For patients & families · A welcome guide
Welcome.
However you found us — a hospital referral, a doctor's note, a friend's recommendation, a long deliberation — we are honored you chose Azalea Hospice to walk with you and your family in this season. This little booklet is yours to keep. It tells you who we are, what to expect from us, and how to reach us at any hour.
01What hospice is, and what it isn't
Hospice is care, not a place. It is a way of caring for someone with a serious illness when the goals of medicine shift from cure to comfort. We come to you — at home, in an assisted living, in a nursing facility — and we bring a team trained in pain and symptom management, in family support, and in the quiet skill of being present at the end of life.
Hospice is not giving up. It is not a place you go to die. It is, in our experience, the most attentive medical care that most people will ever receive.
What we promise. We will treat your loved one with dignity. We will manage pain and symptoms with skill. We will tell you the truth, gently. We will answer the phone — every time, day or night.
And after this is over, we will keep walking with your family for at least thirteen months, because grief is real work and you should not do it alone.
☎
24-hour care line
(903) 470-1994
A nurse answers, every hour of every day.
Call first, before 911 — we can help.
02What happens in your first week
The first few days are when most things get set up — supplies arrive, the team meets you, a plan is written. After that, life settles into a rhythm. Here is roughly how that week unfolds.
1
Day of admission
A registered nurse will meet with you, review medications, take vital signs, and start your plan of care. We file the paperwork with Medicare. Comfort medicines are ordered.
2
Day 1–2
The comfort pack arrives at the home. A hospital bed and other equipment you need are delivered, usually within 24 hours. The nurse calls or visits to make sure everything fits.
3
Day 2–5
A hospice aide visits to help with bathing or personal care. The medical social worker and chaplain reach out, on your terms — only if and when you want them.
4
By day 5
The full interdisciplinary team — physician, nurse, aide, social worker, chaplain — has met about your care and built the comprehensive plan. We share it with you.
5
Week 2 onward
Visits settle into a rhythm — usually two or three nurse visits and three aide visits each week, with social work and chaplain on a schedule you choose. Things change as needs change.
"You can call us at any hour. Most of the time, what you need is reassurance — and we are happy to give it."
03Your care team
A hospice team is unusual in modern medicine. Five different specialists — clinical, practical, emotional, spiritual — are all assigned to one family at the same time. Here is what each does.
- Hospice physician. Oversees your medical care — symptom management, medication orders, certifications. Works closely with your attending doctor, if you've kept one.
- Registered nurse case manager. Your day-to-day clinical lead. Visits at least twice a week, more if needed. Manages pain, watches for changes, and is the person you'll talk to most.
- Hospice aide. A certified nursing assistant who helps with bathing, grooming, light personal care, and being present. Usually three visits a week.
- Medical social worker. Helps with anything that isn't medical — community resources, equipment, paperwork, family conversations, planning ahead.
- Chaplain. Available — never imposed. Talks about meaning, faith, regret, hope. Works across all faith traditions and welcomes patients of no faith at all.
- Volunteer. A trained, vetted member of our team who can sit with the patient, run errands, or give the caregiver a few hours' rest. Visits scheduled to your preference.
- Bereavement counselor. Begins reaching out to your family before death and continues for at least thirteen months after.
A small request
Tell us when something doesn't feel right.
The single most useful thing a family can do is to call early — not late. If a symptom is changing, if a medication isn't helping, if a question is keeping you up at night, that is the moment to pick up the phone. We can almost always solve a problem before it becomes a crisis.
— Welcome to the family.