Medical Director
The Medical Director provides clinical leadership for the hospice program and works with the interdisciplinary care team to support appropriate care planning.
Hospice Care
When curative treatment is no longer the goal, comfort, dignity, and quality time become everything.
Hospice Care in San Diego County, Carlsbad & Southern California
When curative treatment is no longer the goal, comfort, dignity, and quality time become everything. Pacific Point Health Care Services provides Medicare-certified hospice care that supports patients and their families with compassionate, expert care — wherever home is. Our interdisciplinary team is available 24/7/365, because comfort shouldn’t wait for business hours.
Common Signs It May Be Time for Hospice
Hospice may be appropriate when a serious illness is progressing and the focus of care is shifting toward comfort, dignity, and quality of life.
Increasing Pain or Symptoms
Symptoms may become more difficult to manage despite ongoing treatment.
Frequent Hospital Visits
Repeated hospitalizations or emergency visits may indicate a need for additional supportive care.
Declining Daily Function
Difficulty with walking, bathing, eating, or other daily activities may be a sign of decline.
Increasing Weakness
Growing fatigue, weakness, or spending more time resting may indicate a change in condition.
Reduced Appetite
Significant changes in appetite, eating, or drinking can occur as serious illness progresses.
More Caregiver Support Needed
Families may need additional help managing the patient's changing care needs.
Not sure if hospice care may be appropriate?
Talk With Our Hospice Team
Nurse Practitioner
The Nurse Practitioner contributes advanced clinical assessment and patient care within the hospice team.
Nursing Services
Hospice nursing services focus on comfort, symptom management, patient assessment, and support for patients and families.
Spiritual Counseling
Spiritual counseling provides emotional and spiritual support based on the patient’s and family’s individual beliefs, values, and preferences.
Bereavement Services
Bereavement services provide support to family members and loved ones before and after a patient’s death.
Medical Social Work (MSW)
Medical social workers provide psychosocial support to patients and families while helping them address emotional, family, financial, social, and community-resource concerns.
CHHA
Certified Home Health Aides assist patients with personal care and daily living activities according to the patient’s care plan.
Volunteer Services
Hospice volunteers provide supportive, non-clinical assistance to patients and families.
Music Therapy
Music therapy can provide an additional source of emotional, social, and supportive care for hospice patients.
What Is Hospice Care?
Hospice care is specialized medical and emotional support for people facing a life-limiting illness, focused on comfort, dignity, and quality of life rather than a cure. Instead of treating the disease itself, our hospice team manages pain and symptoms while supporting the emotional, spiritual, and practical needs of both the patient and their family.
Hospice care from Pacific Point is delivered wherever our patients call home — a private residence, assisted living community, or skilled nursing facility — throughout San Diego, Carlsbad, and the greater Southern California area. Care is provided by an interdisciplinary team that includes physicians, registered nurses, medical social workers, chaplains, home health aides, and trained volunteers, all working together around one plan of care.
General Overview of Services Included
Every hospice patient receives a personalized plan of care built around their needs, values, and goals. In general, the Medicare hospice benefit — and Pacific Point’s hospice program — includes:
- Physician and hospice medical director oversight
- Regular visits from registered nurses
- Medical social work and counseling support
- Spiritual and emotional care
- Home health aide assistance with personal care
Levels of Care
- Routine Home Care — The most common level, providing regular visits from the hospice team wherever the patient lives.
- Continuous Home Care — Short-term, around-the-clock nursing care during a period of crisis to help manage acute symptoms and keep the patient safely at home.
- Respite Care: Short-term care that gives caregivers a break.
- General Inpatient Care: Short-term care for patients needing intensive symptom management.
Medicare Criteria for Hospice
To qualify for the Medicare hospice benefit, a patient must meet the following criteria:
- Be enrolled in Medicare Part A
- Be certified by their attending physician (if they have one) and the hospice medical director as terminally ill, meaning a life expectancy of six months or less if the illness runs its normal course
- Elect the hospice benefit by signing an election statement, choosing comfort-focused care over curative treatment for the terminal illness
Once certified, patients can elect hospice for two initial 90-day benefit periods, followed by an unlimited number of 60-day periods, as long as they continue to meet eligibility criteria. Recertification requires a face-to-face visit starting with the third benefit period. A six-month prognosis is a clinical estimate, not a deadline — patients who live longer than expected continue to receive hospice care as long as their condition still qualifies.
Routine Home Care
Routine home care is the standard level of hospice care provided when a patient is receiving hospice services and is not experiencing a crisis requiring continuous home care or inpatient care. Care may be provided in the patient’s home or another qualifying residential setting
Continuous Home Care
Continuous home care is intended for short periods of crisis when symptoms require more intensive care to help maintain the patient in their home. The care consists primarily of nursing services and may also include hospice aide or homemaker services. CMS notes that continuous home care is used only during brief periods of crisis and requires primarily nursing care.
Inpatient Care
General inpatient hospice care is intended for short-term situations involving pain control or acute or chronic symptom management that cannot be effectively managed in another setting.
Respite Care
Inpatient respite care provides short-term inpatient care to give a patient’s primary caregiver a temporary break from caregiving responsibilities. CMS describes respite care as care in an approved inpatient facility for up to five consecutive days.
Hospice Myths & Facts
Understanding hospice care can help patients and families make informed decisions about comfort-focused care.
Myth
Hospice means giving up.
Fact
Hospice focuses on comfort, dignity, symptom management, and quality of life.
Myth
Hospice is only for people with cancer.
Fact
Hospice may support people living with a variety of life-limiting illnesses.
Myth
Hospice care is only provided in a facility.
Fact
Hospice services can often be provided where the patient lives.
Myth
Hospice care automatically ends after six months.
Fact
Hospice eligibility is based on the patient's condition and continued eligibility requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Hospice is a shift in focus — from curing an illness to living as fully and comfortably as possible for the time that remains. Many patients and families find hospice brings relief, not resignation.
For most patients, hospice care related to the terminal diagnosis is covered at little to no cost under Medicare Part A, Medi-Cal, or private insurance. Our team verifies your specific benefits before care begins.
Yes. Most hospice care, including Pacific Point's, is provided wherever the patient lives — a private home, assisted living community, or skilled nursing facility.
The six-month prognosis is a clinical estimate, not a limit. As long as a patient continues to meet eligibility criteria, hospice care continues for as long as it's needed.
A referral can come from a physician, hospital, family member, or the patient. Call (760) 603-8400 and our admissions team will walk you through eligibility, insurance verification, and next steps.
Providing Compassionate, Top-Quality Care
We're dedicated to providing expert care at every turn