Things we find ourselves explaining, written down.
Our nurses, social workers, and chaplain answer the same questions at a hundred kitchen tables a year. These are those answers, written out at length, so a family can read them before the hard week rather than during it.
The first two days after you sign the hospice paperwork
The admission visit, the equipment that arrives, the small box in the refrigerator, and the phone number that starts working at three in the morning.
Hospice and palliative care are not the same thing
The two words get used interchangeably, including by clinicians. The difference decides who pays, what treatment continues, and how soon you can start.
The signs families notice before anyone says the word hospice
Most people call us months later than they wish they had. Here is what the weeks before that phone call usually look like.
What the Medicare hospice benefit actually pays for
The team, the equipment, the medications, the respite — and the one big thing it does not cover.
Hospice and dementia: why the timing feels impossible
Dementia does not decline in a straight line, which is exactly why families wait too long — and what to watch for instead.
What the last days usually look like
The changes that frighten families most are, nearly always, the ordinary mechanics of dying. Knowing them in advance takes some of the fear out.
What to say when you do not know what to say
Most people go quiet out of fear of saying the wrong thing. The silence is usually harder on everyone than an imperfect sentence would be.
Reading about it is not the same as asking.
If something here describes your household, call and talk with our intake coordinator. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing.