ratio of home hospice patients to nurse

[Pat the nurse]

I would like to find out what is the correct ratio of patient to nurse in home hospice.

I can`t seem to find this info.

I had been told that each full time nurse should carry a case load of 10 to 12 patient.

I would be very interested if this is correct and standard in hospice care.

[NURSE NANCY]

pat,

i have been a hospice nurse for 10 years in pennsylvania. a full case load would be 10-12 patients. i am full time and see 4 patients per day.

[osiris7]

so where can I find these recommendations?

>>>>>Medicare doesn't regulate caseloads, they just make "recommendations"

Lyn

[Dana Patterson]

In our office we have a caseload of 10-14 per RN, LPN and nurses aide. The RN see the client one time every two weeks, the LPN visits two times a week and the CNA 2-3 times a week. We also have many non-nursing staff members. Any more then this makes it very hard to keep up with the paperwork.

[CHPN1680]

Prior to having an Admissions Nurse, our caseloads were from 10 to 12 and nurses took turns setting a day aside to be available to do admissions. Now, the average caseload is 12-14 but the Case managers rarely do admissions. We have an on call nurse for the weekeds who takes call, makes all visits and admissions from 5p.m. on Friday until 8 a.m. on Mondays.

I would be interested to hear how admissions are handled and how on-call is covered in other Hospice Programs.

[Mandee]

We also have a full time admissions nurse so case managers rarely do admissions, we have three full time on call nurses so the case managers only do back up call(if the primary call nurse gets too busy) and usually end up doing back up call one weekend every other month. Case loads vary depending on what's going on with the patients, 12-16 is the norm with LPNs and prn staff helping out with visits. We do have a lot of LTCF patients which I think helps (ie: if the nurse is seeing four patients at one facility it cuts down on drive time etc....) It can be hard to staff sometimes if you have a sudden increase in census.

Mandee

Prior to having an Admissions Nurse, our caseloads were from 10 to 12 and nurses took turns setting a day aside to be available to do admissions. Now, the average caseload is 12-14 but the Case managers rarely do admissions. We have an on call nurse for the weekeds who takes call, makes all visits and admissions from 5p.m. on Friday until 8 a.m. on Mondays.

I would be interested to hear how admissions are handled and how on-call is covered in other Hospice Programs.

[CHPN1680]

We also have a full time admissions nurse so case managers rarely do admissions, we have three full time on call nurses so the case managers only do back up call(if the primary call nurse gets too busy) and usually end up doing back up call one weekend every other month. Case loads vary depending on what's going on with the patients, 12-16 is the norm with LPNs and prn staff helping out with visits. We do have a lot of LTCF patients which I think helps (ie: if the nurse is seeing four patients at one facility it cuts down on drive time etc....) It can be hard to staff sometimes if you have a sudden increase in census.

Mandee

Thanks for sharing your setup. What is you census?

[Mandee]

Thanks for sharing your setup. What is you census?

Approx. 120 at this time.

Mandee