Resources for families facing a hospice decision

These two terms get used interchangeably, but they're not the same thing — and the difference matters when you're making a decision for someone you love.

Palliative care is comfort-focused care that can be provided at any stage of a serious illness, alongside curative treatment. Someone undergoing chemotherapy, for example, can receive palliative care to manage pain and side effects while still pursuing treatment aimed at the illness itself.

Hospice care is also comfort-focused, but it's specifically for patients who have a terminal diagnosis and have chosen to stop treatment aimed at curing the illness, in favor of care focused entirely on comfort and quality of life. In a sense, hospice is a specific, later form of palliative care.

The practical difference

• Palliative care can happen alongside treatment; hospice care replaces treatment aimed at a cure with treatment aimed at comfort.
• Hospice typically requires a physician's prognosis of six months or less; palliative care has no such requirement.
• Both are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance, though under different benefit structures.

If you're not sure which applies to your situation, that's a completely normal place to be — call us and we'll help you think it through.

↑ Back to resources

This is often the hardest question families face — and one of the most common regrets we hear from families is not that they started hospice too early, but that they waited too long.

Hospice can begin as soon as a physician certifies a life expectancy of six months or less, if the patient and family choose comfort-focused care. It doesn't mean giving up — it means shifting the goal from curing the illness to living as fully and comfortably as possible with the time that remains.

Signs it may be time to talk to a hospice provider

• Frequent hospital visits or emergency room trips that aren't changing the outcome
• A decline in ability to manage daily activities like eating, walking, or personal care
• A doctor has said further treatment is unlikely to change the course of the illness
• The patient has expressed wanting to focus on comfort rather than continued treatment

Starting hospice earlier gives our team more time to manage symptoms well, build a real relationship with your family, and make sure nothing is rushed. You can always call just to ask questions — reaching out doesn't commit you to anything.

↑ Back to resources

The first visit is about listening, not paperwork — though there's some of that too. Here's what typically happens.

Before we arrive

We'll ask a few basic questions by phone: the patient's diagnosis, current location (home or facility), and insurance information, so we can confirm coverage ahead of time.

During the visit

A nurse or intake coordinator visits in person to meet the patient and family, understand current symptoms and needs, and answer any questions. We'll talk through what hospice does and doesn't include, and what a typical week of care looks like.

Building the care plan

From there, we build a care plan specific to that patient — which services are needed, how often visits happen, and who on our team will be involved. The plan isn't fixed; it adjusts as needs change.

Most families tell us the first visit felt less clinical and more like a conversation than they expected. That's intentional.

↑ Back to resources

When someone is on hospice care, attention naturally goes to the patient — but the family member managing day-to-day care is carrying a heavy, often invisible load too.

Ways we support caregivers directly

• Respite care, which provides short-term relief so a caregiver can rest, run errands, or simply step away
• Guidance from our social workers on practical logistics — equipment, schedules, and resources
• Emotional and spiritual support from our chaplain, available to caregivers as well as patients
• Bereavement support that continues after care ends, for as long as it's needed

What caregivers can do for themselves

It's easy for a caregiver's own needs to disappear entirely during this time. Simple things matter: accepting help when it's offered, taking short breaks without guilt, and staying honest with our team about what's becoming difficult. You don't have to carry this alone — that's part of what we're here for.

↑ Back to resources