Published on October 18, 2018
90 Percent Increase in Demand from Prior Year
Families should have the opportunity to focus on being together, healing, and loving at the end of a life, not worrying about how to pay the bills.
In order to protect privacy, the family depicted in the following story is an amalgam of several family profiles, combined to help illustrate the average patient who requires financial assistance.
Alive currently provides half of the charity hospice care in our region and 21 percent of the charity care for the entire state. This year we have already experienced a 90 percent increase in demand over last year.
Families should have the opportunity to focus on being together, healing, and loving at the end of a life, not worrying about how to pay the bills. To that our end, our generous donors help support patients who need a hand with unexpected medical bills as well as those who have nothing to call their own.
Jonathan was one recipient of Alive’s charity care. As a single dad in his 40s he received a terminal cancer diagnosis. Unable to continue working, he depleted his savings during his disability. As his illness progressed, he became hospice eligible, but his company’s health insurance did not include a hospice benefit, nor was he eligible for Medicare, given that he was under 65 years old. His former wife lived out of state, and he had no other family in town. She was able to take a leave of absence from her job to return to Nashville to care for and support their daughter. She needed to work, though, to provide that critical financial support. Jonathan’s needs were too great for her to manage at home. The Nashville residence provided a haven for him in his final weeks. Alive’s support and care extended to his daughter and ex-wife, who could rest at night and find relief from the strain of trying to juggle their lives with Jonathan’s care. They were able to focus on their relationship with Jonathan in his final days instead of worrying about how to pay for his care.
Please help us ensure that all our neighbors in the Middle Tennessee region have access to the highest quality end-of-life care, regardless of their financial circumstances.