CVA / Stroke

Hospice Eligibility Criteria

Stroke, or CVA, is the leading cause of disability in American adults and the fifth leading cause of death.

Hospice Criteria for CVA:

  1. Palliative Performance Score (PPS) of ≤ 40% (see table below)

  2. Dependence on assistance for 2 or more activities of daily living (e.g. feeding, transferring, ambulation, bathing, continence, dressing)

  3. Inability to maintain hydration and caloric intake with one (1) of the following:

    • Weight loss > 10% in the last 6 months or weight loss > 7.5% in the last 3 months

    • Serum albumin < 2.5 gm/dl

    • Current history of pulmonary aspiration not responsive to speech language pathology intervention

    • Sequential calorie counts documenting inadequate caloric/fluid intake

    • Dysphagia severe enough to prevent the patient from receiving good nutrition and fluids necessary to sustain life, in a patient who declines or does not receive artificial nutrition and hydration.

  4. Comatose patients with any three (3) of the following:

    • Abnormal brain stem response

    • Absent verbal response

    • Absent withdrawal response to pain

    • Serum creatinine > 1.5 mg/dl

If you are or know a CVA/stroke patient that could benefit from hospice, call Appalachian Hospice and Home Health Services at 606-432-2112 or 606-789-3841 to learn how we can provide quality, compassionate care to you, your patient, or your loved one.

Appalachian Hospice and Home Health Services adheres to all HIPAA privacy policies.