(415) 927.2273

By the Bay Health

hospice care

Hospice is specialized end-of-life care that provides pain and symptom management to help patients with a terminal diagnosis live their best life possible, for as long as possible. Our team members will care for you, wherever you call home.

Service Areas

We offer Hospice Care in the counties of Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Sonoma; and the cities of American Canyon, Napa, Vallejo, and Yountville.

Hospice Care

Some signs that it may be time to consider Hospice Care are:

  • More frequent hospital or emergency room visits
  • An unexplained drop in weight
  • Spending most of the day laying down
  • Shortness of breath while resting

Eligibility and Referral

To be eligible for Hospice Care, a doctor must verify a prognosis of six months or less of life, if the patient’s illness runs its natural course. Unlimited extensions to the initial six-month coverage period are possible, as long as a hospice physician confirms no change in prognosis.

Anyone (patient, family member, physician, or discharge planner) can refer an eligible patient for Hospice Care. Ask your doctor about whether you would benefit from this service.

Patients and families benefit from
early referral

Our patients and their families frequently tell us they wish they had called us earlier, so they could have benefited that much longer from our personalized care. Patients do get the most benefit from hospice support when care begins earlier in their illness.

Visits

During our visits, the care team provides patients with:

  • Pain and symptom management
  • Medical care, including medical supplies and equipment, and hospice medications
  • Counseling about practical issues, including your health care wishes, planning for your financial needs, and tapping benefits or additional support from other agencies
  • Help ensuring your physical safety in your living environment
  • Personal care, including bathing and dressing when needed

Team members also offer patients and their families

  • Education about end-of-life
  • Caregiver education and training
  • Emotional counseling and grief support
  • Interfaith spiritual comfort

In addition to scheduled visits, our nurses are on-call 24/7 to answer questions or make an emergency visit. We can help you find around-the-clock caregiver support or other outside resources, as needed.

comfort and support

Hospice Care Team

Physician/ Nurse Practitioner

Participates in ongoing discussions with your nurse and care team about the best medical care to meet your individual needs.

registered nurse

Visits regularly to assess your general condition and provide pain and symptom management, including the use of medicines.

social worker

Provides practical and emotional support, including access to agency, community, legal, and home care resources.

Home Health aide

Addresses personal care needs, including bathing, skin and oral care, toileting, moving and walking, and changing linens.

Spiritual Support Counselor

Provides comfort through secular counseling, inspirational reading and prayer, and coordinating support with preferred local spiritual group.

Grief Support Counselor

Offers anticipatory grief counseling and follow-up support for family members who have lost their loved one.

Volunteers

Provide companionship, respite care, help with errands or light chores, and transportation to appointments or short outings.

Payment

The Medicare Hospice Benefit covers nearly all expenses relating to Hospice Care.
These include:

  • Pain and symptom management
  • Medical care, including medical supplies and equipment (DME), and hospice medications
  • Counseling about practical issues, including your health care wishes, planning for your financial needs, and tapping benefits or additional support from other agencies
  • Help ensuring your physical safety in your living environment
  • Personal care, including bathing and dressing when needed

Our policy is that no hospice-eligible patient is ever turned away for inability to pay.

Is hospice only for the sick family member?

No. Our Hospice Care team helps all family members and caregivers cope emotionally during this difficult time, while providing the education they may need to best care for the patient. By The Bay Health also offers grief counseling support before and after a loved one’s death.

Isn’t hospice only for the last few days of life?

No. Patients may receive care once their physician and the hospice physician determine that their illness is terminal, with an estimated life expectancy of six months or less. Medicare allows hospice to provide care for terminally ill patients, as long as certain medical eligibility criteria continue to be met, and the patient still wishes to receive hospice care.

Can I keep my own doctor on hospice?

Yes. By the Bay Health establishes working relationships with a large base of referring physicians so that patients can keep their own doctors even after admission to Hospice Care.

additional questions?