Senior Care Homes
Hospice care provides comfort, dignity and support for seniors with a serious illness and their families. Elder Answers helps San Diego families find board and care homes that welcome hospice, free of charge.
Hospice care is comfort-focused care for people with a serious illness who are no longer seeking a cure. A team of nurses, aides, social workers and chaplains manages pain and symptoms and supports the whole family, so your loved one can spend their remaining time with as much comfort and dignity as possible.
A doctor can refer a patient to hospice when they expect a life expectancy of six months or less if the illness follows its usual course. Starting hospice does not mean death is near. It is common for seniors to stabilize, and even improve, once their symptoms are well managed, and patients can stay on hospice for longer than six months if they continue to qualify.
Hospice care in San Diego is available wherever your loved one lives, from a family home in La Jolla or Chula Vista to a board and care home in El Cajon or an assisted living community in Carlsbad.
Hospice uses a team approach, with each member visiting according to a care plan set with the family:
Hospice teams are on call 24 hours a day. Most hospice care in San Diego is routine care at home, with short stays in an inpatient unit when symptoms are hard to control, and up to five days of respite care so family caregivers can rest. Review your loved one’s POLST and advance directives early so everyone knows their wishes.
Yes. The Medicare hospice benefit covers the hospice team’s visits, medications for comfort and symptom control, medical equipment such as a hospital bed or wheelchair, and supplies related to the terminal illness. Families pay little or nothing out of pocket for these services. Medi-Cal and most private insurance plans also cover hospice.
What Medicare does not cover is room and board. If your loved one lives in a board and care home, assisted living community or nursing home, the family still pays that monthly rate while hospice provides the care on top. In San Diego, board and care homes often cost about $5,500 to $9,500 a month.
Medicare also does not cover treatments meant to cure the terminal illness while a patient is on hospice. Care for unrelated conditions is still covered. Our guide to how to pay for a senior care home explains options for the room-and-board side.
Hospice comes to wherever your loved one lives. The most common settings in San Diego County are:
When caring for someone at home becomes too much, a board and care home in San Diego with a hospice waiver is often the best fit. The small setting is quiet, caregivers know each resident well, and families can visit any time.
Hospice cares for the family as well as the patient. Most hospice teams in San Diego offer:
Caring for someone at the end of life is exhausting, and many families feel grief long before a loss. Our guides to anticipatory grief and caregiver support in San Diego list local resources. If the time has come to consider a care home, our senior care placement advisors can talk through your options with you.
Elder Answers is a local San Diego senior care placement agency. When home is no longer the right place for end-of-life care, we help families find board and care homes and assisted living communities that welcome hospice, often within a day or two. Our help is free to families. We:
We help families throughout San Diego County, including Carlsbad, Oceanside, Escondido, Encinitas, El Cajon, Chula Vista, La Jolla, La Mesa and Rancho Bernardo. Talk to an advisor today.
A person qualifies for hospice when a doctor certifies that they likely have six months or less to live if their illness follows its usual course, and they choose comfort care instead of treatment aimed at a cure. Common reasons include advanced dementia, heart failure, COPD, cancer and kidney disease. Patients can stay on hospice longer than six months if they continue to qualify.
Medicare’s hospice benefit pays for the hospice team’s visits, comfort medications, equipment and supplies wherever the patient lives, including a board and care home. It does not pay the home’s monthly room-and-board rate, which the family still covers. In San Diego, board and care homes often cost about $5,500 to $9,500 a month.
Yes. In California, board and care homes and assisted living communities can care for residents on hospice when they hold a hospice waiver from the state. Many board and care homes in San Diego welcome hospice, and the small setting means caregivers are always nearby. Your Elder Answers advisor confirms a home’s hospice waiver before you tour.
Palliative care relieves pain and symptoms at any stage of a serious illness, and patients can keep receiving treatment aimed at a cure. Hospice is a type of palliative care for people who are near the end of life and have chosen to stop curative treatment. Both focus on comfort and quality of life.
No. Many people live for months on hospice, and some stabilize or improve once their pain and symptoms are well managed. Patients can leave hospice at any time if they want to resume curative treatment, and can return later if needed. Starting hospice early often means more support for longer.
You can choose any Medicare-certified hospice that serves your area. Medicare’s Care Compare website shows family survey results and quality ratings for hospice providers in San Diego. Ask how quickly a nurse responds at night, how often aides visit, and whether the team works regularly with board and care homes and assisted living communities.
Common options in San Diego County include board and care homes with a hospice waiver, assisted living and memory care communities, and nursing homes. Board and care homes are often the best fit, with caregivers present around the clock in a quiet home. They are found throughout the county, from Oceanside and Escondido to El Cajon, La Mesa and Chula Vista.
Our local advisors help families find board and care homes and assisted living communities in San Diego that welcome hospice, often within a day or two. We confirm each home’s hospice waiver, coordinate with the hospice team and social worker, and support your family through move-in. Our senior care placement service is free to families.