F.A.Q.

Meridian Health Care will accept most private insurances, medicare, and medicaid.

We service throughout all of Lake, Cook, McHenry, Will, Kane, Boone, and DeKalb county.

If you have agreed to our hospice or palliative services, we will contact the primary care physician of the patient. The physician will then have a final say if the patient is hospice eligible, and provide a referral through fax. Once we receive the referral, we will then send out a registered nurse and social worker to complete a physical and mental health assessment within 5 days. Because hospice care is a time sensitive service, we try to move as quickly as possible to provide the support for your loved one.

Not at all! Our specialized hospice and palliative nurses will come to where ever the patient resides, whether that be in home or in an already existing facility.

These services include: nursing, medical social services, physician services, counseling services to the terminally ill individual and the family members or others caring for the individual at home, short-term inpatient care, medical equipment and supplies, home health aide and homemaker services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology services (medicaid.gov).

In short, everything and anything the patient and family needs in regards to treatment is our responsibility.

Palliative services are centered around meeting your emotional, spiritual, and physical needs and aim to improve your quality of life. Although palliative care may be utilized by those with a life-threatening or terminal illness, it does not necessarily mean you are dying and is available to you at any stage of an illness. Unlike hospice, treatment is still a viable option for you and you may use palliative care in conjunction with your treatment plan. Conversely, if you and your doctor agree that pursuing treatment or a cure is no longer the best option, hospice care may be more appropriate to ensure you are receiving the best quality care.

Some eligible illnesses include (but are not limited to):

• Cancer
• Alzheimer’s
• Multiple sclerosis
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
• Heart disease
• Chronic lung disease
• And many others

Absolutely. One of our biggest goals is to keep all healthcare providers in the loop with our plan of care if they wish to continue caring for the individual.