Respite Services

We understand that the task of caregiving can be a difficult and stressful job. It is hard to balance our everyday life with the responsibilities of providing care to our loved ones. People need breaks, family events continue. Traditionally, under the hospice benefit, people are eligible for 5 day respite stays in a hospice inpatient unit or contracted care facility. At Forbes Hospice and Palliative Care we are fortunate to have one of the few inpatient facilities in the area, our beautiful and home-like 12 inpatient unit in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. Respite stays can take place there or at facilities in the community in which we have contracts.

At our inpatient unit, all rooms are private and the unit is staffed by registered nurses, certified nursing assistant/aides, spiritual counselor/chaplain, social worker, and trained hospice volunteers all under the medical direction of our full-time medical director,
Dr. Randy Hebert, who is certified in hospice and palliative medicine. If the respite stay takes place at a contracted facility, your hospice care team continues to see your loved one at the facility, adding to the care provided by the facility staff. After the respite stay is complete, the patient returns to their home and the home hospice team resume their visits there.

A unique part of the Forbes Hospice and Palliative Care program in terms of respite is our “home” respite program. This respite fund is supported by the fund raising efforts of the Friends of Forbes Hospice which does different fund raising efforts throughout the year. This has allowed us to provide, free of charge, limited respite hours at home primarily staffed by certified nursing aides. The home respite program is something that is above and beyond what is required by a Medicare certified program but it is an added benefit of choosing Forbes Hospice and Palliative Care.

$Speaker\'s Bureau$ Search:		Respite Services We understand that the task of caregiving can be a difficult and stressful job. It is hard to balance our everyday life with the responsibilities of providing care to our loved ones. People need breaks, family events continue. Traditionally, under the hospice benefit, people are eligible for 5 day respite stays in a hospice inpatient unit or contracted care facility. At Forbes Hospice and Palliative Care we are fortunate to have one of the few inpatient facilities in the area, our beautiful and home-like 12 inpatient unit in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. Respite stays can take place there or at facilities in the community in which we have contracts. At our inpatient unit, all rooms are private and the unit is staffed by registered nurses, certified nursing assistant/aides, spiritual counselor/chaplain, social worker, and trained hospice volunteers all under the medical direction of our full-time medical director, Dr. Randy Hebert, who is certified in hospice and palliative medicine. If the respite stay takes place at a contracted facility, your hospice care team continues to see your loved one at the facility, adding to the care provided by the facility staff. After the respite stay is complete, the patient returns to their home and the home hospice team resume their visits there. A unique part of the Forbes Hospice and Palliative Care program in terms of respite is our “home” respite program. This respite fund is supported by the fund raising efforts of the Friends of Forbes Hospice which does different fund raising efforts throughout the year. This has allowed us to provide, free of charge, limited respite hours at home primarily staffed by certified nursing aides. The home respite program is something that is above and beyond what is required by a Medicare certified program but it is an added benefit of choosing Forbes Hospice and Palliative Care.