Hospice Eligibility Criteria for Dementia and Alzheimer’s

What qualifies a dementia and Alzheimer’s patient for hospice?

In general, people living with Alzheimer’s Disease or related dementias may be eligible for hospice care when they exhibit one or more of the following hospice admission criteria: 

• You have difficulty speaking intelligibly.
• You have difficulty sitting up.
• You have difficulty smiling or holding up your head.
• You are experiencing bed sores (also called decubitus ulcers). 
• You have had infection during the past year — such as pneumonia, kidney infection (pyelonephritis), bloodstream infection (sepsis) — or a fever that recurs after antibiotics. 
• You are experiencing severe weight loss. 
• You have difficulty in taking in food or drink by mouth. 
• You wish to stay out of the hospital if the illness gets worse. Since it may be difficult for you to share your wishes in the late stages of dementia, it is so important to have these important discussions while conversation is still possible. 
• You have more than one serious medical condition that may shorten survival (e.g. dementia and pneumonia). Your physician may call this a comorbid condition. 
• You depend on others for basic tasks of daily living.