Forbes Hospice, established in 1979, features one of the region's most comprehensive hospice and palliative care programs. We offer palliative home care, a dedicated in-patient hospice unit, and can visit patients whether they live in their own home or in a nursing or assisted living facility. When curative options are exhausted, Forbes Hospice emphasizes the quality of life.

Because emergencies do not respect business hours, Forbes Hospice nurses and other professionals are only a phone call away, day or night, seven days a week. All callers receive the comfort and reassurance of a trained Forbes Hospice staff member, regardless of when their call is made, and an immediate visit to their home is made when necessary. Respite care to relieve family caregivers adds to Forbes Hospice's full range of patient and family centered care.

We extend our reach from caring for a one-month-old child with congenital birth defects to a 105 year old person with end of life complications. Beyond patients with cancer, a growing number of our patients are coming to us with advance, chronic cardiac and pulmonary disease, end-stage neurological diseases such as ALS, Alzheimers and AIDS. We provide care to families in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence,Washington and Westmoreland counties.

Hospice Home Care

This is the traditional "Hospice Benefit" program. For those patients, with a diagnosis of six-months or less to live, hospice provides care by hospice certified registered nurses, home health aides, social workers and chaplains, all under the guidance of a physician. Medicare and most commercial insurers provide coverage for this service.

Palliative Home Care

Forbes Hospice has long recognized that there are many people who are not imminently dying and who are cared for in a variety of settings over an extended period of time, who could benefit from coordinated palliative care services. Nationally, studies have been done which document the deficiencies in palliative care for patients with advanced disease. One such study revealed that patients frequently experience untreated fear, discomfort and pain. Many still approach end stage disease without Advance Directives, and thus never have their true wishes acknowledged.

To fill this gap, Forbes Hospice has developed a Palliative Home Care Program. The goal is to promote more continuous and coordinated care for people with progressive, life-threatening illness that intervenes earlier and more effectively in the illness process. We are now offering our patient and family centered experience to a broader population who can benefit tremendously from our intervention. Palliative care is an integral part of all health care and should be viewed in that light.

Hospice Residence (In-Patient Unit)

Residential Program

Forbes Hospice is aware of the changing demographics of the population in Western Pennsylvania. As our seniors live well into their eighties and nineties, chances are greater that they will be facing the end of their lives as a widow or widower. More and more people are finding themselves alone with family members scattered across the country. To better meet the needs of this population, we have expanded our services to offer our residence to patients who:

• Have limited life expectancy of six months
• Are having increased care-taking needs
• Have inadequate living arrangements
• Have limited access to a full time caretaker
• Have a caretaker who is overwhelmed

By expanding our current in-patient unit, our patients and their loved ones experience a greater continuity of care and an enhanced quality of life in a serene setting. The atmosphere is one conducive to patient comfort and family needs. Without the associated coldness and regimen of traditional nursing facilities, it feels more like home, where families, including children and pets can come together.

Pain/Symptom Management

For our home care patients who may be experiencing uncontrolled symptoms that require daily intervention and monitoring, we are able to offer our inpatient unit until their symptoms are under control and they are more comfortable. These patients then will return home, with their care needs now more manageable for their caretaker.

Respite Care

When caretakers are under emotional and/or physical strain, we are able to offer our unit for a short rest period.  We also offer some limited respite hours "at home" through a respite fund supported by the Friends of Forbes Hospice (www.friendsofforbeshospice.org).

Children's Services

Because the death of a child is considered premature and untimely, life-threatening illness and death are rarely expected for a child and are devastating and life-altering events for a family.

We have long been aware that the traditional adult Hospice model is just not sufficient to care of children.

To serve this unique population, Forbes Hospice's Children's Program provides a continuum of care for children and their parents from the time a child is diagnosed with a life threatening condition. Parents, not prepared to make an "either-or" choice between treatments aimed at achieving comfort and treatments aimed at disease management, can turn to Forbes Hospice assured that extending the life of the child as much as possible, while addressing the symptoms from the beginning, will be the focus of our care. Service and guidance is aimed at helping families make decisions regarding goals of care, treatment options and settings for care.

Forbes Hospice has been caring for children and their parents for many years, and has the expertise needed to provide loving support to these special people. We provide:

• Home Care
• Outpatient Care
• Community Based Care
• Social and Supportive Services
• Bereavement Follow up Services
• Pediatric Palliative Care Physician
• Child Psychologist