Welcome to Ionia Area Hospice. We’ve been working with medical professionals in our community for more than 37 years and understand your need for communication, information and education for your patients and families. More importantly, we work with you to provide the care, comfort and support during this important part of their life’s journey. We’re here for your patient, their family and your and your staff.
Dr. Sheila Gendich, Associate Medical Director
We’re here to help with any questions regarding referrals, including when, how and why to refer. You can download our hospice readiness guide for guide for disease-specific guidelines or feel free to give us a call with any questions. If you’re considering hospice for your patients feel free to reach out. We can speak to your patient and their family about options and work with you to best help them with their decision. We are here day or night, weekday or weekend.
You can call our hospice referral line direct at: 616-527-0681
Or fax a facesheet, H&P and initial physician certification to: 517.882.3010
When referring to Ionia Area Hospice, you are able to follow your patient. There are several ways we can work together including working through you and your office to manage the care of your patient or our medical director managing the care and the Ionia Area Hospice team communicating with you regarding your patient’s care. We are open with communication and work well with our physicians in the community.
Yes, we have both music and massage therapy. We feel these therapies are important to our patient’s quality of life during this time in their life’s journey. We are dedicated to maintaining access to music and massage therapy whenever possible and whenever requested. Patients are not required to participate in either, but they are available to them.
Our Ionia Area Hospice admissions team is responsive to you and your patients’ needs. We can begin whenever needed, within 24 hours or sooner.
Our team is able to help with questions, a direct referral, forwarding information for patients and simply setting up an informational meeting for families (or your staff) to learn more about hospice. Education is important to us. If your patient is potentially hospice appropriate just ask them to have a conversation with us to learn more. These are only informational meetings – no pressure is put on families.
Inside our reference guide you will find guidelines for hospice appropriateness. They are broken down by co-morbidities and by disease-specific diagnoses for dementia, heart disease, cancer, stroke/coma, and other conditions and diseases. If seeing the signs of appropriateness, they may qualify for hospice.