Truman House

The Truman House

The Community Hospice House (Truman House) is a 12-bed inpatient facility in New Philadelphia, Ohio. Located in Tuscarawas County near Route 77 & 250 interchange, the facility is easily accessible from Stark, Columbiana, Holmes, Wayne, Coshocton, Carroll, and Harrison counties. Thanks to many generous donors, a long time dream became a reality in the spring of 2012 when Hospice House opened its doors.

The Truman House is not a hospital, a nursing home, an assisted living community or a rehabilitation facility, but a comfortable home-like setting where compassionate, experienced nurses and support staff provide 24-hour care to patients. With a focus on pain and symptom management, the Truman House is an option when the patient needs pain management, control of other distressing symptoms, around-the-clock nursing presence, respite or residential care. The facility also has a low patient to nurse ratio and 24-hour physician-directed care.

What services are available to patients residing at the Hospice House?

Services include a private room, accessible bath facilities, 24-hour nursing care, meals and snacks as desired, medication administration, assistance with personal care, nurse call system, telephone service, cable television and Wi-Fi. Patients also have access to social workers, massage therapy, chaplains, bereavement support and volunteers.

Levels of Care

General Inpatient Care (GIP):

Admission to our hospice Inpatient unit may be needed to control a patient’s pain or other acute symptoms. Our team directs efforts toward the resolution of the symptoms that prompted the need for GIP care. The stay is expected to be short-term and provides 24-hour clinical monitoring when more aggressive interventions are implemented. This level of care change occurs only when previous interventions are not effective or acute symptom management is necessary. Once admitted, the Inpatient team will be working with the patient and family toward establishing a discharge plan once the patient’s symptoms become controlled.

Respite Care:

Respite care provides for up to a five-day patient stay in the hospice Inpatient unit, according to bed availability. Once the patient is admitted to hospice care, the family members providing care in the patient’s home environment may become exhausted and require temporary relief from their caregiving duties. The Medicare Hospice Benefit allows for a periodic respite care break for families. While care is offered to the patient, the caregivers get time to rest to resume their responsibilities. A highly skilled, specialized hospice team manages patients’ needs and the many concerns surrounding a life-limiting illness, emphasizing personal dignity and quality of life.

Residential Care:

Residential care is based on a case-by-case evaluation by the hospice interdisciplinary team (IDT). This may be offered when a patient, currently in the unit, no longer qualifies for a higher level of care (GIP or Respite). Yet the IDT has determined the patient’s prognosis is two weeks or less, and the patient/family no longer desires other care options. Bed availability is also a factor in the approval process. A Residential fee would be charged for this level of care.

Compassionate Care:

Compassionate care is offered when a patient, currently in the unit, no longer qualifies for a higher level of care (GIP or Respite) yet has been determined by the IDT to have a prognosis of 2-3 days and is too fragile to move.