A few years ago, a Capital Caring hospice patient nearing her final days wished to be with her collie. Unlike most hospice patients, she remained in a hospital, so her hospice nurse approached the hospital administration asking if that could be
arranged. When the answer was no, the nurse convinced hospital staff to let her take the dog for a complete veterinary exam and health certification and then bring it in. The hospital relented, and when the patient died a few hours later, the dog
was by her side.
This is just one example of the efforts the Capital Caring Health team will make to fulfill any possible request, said Steve Cone, chief of communications, marketing and philanthropy. “We’ll go to great lengths to create an experience that the patient
would be delighted with in the last days or weeks that they have,” he said.
Cone encourages those facing a terminal diagnosis to contact hospice as soon as possible. “Patients live longer in hospice because 95 percent of the time, we’re caring for them wherever they live, so they’re much happier than being in a hospital,” he said. “They can have visitors; they can have pets, so people are much happier.”
Additionally, he said, patients are spared excessive procedures. “Far too often either the patient or family wants to continue curative measures when they become counterproductive and can prematurely end life,” he said. “We’re not curing them;
our mission is to make them pain-free and comfortable. It’s been documented over and over that patients live longer if enrolled sooner.”
Nationwide, only 50% of people eligible enroll in hospice. “That’s a tragedy,” Cone said, “because we provide an extended period of life almost as soon as you enroll.”
The Nonprofit Difference
One of the first sites to open in 1977, Capital Caring was at the forefront of the hospice movement. Today, it’s one of only 20 percent of such organizations operating as a nonprofit.
“We make decisions in the bedroom, and [for-profits] focus on the boardroom,” Cone said. “We’re lucky if our margins are beyond 0. Our mission is to provide care to everyone regardless of their ability to pay. You just have to live in our service area: Northern Virginia, DC, or three counties in Maryland.”
For the small percentage of patients requiring round-the-clock care, Capital Caring operates inpatient centers, including one in Loudoun—the Adler Center for Caring in Aldie. “Visitors can come and go freely and can stay overnight,” Cone said. “One pet is allowed to visit, and it’s a very homelike environment, intentionally designed to feel different from a hospital.”
Robots to the Rescue
Capital Caring leads the nation in the use of robotic pets, Cone said. For many patients, including those with dementia, these pets offer a calming companionship. “The vast majority of time, when you hand [a patient] a robotic dog or cat, their
whole demeanor changes for the better,” Cone said. “It’s pretty miraculous to watch.”
The pets, which respond to sight, touch, and sound like real animals, help seniors living alone who are often suffering from depression or children in hospice and their siblings.
All these services rely on volunteers, who call to check on patients, run errands, and help care for their (live) pets, and donations are essential. Although in-patient care is usually reimbursed by insurance at $1,000 per day, it can cost the organization as much as $2,000. To the patient, however, there is never a charge.
“Hospice is more beneficial for the patient and their family, who can spend more precious moments with family and friends, and it’s far cheaper than repeated hospitalizations,” Cone said. “It helps reduce what Medicare and Medicaid pay.”
Capital Caring benefits family members as much as the patients themselves, including free bereavement counseling.
“A lot of families tell us the thing they were most grateful for other than ongoing care of their loved one, what they didn’t expect and couldn’t thank us enough for, was our grief counseling,” Cone said. “It’s hard to find mental health professionals because there are often long waiting lists. It’s not cheap and is usually not covered by insurance.”
Capital Caring’s team of physicians, nurses, social workers, and non-denominational chaplains treat patients with the latest innovations while reducing the family’s stress. “It’s a wonderful benefit every DMV family should embrace,” Cone said.
“We’ll go to great lengths to create an experience that the patient would be delighted with in the last days or weeks that they have." —Steve Cone
"When you hand [a patient] a robotic dog or cat, their whole demeanor changes for the better. It’s pretty miraculous to watch.” —Steve Cone