5 Dementia hospice eligibility • Stage 7 or beyond according to the FAST scale • Unable to ambulate without assistance • Unable to dress without assistance • Unable to bathe without assistance • Urinary or fecal incontinence, intermittent or constant • No meaningful verbal communication, stereotypical phrases only, or ability to speak limited to six or fewer intelligible words • Plus one of the following within the past 12 months: – Aspiration pneumonia – Pyelonephritis or other upper UTI – Septicemia – Multiple stage 3 or 4 decubitus ulcers – Fever that recurs after antibiotic therapy – Inability to maintain sufficient fluid and calorie intake, with 10 percent weight loss during the previous six months or serum albumin level less than 2.5 g per dL (25 g per L) Schonwetter RS, Han B, Small BJ, Martin B, Tope K, Haley WE. Predictors of six-month survival among patients with dementia: an evaluation of hospice Medicare guidelines. Am J Hosp Palliat Care 2003;20:105-13. #Diagnosis #Geriatrics #Palliative #Dementia #Hospice #Eligibility #FAST #FunctionalAssessmentStagingTest #Scale