Pacific Home Health and Hospice

08/25/2026

thanks to Coos Bay Library for hosting the volunteer fair today! we made some great connections and look forward to more community participation!

08/24/2026

08/19/2026

If families are still doing most of the caregiving at home, why choose hospice?

I’ve heard this question more than once, and it’s a fair one.

Hospice doesn’t come in and take over everything. But it does mean you don’t have to figure everything out by yourself.

Having a team there to help manage symptoms, answer questions, provide support, and guide you through the changes that come with end of life can make such a difference. ❤️

Sometimes the biggest benefit of hospice isn’t having someone do everything for you—it’s having someone there to help you know what to do next.

08/15/2026

Thank you to the community for helping make today a great success at the Health & Wellness fair. Our nurses, Alaina & Katie, alongside our social worker, Carissa, enjoyed chatting with visitors. Demonstrations of wound care made the day a little funnier with our beloved training dummy, too!

07/13/2026

07/09/2026

Many families are surprised to learn that enrolling in hospice does not automatically mean a patient will remain on hospice indefinitely. Under Medicare’s Hospice Benefit, patients must continue to demonstrate a terminal prognosis with ongoing clinical decline or persistent indicators that support a life expectancy of six months or less if the disease follows its expected course. Hospice eligibility is based on the patient’s current condition, not simply on a diagnosis. (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], 2025).

Decline can appear in many ways, including progressive weight loss, decreased oral intake, worsening weakness, increased sleeping, declining mobility, recurrent infections, worsening shortness of breath, increased dependence with activities of daily living, cognitive decline, pressure injuries, or worsening laboratory and disease-specific indicators. Hospice teams carefully document these changes because Medicare requires objective evidence that the terminal illness continues to progress. (CMS Local Coverage Determinations; National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization [NHPCO], 2024).

If a patient’s condition stabilizes or improves enough that they no longer meet Medicare’s eligibility requirements, hospice may be discontinued. This is called a live discharge, and it does not mean hospice failed or that the patient can never receive hospice again. If the patient’s condition later declines and they once again meet eligibility criteria, hospice services can be restarted. (CMS, 2025).

Hospice is not based on a specific diagnosis alone. It is based on ongoing evidence that the disease is advancing. Careful documentation protects the integrity of the Medicare Hospice Benefit while ensuring patients who truly need end-of-life care continue receiving the comfort, support, and dignity they deserve.

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06/25/2026

Understanding POLST starts with having the right information.

Patients and families often ask:

- What is a POLST form?
- Who should have one?
- Can a POLST form be changed?
- Will my POLST form be honored if I move?

The National POLST Collaborative's Frequently Asked Questions page provides answers to common questions and helps support informed conversations about serious illness care.

Explore the FAQs: POLST.org/frequently-asked-questions-for-patients

05/09/2026

What Families Wish They Had Asked on the First Hospice Visit

No one teaches you how to walk into that first hospice conversation. Most families sit quietly, nodding, trying to be strong.

But later, many say:

“I wish I had asked more.”

Questions families often wish they had asked from the beginning:

What should I expect in the coming weeks?

What symptoms are normal, and what should worry me?

Who do I call, and when?

What medications are for comfort, and how do I use them?

What does comfort care really mean?

What changes might I see at the very end?

How do I know I’m doing this right?

That last question is the one behind all the others.

And the answer is this:

You do not have to figure this out alone.

Hospice is not just for the patient. It is also for the family. It provides guidance, education, symptom support, emotional support, and someone to walk beside you during one of life’s hardest seasons.

Early hospice education can improve caregiver confidence, reduce anxiety, and improve quality of life for both patients and families (Ferrell et al., 2017; National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, 2023).

Don’t walk this journey alone.

Follow for compassionate, real-world hospice education:

TikTok:
Instagram:
Facebook: The Hospice NP

Together, we replace fear with understanding.

05/06/2026

We are incredibly lucky for each nurse on our team! Happy nurses week 👏♥️