Ep. 438 How to Choose the Best Hospice for Your Loved One with Barbara Karnes RN

End-of-Life University

Learn tips for choosing the best hospice and asking all the right questions.

This week I welcome back my recurring guest Barbara Karnes RN, hospice nurse, author, speaker, thought leader and expert on end-of-life care. She is the author of ‘the little blue hospice book, Gone from My Sight and the recently published By Your Side: A Guide for Caring for the Dying at Home. Today we discuss why we hope people will choose hospice for care at the end of life and how to choose the right hospice for their loved one. Learn more about Barbara’s work at her website:

www.bkbooks.com

Get the book here.

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

• Why we need to do our own research on hospices that are available to us
• How Medicare-certified hospices can differ from one another
• The importance of having a primary nurse assigned to each hospice patient
• Why you need to ask about the availability of inpatient care for private pay
• Understand that families have to provide the 24/7 care at home
• Ask how often visits will occur and how long each visit will last
• Ask if staff members prioritize being there at the time of death
• Find out how quickly first visit will occur
• Don’t just go with the hospice recommended by the hospital discharge planner
• Ask about the quality of bereavement support offered

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Casting Call for new docuseries on grief; email [e-mail] if you are interested in participating
• Register for Workshop with Francesca Lynn Arnoldy on January 30th
• NEW Gift Guides for Caregivers, People Receiving Care, and People Who are Grieving
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• Get my two new books!! Stories from the Dark Night and The Tao of Death
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