Frequently Asked Questions

Hospice is specialized care for people facing a life-limiting illness, focused on comfort rather than cure. An interdisciplinary team, nurses, aides, social workers, chaplains, and volunteers, manages pain and symptoms while supporting the patient and family emotionally and spiritually, most often right at home.

Generally, hospice is appropriate when a physician believes the illness would run its natural course within about six months if it follows its expected path, and the patient chooses comfort-focused care. Common signs include frequent hospitalizations, increasing pain or symptoms, significant weight loss, and needing more help with daily activities. Our free consultation includes an eligibility review, and we coordinate with your physician.

No. Choosing hospice means redefining hope: hope for comfort, for dignity, for meaningful time together, and for support through every step. Many families tell us hospice gave them back precious time that aggressive treatments had taken over.

Wherever your loved one calls home: a private house, apartment, assisted living community, or skilled nursing facility. We serve families across Chicago’s northwest suburbs. In rare cases where symptoms can’t be managed at home, short-term inpatient care is available.

For eligible patients, the Medicare Hospice Benefit covers hospice services at little to no out-of-pocket cost, including team visits, medications related to the terminal diagnosis, and medical equipment. Most private insurance plans and Illinois Medicaid provide similar hospice coverage. We’ll verify your benefits free of charge before care begins so there are no surprises.

Yes. Your loved one’s primary physician can stay involved and work alongside our hospice medical director. We coordinate the full plan of care so everyone is on the same page.

Often within 24 to 48 hours of referral. After you contact us, we arrange a free consultation, complete the eligibility assessment with the physician’s input, and admit as soon as everything is in place. In urgent situations, we move as fast as safely possible.

That’s wonderful news when it happens. Patients can be discharged from hospice if their condition stabilizes, and they can return to hospice later if needed. Choosing hospice is never a one-way door.

A patient always has the right to seek hospital care. However, one of hospice’s goals is managing symptoms at home so emergency visits become unnecessary. If hospitalization is needed, call our 24/7 line first so we can coordinate and keep the hospice team involved.

A great deal. We train caregivers in hands-on skills, our aides and volunteers provide regular relief, respite care offers short inpatient stays for your loved one so you can rest, and our social workers and chaplains support you emotionally. After a loss, bereavement support continues for 13 months.

Anyone. Family members, friends, physicians, hospital discharge planners, and clergy can all make a referral. You don’t need a doctor’s order to call us for information, we’ll handle the physician coordination as part of the admission process.

Yes. Our on-call nursing team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, including holidays. Our office hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, but urgent needs are always covered. Call (224) 567-8093 any time.