Information for families.
Hospice is as much for the family as it is for the patient. This page describes what to expect from Medicare hospice care — the same care Lily Hospice provides today and the partnership will offer when operational.
The first 72 hours with a Medicare hospice.
When a family chooses hospice with a Medicare-certified provider like Lily Hospice, the first 72 hours often follow this pattern:
- Within 24 hours: A registered nurse from the hospice visits to complete a clinical assessment, review the medication list, and begin the care plan.
- Within 48 hours: Medical equipment (hospital bed, oxygen, wheelchair, as needed) is delivered and set up at home.
- Within 72 hours: The full interdisciplinary team — nurse, aide, social worker, chaplain — is introduced and visit schedules are confirmed.
What Medicare hospice provides for caregivers.
If you are caring for a loved one at home, you are doing the work of several professionals at once — often without training and almost always without sleep. The Medicare hospice benefit includes specific support designed for family caregivers.
Hospice Aide Visits
Trained aides handle bathing, grooming, light personal care, and transfers. This takes hours of physical labor off the family caregiver every week.
24/7 Hospice Nurse Line
At 2 a.m., when symptoms change, families enrolled with a Medicare-certified hospice can reach a hospice nurse, not a voicemail. Real people, every hour. (Provided by the hospice; in the partnership, by Lily Hospice.)
Respite Stays
Up to five consecutive days of inpatient respite care so a primary caregiver can sleep, attend a family event, or simply recover. Covered under the Medicare hospice benefit.
Medical Social Worker
From advance directives to family meetings to navigating benefits, your social worker is the person who helps you make decisions you have never had to make before.
Chaplain Support
Spiritual care for any faith tradition or none. Hospice chaplains are trained to sit with hard questions, not to provide easy answers.
Trained Volunteers
Companionship visits, errands, a few hours of respite while you run to a doctor’s appointment of your own. Volunteers are a quiet, steady part of every hospice team.
Thirteen months of support after a death.
Hospice care does not end when a loved one dies. Under the Medicare hospice benefit, families receive bereavement support for thirteen months — a commitment Lily Hospice takes seriously today and that the partnership will continue to honor.
One-on-One Counseling
Individual support from a bereavement counselor in person, by phone, or by video. Available at the cadence that works for the family.
Support Groups
Time with others who understand. Hospices coordinate access to grief groups for spouses, adult children, and (in the planned veteran-focused program) veterans grieving fellow veterans.
Memorial Services
Periodic memorial gatherings to honor patients who have passed. Families often describe these as some of the most healing days of the year.
Resources for Children & Grandchildren
Grief affects every generation differently. Hospices provide age-appropriate resources and referrals for the youngest members of the family.
Take the help that hospice offers.
Families often hesitate to ask for everything the Medicare hospice benefit covers because they do not want to be a burden. They are not. Every visit, every call, every hour of respite is part of what the benefit is designed to provide. Taking the help is not selfish — it is what allows the family to be present for what matters.
If you need hospice care today, call Lily Hospice.
The Vetted Care veteran-focused partnership is in development. Lily Hospice is Medicare-certified and accepting families across its Michigan service area now.
☎ Lily Hospice: (248) 955-5100For questions about the developing Vetted Care partnership, you can reach Vetted at 248-794-9292 or via the contact form.