Guides for funeral homes working with hospices
Practical, sourced answers for funeral directors who serve families in hospice care. Each one cites the federal or state rule it relies on. General information, not legal advice.
How funeral homes build relationships with local hospicesHospice nurses, social workers and chaplains see families at the end of life, and they remember which funeral homes made a hard night easier. Here is what they value, and the rules that keep the relationship clean.
Ways to say thank you to a hospice teamHospice teams rarely hear how a family is doing after a death. A funeral home is often the one who can tell them. Here are warm, practical ways to say thank you, and the limits that keep them clean.
What happens when a hospice patient dies at homeA death at home under hospice care is expected, and there is usually a plan. Here is what the family, the hospice nurse and the funeral home each do, and where state rules differ.
A coordination checklist for a hospice and a funeral homeFill this in together with each hospice you work with, print it, and keep a copy at both offices. It takes one meeting and saves confusion at 3 a.m.
Understanding hospice quality data as a funeral homeMedicare publishes how families rate each hospice and how each hospice's care looks in claims data. Here is what those numbers mean, and how to use them when you choose which hospices to get to know.
The hospice market in your area: how to read itMedicare hospice care has grown a lot in ten years, and most of the growth came from for-profit hospices. Here are the national numbers from CMS data, and how to read your own market.
Hospice bereavement programs and how funeral homes can work alongside themEvery Medicare hospice must offer grief support to families for up to a year after a death. Many funeral homes run aftercare too. Working together means families get steady support, not two sets of calls.- Pre-need conversations with families in hospice careMany families in hospice care want to plan the funeral before the death, so the last days are not spent on paperwork. Your job is to be ready when they ask, clear about prices, and never pushy.
Hospice ownership and chains: what it means for partnershipsMost Medicare hospices are for-profit, and many belong to larger groups. Knowing who owns a hospice tells you who decides on partnerships and how its staff are organized. Here are the facts from CMS data.
See the hospices around your funeral home
Enter your ZIP code, city or address. The free market tool shows every Medicare hospice within 10, 25 or 50 miles on a map, who owns each one, how many Medicare patients it cared for, and which are growing. If you want it on paper, the partnership report is a free PDF; we ask only for an email address to send it.
Open the hospice market tool