Choosing a Hospice
- Ask for recommendations from trusted healthcare or aging professionals, clergy, social workers or counselors, or friends who have experience with hospice care.
- After finding a few hospices in your area, call each to learn more about their services and begin building an idea of their differences.
- Be sure your loved one has an advance directive in place so that you or another trusted individual is authorized to make decisions if your loved one becomes unable to do so.
Next Step
Find a hospice program nearby by searching our local services.
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When faced with a loved one’s life-limiting illness, one of the first questions to ask is
whether hospice is appropriate for your loved one. You might start by talking to people you
trust who work in healthcare or aging services or who have received support from a hospice.
Social workers, clergy, and other counselors may also be able to provide guidance. Once you
and your loved one have decided to switch to hospice care, use the same sources to find the
best hospice available (assuming multiple choices are available in your area).
Throughout the hospice experience, communication is key. As you gather information, discuss
your thoughts, concerns, and choices with your loved one and other family members. If your
loved one doesn’t have an advance directive in place, be sure to establish one as soon as
possible to ensure that important decisions can be made competently. Also make sure you
understand how hospice services will be paid for.
Here are a couple of quick ways to find local hospice providers:
Next Step: Find a nearby hospice program by searching our listings.
Content shown was developed through a collaboration between AGIS and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
