Admission Process Information

Prospective residents of Hill House Hospice must be:

• An adult (age 18 or older).
• Diagnosed with a terminal illness with an approximate prognosis of one month or less.
• The client and/or their substitute decision maker (SDM) must also have an understanding that resuscitation and other life prolonging interventions will not be provided at Hill House. There should be no expectation regarding further diagnostic testing, monitoring, or curative treatment other than those required for pain and symptom management and comfort care. 

Referrals are accepted from a variety of sources. If you are an attending physician, a hospital, any type of health care professional, any community hospice organization, a home for the aged, or even an individual with a terminal illness or a family member, you can initiate a referral to Hill House Hospice. 

The best way to start the referral process is to call the hospice and speak with an intake nurse. The nurse can advise you on the next steps depending on where you are calling from. In the course of time, a health care professional will need to send a formal referral to Home and Community Care Support Services Central (former Central LHIN or CCAC) with the following information:

• A completed Palliative Care Common Referral Form.
• Up to date consult notes (preferably palliative care consult notes)
• Current medication list.

If you are a general practitioner (GP) you can continue to provide care to your client as their primary physician if you feel comfortable doing so and meet our standard requirements. Please contact Hill House for more information on our doctor mentorship program. 

Once a referral has been made, a resident file is created and an intake nurse will connect with the referred client and/or their Substitute Decision Maker (SDM) or Power of Attorney (POA) for Personal Care. Some referrals are for future admissions or backup applications, while others are for urgent admissions and every stage in-between. No matter the referral type, an intake nurse will stay in contact with the referred client and/or their SDMs or POAs at regularly timed intervals to reevaluate needs and situations. 

At Hill House, there is no waiting list. When a bed becomes available, a triage system is used to determine which referred client is in most need of the available bed at the time. We make every effort to be there for those when they need us most. Admissions are based on the applicants care needs and not the length of time since the referral was made.