A Message from President & CEO, Dale O. Knee

On behalf of the Board of Directors, staff and volunteer of Covenant Hospice, I would like to personally thank you for visiting our website to learn more about Covenant Hospice and the services we provide. We feel so fortunate to be able to provide care to almost 1,300 patients throughout 35 counties each and every day. 

I hope that our website has provided you helpful information about end-of-life issues, and I hope that when the times comes, that you will entrust your loved one to our care. I am going to address some questions below that we receive frequently here at Covenant Hospice. However, if you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact us.

• Who is eligible for hospice?
• Do patients have to give up their own doctors?
• Is hospice care only for cancer patients?
• I live in an assisted living facility or nursing home. Why would I benefit from hospice care?
• Is hospice a place?
• How often will hospice staff visit a patient?
• How do I report safety concerns?

Who is eligible for hospice?

Covenant Hospice services are available to individuals who, in the opinion of a physician, have a life-limiting illness, and have made a decision with their physician to seek comfort care, rather than curative care. Eligibility also includes agreeing to the care plan established by Covenant Hospice, the patient, and physician and also residence within our service areas in Alabama and Florida. (Link to service area page)

Do patients have to give up their own doctors?

No, at Covenant Hospice we employ staff physicians who have advanced training in pain management. The Covenant Hospice physician only serves as an extension to the patient’s own physician, never a substitute. Our physicians can make house calls to patients wherever they live, making it more convenient for the patient and helping to avoid emergency room visits.

Is hospice care only for cancer patients?

Hospice care is not just for cancer patients; actually cancer patients make up a small percentage of the overall patients we serve. We care for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, lung disease, cardiovascular diseases, renal diseases, AIDS, liver disease, what we commonly call failure to thrive as well as any other life-limiting illnesses.

I live in an assisted living facility or nursing home. Why would I benefit from hospice care?

Through our Partners in Care Program, Covenant Hospice works with over 200 facilities to provide high quality hospice care to individuals residing in alternative settings, such as hospitals, nursing facilities and other residential care settings. We care for patients in any area that they choose to call “home.”

Is hospice a place?

Hospice is not a place. Hospice is a philosophy of care. We strive to enable patients to remain in their own homes, or the place they consider home, such as a retirement community or assisted living facility, whenever possible. Since 1984, Covenant Hospice has been dedicated to providing a very special kind of caring to patients with life-limiting illnesses and their loved ones. Our focus is on caring. We are committed to our mission of allowing our patients to live as fully and comfortably as possible. We help to add life to days, when days can no longer be added to life.

How often will hospice staff visit a patient?

Covenant Hospice is JCAHO accredited, as part of our commitment to quality care for our patients and families. Covenant encourages the active involvement of patients and families in the patient's care. We define and teach patients and their families on how to report concerns about patient care and safety and we encourage them to do so. To report any patient care or safety concerns, that we have not addressed, you may contact the Joint Commission’s Office of Quality Monitoring at 1(800) 994-6610 or emailing complaint@jcaho.org. We do ask that we are given the opportunity to resolve a concern, in the ways identified above.