Optimal Hospice Care is Kern County's largest provider of hospice care. Optimal is locally owned and has a long history, strong relationships and a valued reputation in our medical community. Everyone deserves the best possible care from the first moment of life to the last. While many illnesses in their advanced stages cannot be cured, there is hope. When the focus of care shifts toward comfort, hospice helps patients live each day as fully and comfortably as possible. This may mean sitting down for dinner with loved ones, enjoying a favorite pet or having a good conversation with a friend. Hospice supports the patient and their family so they can focus on living each day. The team approach of hospice provides expert medical care, pain and symptom management and support for the emotional and spiritual needs of the patient, as well as their loved ones.
Patients have the choice to decide where to live, how to live their life and what kind of care they want. Optimal Hospice recognizes that every person’s experience will be different and creates a plan of care according to the individual needs and wishes of each patient.
People often mistakenly believe that hospice is not appropriate until the last days of a person’s life. In reality, hospice can provide care many months earlier to improve quality of life. Receiving hospice early, rather than in the last few days or weeks, means a patient enjoys a longer period of stable, controlled symptoms and focuses on other parts of life, while the caregiver receives support and guidance. If a person is eligible for hospice, there is no reason to wait to start care.
Hospice services are provided without any out-of-pocket cost to the patient. Hospice care is covered 100% by Medicare, Medi-Cal and most private insurance plans. For patients without insurance, The Optimal Hospice Foundation is available to help cover the cost of care so no one is denied hospice care based on their ability to pay. In addition to the care that the hospice team provides, all medications and home medical equipment (hospital beds, oxygen, wheelchairs, etc.) that are needed to keep the patient comfortable and that is related to the patient’s hospice diagnoses are provided without cost to the family.