symptom crisis does not require prior authorization.
Medicare Rules: If symptoms meet criteria for continuous care (acute crisis requiring predominantly nursing care for at least 8 hours), hospice can implement immediately and bill Medicare appropriately.
Documentation Required: Hospice must document:
- Nature of the symptom crisis
- Why routine care was insufficient
- Interventions provided
- Patient response
- When and why continuous care ended
But this documentation happens after care is provided, not before. Patient comfort takes priority.
Family Responsibility: You don’t need to worry about authorization. That’s the hospice’s responsibility. Your job is calling when you need help and allowing the team to provide care.
Continuous Care vs. Inpatient Hospice: What’s the Difference?
Both continuous care and inpatient hospice address severe symptoms, but they’re different:
Location
Continuous Care: Provided at home (or wherever patient lives)
Inpatient Hospice: Provided in a facility (hospital hospice unit, dedicated hospice house, contracted skilled nursing facility)
Purpose
Continuous Care: Manage acute symptom crisis at home with intensive nursing support for hours to days
Inpatient Hospice: Provide 24/7 medical oversight in a facility when symptoms are too severe to manage at home even with continuous care
Duration
Continuous Care: Short-term (hours to few days)
Inpatient Hospice: Can be short-term (stabilize and discharge home) or continue until death if symptoms remain unmanageable at home
Medical Oversight
Continuous Care: Bedside nursing with physician available by phone
Inpatient Hospice: 24/7 nursing plus physicians on-site or readily available, potentially more intensive medical interventions
When to Use Each
Continuous Care When:
- Symptom crisis can likely be managed at home with intensive nursing
- Patient and family want to remain home if possible
- Safety can be maintained in home setting
- Crisis is expected to be relatively short-term
Inpatient Hospice When:
- Symptoms can’t be controlled even with continuous care at home
- Safety cannot be maintained at home (severe agitation, fall risk)
- Family is overwhelmed and unable to cope even with nursing support
- Medical interventions needed that can only be provided in facility (continuous IV medications, certain procedures)
- Patient lives alone with no caregiver support
Transition: Sometimes continuous care is tried first. If symptoms don’t stabilize within 48-72 hours, the team may recommend transfer to inpatient hospice for a higher level of care.
Resources in Tulsa and Muskogee
Medicare Helpline Phone: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) TTY: 1-877-486-2048 Website: Medicare.gov Hours: 24/7 Services: Information about Medicare hospice benefits including continuous care coverage, finding hospice providers, filing complaints
Oklahoma Health Care Authority (SoonerCare) Phone: (800) 987-7767 Website: www.okhca.org Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Services: Information about Medicaid (SoonerCare) hospice benefits including continuous care coverage in Oklahoma
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Phone: (800) 658-8898 Website: www.nhpco.org Services: Educational resources about hospice care levels, what to expect from continuous care, family support
Oklahoma Hospice & Palliative Care Association Website: www.oklahomaahospice.org Services: Information about hospice care in Oklahoma, standards for continuous care, provider directory
Caregiver Action Network Phone: (855) 227-3640 Website: www.caregiveraction.org Services: Support for family caregivers, resources for managing crisis situations, connection to local support
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does continuous care cost?
Continuous care is fully covered by Medicare Part A hospice benefits and Oklahoma’s SoonerCare (Medicaid) program. There are no out-of-pocket costs, co-pays, or deductibles for continuous care during legitimate symptom crises.
Can we request continuous care if we’re just tired of caregiving?
No. Continuous care is for acute medical symptom crises, not caregiver respite. If you need caregiver relief, hospice offers respite care (up to 5 days of inpatient care to give caregivers a break). Respite care has a small copay ($5 per day under Medicare). Talk to your hospice team about respite options if you’re exhausted.
What if continuous care doesn’t help and symptoms are still uncontrolled?
If symptoms can’t be stabilized with continuous care at home after 48-72 hours, the hospice team will discuss transferring to inpatient hospice care in a facility where higher levels of medical intervention are available. The goal is always your loved one’s comfort.
Will the same nurse stay for 24 hours straight?
No. Nurses work in 8-hour or 12-hour shifts. When one nurse’s shift ends, another arrives to continue care. Each nurse receives detailed handoff information about what’s been happening and what’s working. Some staff rotation is normal and necessary.
Can we refuse continuous care and go to the hospital instead?
Yes, you always have the right to call 911 and go to the hospital. However, hospitals focus on curative treatment, which may not align with hospice goals of comfort. Continuous care allows you to receive crisis-level symptom management at home without the stress of hospitalization. Most families find continuous care provides better comfort and experience than emergency rooms.
What happens at night during continuous care?
A nurse is present at the bedside throughout the night during continuous care. They monitor symptoms, administer medications, provide repositioning and comfort measures, and support family members. You can sleep knowing a professional is watching over your loved one.
How do we know when to call for continuous care vs. just calling for advice?
Call the 24/7 line for any significant symptom change or concern. The nurse will help you determine if the situation requires continuous care or can be managed with phone advice or a routine nursing visit. Don’t hesitate to call—it’s better to reach out and have the nurse say it can wait than to suffer through a crisis alone.
Can continuous care be provided in assisted living or nursing homes?
Yes. Continuous care can be provided wherever the patient lives, including assisted living facilities and nursing homes. The hospice coordinates with the facility to ensure appropriate space and cooperation.
Does continuous care mean death is imminent?
Not necessarily. While some patients receive continuous care in the final days of life, others receive it weeks or even months before death to manage a specific symptom crisis. Continuous care addresses the current crisis, not necessarily end-of-life timing.
What if we need continuous care again after it ends?
Continuous care can be provided multiple times during a hospice stay. If another crisis develops after you’ve transitioned back to routine care, call the 24/7 line again. Continuous care will be activated as many times as medically necessary for symptom crises.
Conclusion: The Safety Net of Home Hospice
Continuous care is the safety net that makes home hospice possible even during the most challenging medical situations. It’s the answer to “What if something happens that we can’t handle?” It’s the bridge that keeps patients comfortable at home during crises that would otherwise require hospitalization.
For families in Tulsa, Muskogee, and throughout Oklahoma, knowing continuous care exists provides peace of mind. You’re not alone. When symptoms become unmanageable, expert nursing care comes to you—immediately, at no cost, with the singular focus of making your loved one comfortable again.
If you’re caring for someone on hospice and symptoms escalate, don’t hesitate. Call your hospice 24/7 line. Describe what’s happening. Let the team bring the intensive support you need right to your home.
Continuous care embodies the hospice promise: We’ll be here whenever you need us, with whatever level of care necessary to ensure comfort and dignity. That promise is backed by Medicare, delivered by skilled nurses, and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You’re not alone in this journey.
