National Hospice and Palliative Care Month: Knowing When to Have the Conversation and Understanding Your Care Options
November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, a time to recognize the healthcare professionals who provide compassionate care to individuals facing serious illnesses and to help families better understand the resources available to them. For 2026, the national theme, "Care You Can Trust," emphasizes the importance of quality, compassion, communication, and patient-centered care.
At CompleteOK, we believe one of the most important things families can do is learn about their care options before they are faced with making difficult decisions. When someone we love is diagnosed with a serious illness, conversations often center around treatments, medications, appointments, and what comes next.
However, equally important questions sometimes go unasked:
How can we help our loved one remain comfortable while receiving treatment?
What additional support is available when managing a serious illness at home?
When should we begin discussing palliative care?
How do we know when hospice care may be appropriate?
Can someone receive palliative care while receiving home health services?
What happens when a patient's needs change?
Understanding the answers can help families make informed decisions, reduce uncertainty, and ensure their loved ones receive care that reflects their needs, wishes, and priorities.
National Hospice and Palliative Care Month: Understanding the Difference Between Two Important Types of Care
Although hospice and palliative care share many similarities, they serve different purposes and may be appropriate at different stages of illness. Both approaches emphasize comfort, symptom management, quality of life, and support for patients and their families. However, understanding their differences is essential when considering available healthcare options.
What Is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is specialized medical care focused on relieving symptoms, reducing discomfort, and improving quality of life for individuals living with serious illnesses.
Unlike hospice, palliative care does not require a terminal diagnosis or a life expectancy of six months or less.
It can begin at the time of diagnosis and continue alongside treatments intended to cure, control, or slow the progression of an illness. Individuals receiving palliative care may still undergo chemotherapy, dialysis, cardiac treatments, rehabilitation, or other medically appropriate therapies.
Palliative care may be beneficial for people living with conditions such as:
Cancer
Congestive heart failure
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Advanced kidney disease
Neurological disorders, including Parkinson's disease
Dementia and other progressive cognitive conditions
Advanced liver disease
Other serious or complex chronic illnesses
Palliative care focuses on the whole person, not simply the diagnosis. Depending on the patient's needs, services may address pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, nausea, anxiety, sleep disturbances, medication-related symptoms, and the emotional challenges associated with serious illness.
It can also help patients and families better understand treatment options and communicate their goals to healthcare providers.
What Is Hospice Care?
Hospice care is specialized care for individuals with terminal illnesses when the focus of treatment shifts from attempting to cure the terminal condition to providing comfort, managing symptoms, and supporting quality of life.
Under the Medicare hospice benefit, eligibility generally requires physician certification that a patient has a life expectancy of six months or less if the illness follows its expected course.
This does not mean a patient must be in their final days or weeks of life. In fact, hospice can provide valuable support over several months, allowing patients and families more time to benefit from nursing care, symptom management, emotional support, spiritual care, and caregiver education.
Hospice care may include:
Skilled nursing care and ongoing symptom assessments
Pain and symptom management
Physician oversight and coordination of care
Medications related to comfort and management of the terminal illness
Medical equipment and supplies related to the hospice diagnosis
Hospice aide services for personal care
Social work services and emotional support
Spiritual support based on individual preferences
Education and guidance for family caregivers
Short-term inpatient or respite services when medically appropriate and covered
Grief and bereavement support for loved ones
Hospice care is not about abandoning medical care. It is about changing the goals of care to prioritize comfort, dignity, and the patient's wishes.
When Should Families Begin Discussing Palliative Care?
One of the most common misconceptions about palliative care is that it should only be considered when treatments are no longer working. In reality, palliative care can be most helpful when introduced earlier in the course of a serious illness.
A patient does not have to wait until symptoms become unbearable or their condition significantly declines before asking about additional support.
Signs It May Be Time to Discuss Palliative Care
Families may want to ask a healthcare provider about palliative care when a loved one experiences:
1. Persistent or Difficult-to-Manage Symptoms
Pain, fatigue, nausea, breathlessness, poor appetite, or other symptoms may interfere with everyday activities, even when the patient is receiving appropriate treatment. Palliative care specialists can work alongside existing providers to identify strategies for improving comfort.
2. Frequent Emergency Room Visits or Hospitalizations
Repeated hospital visits may indicate that a patient needs additional symptom management, closer coordination of care, or a more comprehensive plan for managing their illness.
3. Increasing Difficulty With Daily Activities
When someone begins struggling with bathing, dressing, preparing meals, walking, or other routine tasks, it may be appropriate to evaluate whether additional medical and supportive services could help.
4. Complicated Treatment Decisions
Patients with serious illnesses sometimes face difficult decisions about medications, procedures, and treatments. Palliative care can help patients understand the potential benefits and burdens of available options while keeping their personal goals at the center of those decisions.
5. Emotional Stress or Caregiver Overwhelm
A serious illness affects more than physical health. Patients may experience fear, frustration, anxiety, or uncertainty. Family caregivers may also struggle with exhaustion, changing responsibilities, and concerns about the future.
Palliative care can help identify appropriate resources and support systems.
National Hospice and Palliative Care Month Reminder: You Do Not Have to Wait for a Crisis
An important message during National Hospice and Palliative Care Month is that families do not need to wait for a medical emergency to begin discussing supportive care.
Starting these conversations early allows patients to participate more fully in decisions about their health and gives families time to understand the options available.
Can Palliative Care Be Received Alongside Home Health Services?
Yes. Palliative care can be provided in conjunction with home health services when a patient meets the applicable requirements for each service.
This is an important distinction because home health and palliative care address different, but often complementary, needs.
Home health services are generally designed to provide medically necessary skilled care in the home for eligible patients. Depending on individual needs and coverage requirements, services may include skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and other appropriate care.
Palliative care focuses on symptom relief, quality of life, communication, and support for patients living with serious illnesses. For some patients, receiving both types of care can provide a more comprehensive approach to managing their health.
How Home Health and Palliative Care Can Work Together
Consider an individual living with congestive heart failure. The patient may receive home health nursing services to monitor their condition, provide education about medications, assess symptoms, and help identify changes that should be reported to their physician.
At the same time, a palliative care provider may help address persistent breathlessness, fatigue, anxiety, or difficult decisions about ongoing treatment.
Another example might involve a patient undergoing cancer treatment. Home health services may be appropriate for skilled nursing needs or rehabilitation following hospitalization, while palliative care may help manage pain, nausea, fatigue, and other symptoms associated with the illness or its treatment.
These services are not automatically interchangeable, and not every patient will qualify for both. Eligibility, coverage, coordination, and available providers must be evaluated individually.
However, when appropriate, combining home health and palliative care can help patients receive support that addresses both their medical needs and overall quality of life. For Oklahoma families, understanding that palliative care does not necessarily replace home health can open the door to conversations about additional support.
When Should Families Begin Discussing Hospice Care?
Hospice conversations can be emotionally difficult, particularly when families associate hospice with the final days of life. However, waiting until a patient is actively dying may limit the amount of time they and their loved ones have to benefit from hospice services.
A hospice discussion does not require an immediate decision to enroll.
Instead, it provides an opportunity to understand whether hospice may be appropriate, what services are available, and how the patient's goals and medical needs are changing.
Signs It May Be Time to Ask About Hospice
Although every patient's experience is different, certain changes may indicate that a hospice evaluation would be appropriate.
1. A Noticeable Decline in Overall Health
A patient may experience increasing weakness, reduced mobility, significant fatigue, or a growing need for assistance with everyday activities.
2. Frequent Hospitalizations or Recurrent Infections
Repeated hospital admissions, emergency visits, or complications may suggest that an illness is progressing despite ongoing treatment.
3. Increasing Difficulty Eating or Drinking
Some patients with advanced illnesses experience reduced appetite, unintended weight loss, or swallowing difficulties. These changes should be evaluated by a healthcare professional because some causes may be treatable.
4. Greater Dependence on Others
A loved one who previously managed daily activities independently may begin requiring substantial assistance with bathing, dressing, transferring, walking, or personal care.
5. Symptoms That Are Becoming More Difficult to Control
Increasing pain, shortness of breath, agitation, or other distressing symptoms may indicate a need to reconsider the current care plan.
6. Treatments Are No Longer Providing the Expected Benefit
Sometimes the burdens of treatment begin to outweigh the benefits, or the patient decides that comfort and time at home are more important than additional disease-directed interventions.
7. The Patient Expresses a Desire to Focus on Comfort
A patient's own wishes are especially important. Statements such as "I don't want to keep going back to the hospital" or "I just want to be comfortable at home" may signal that it is time to discuss goals of care.
None of these signs alone determines hospice eligibility. A qualified healthcare provider must evaluate the patient's diagnosis, clinical condition, prognosis, and other relevant factors.
Hospice Is Not Limited to Cancer Patients
Another important misconception is that hospice is primarily intended for individuals with cancer. Hospice may also be appropriate for eligible patients with advanced heart disease, lung disease, dementia, neurological disorders, kidney disease, liver disease, and other life-limiting conditions.
Eligibility depends on the individual's medical circumstances and prognosis, not simply the name of the diagnosis.
Transitioning From Palliative Care to Hospice: Understanding When the Focus of Care Changes
For some patients, palliative care provides meaningful support for months or years while they continue receiving treatment for a serious illness. As an illness progresses, however, the patient's medical needs, treatment options, and personal priorities may change.
At that point, transitioning from palliative care to hospice may become an appropriate consideration.
What Does the Transition From Palliative Care to Hospice Look Like?
The transition is not necessarily a sudden event. It often begins with ongoing conversations among the patient, family, physicians, and other healthcare professionals.
For example, a patient living with advanced COPD may initially receive treatment to manage the disease, home health services for qualifying skilled needs, and palliative care for persistent symptoms.
Over time, the patient may experience more frequent exacerbations, increasing oxygen requirements, reduced physical endurance, and repeated hospitalizations. If the disease continues to progress and the patient's prognosis and goals of care align with hospice requirements, the healthcare team may recommend a hospice evaluation.
The focus may then shift toward managing breathlessness, reducing distress, supporting the family, and helping the patient remain as comfortable as possible in their preferred care setting.
Four Important Steps in Transitioning From Palliative Care to Hospice
Step 1: Reevaluate the Patient's Condition
The patient's physician and healthcare team review changes in symptoms, functional abilities, disease progression, and response to treatment.
Step 2: Discuss Goals and Priorities
The patient and family have an opportunity to discuss what matters most, whether that involves remaining at home, reducing hospital visits, managing symptoms, or spending meaningful time with loved ones.
Step 3: Determine Hospice Eligibility
The appropriate physicians evaluate whether the patient meets hospice eligibility requirements, including the applicable prognosis criteria. A hospice evaluation can help determine whether services are appropriate at that time.
Step 4: Develop a Coordinated Care Plan
When hospice is elected, the hospice team develops an individualized plan addressing comfort, symptom management, medications, equipment, caregiver education, and other identified needs.
The team also coordinates the transition from existing services to avoid unnecessary duplication or interruptions in care.
For Medicare beneficiaries, electing hospice generally changes coverage for care related to the terminal illness and related conditions. Separate medically necessary services for unrelated conditions may remain covered when applicable.
An important point for families to remember is that transitioning to hospice is not giving up on care. It is making an informed decision about which type of care best reflects the patient's current needs and wishes.
National Hospice and Palliative Care Month: Questions Every Family Should Feel Comfortable Asking
Healthcare conversations can feel overwhelming, especially when families are unfamiliar with medical terminology. Preparing a few questions ahead of time can make discussions more productive.
Questions to Ask About Palliative Care
Would palliative care help manage my loved one's current symptoms?
Can palliative care be provided while treatments continue?
Can palliative care work alongside existing home health services?
Which symptoms or concerns should prompt us to contact the healthcare team?
What services are covered by our insurance?
How will the palliative care team communicate with our existing physicians?
Questions to Ask About Hospice Care
What changes in my loved one's condition suggest hospice may be appropriate?
Does my loved one currently meet hospice eligibility requirements?
What services would be included in the hospice plan of care?
How are pain and other symptoms managed?
What support is available for family caregivers?
Who should we contact if symptoms worsen at night or on weekends?
What medications, medical equipment, and supplies would be covered?
What happens if my loved one's condition stabilizes or improves?
Can hospice care be discontinued if the patient chooses to pursue other treatment?
Questions to Ask When Transitioning From Palliative Care to Hospice
What is changing about the patient's medical condition or prognosis?
What benefits and limitations should we understand before making a decision?
How will existing medications and treatments be reviewed?
Will the patient need different medical equipment?
How will the healthcare teams coordinate the transition?
What can our family expect during the first few days of hospice care?
Families should never feel embarrassed about asking questions or requesting clarification.
Understanding the care plan is an essential part of making informed decisions.
Understanding Advance Care Planning and the Importance of Patient Choice
One of the most valuable conversations families can have involves advance care planning.
Advance care planning allows individuals to communicate their healthcare preferences before a serious medical crisis occurs.
It may include discussing:
Who should make medical decisions if the patient becomes unable to communicate?
What types of treatment would the patient want or decline under certain circumstances?
What matters most to the patient when considering quality of life?
Where would the patient prefer to receive care when medically appropriate?
Are there spiritual, cultural, or personal preferences the healthcare team should understand?
What concerns or fears does the patient have about future medical decisions?
Advance directives and healthcare decision-making documents can help communicate these preferences, although requirements vary by state. For Oklahoma families, discussing advance care planning with a healthcare professional and obtaining appropriate guidance about Oklahoma-specific documents can help ensure that wishes are clearly understood.
These conversations are not limited to individuals who are approaching the end of life.
Adults of all ages can benefit from communicating their healthcare preferences and identifying trusted decision-makers.
Supporting the Family Caregiver: An Often Overlooked Part of Serious Illness
When a loved one becomes seriously ill, family members frequently assume new responsibilities. They may coordinate appointments, organize medications, assist with personal care, monitor symptoms, prepare meals, and communicate with healthcare providers.
These responsibilities can become physically and emotionally demanding, especially when a patient's needs increase.
Family caregivers may experience:
Physical exhaustion
Interrupted sleep
Emotional stress or anxiety
Difficulty balancing employment and caregiving
Uncertainty about managing symptoms
Feelings of isolation
Concerns about making the right healthcare decisions
Recognizing these challenges is important, and our Palliative care teams can help identify caregiver needs, provide education, and connect families with appropriate resources.
Hospice programs offer additional caregiver-focused services, which may include education, emotional and spiritual support, social work assistance, and qualifying respite care.
Hospice also provides grief and bereavement support for loved ones. Families should understand that hospice is not generally intended to provide continuous bedside caregiving around the clock. Routine hospice services are provided according to an individualized plan of care, and family members or other caregivers often remain responsible for much of the patient's daily assistance.
Common Misconceptions About Hospice and Palliative Care
Misinformation can prevent patients and families from exploring services that might improve their quality of life.
Here are several important facts worth remembering.
Myth: Palliative care means treatment has stopped.
Fact: Palliative care can be provided alongside treatments intended to cure or manage a serious illness.
Myth: Hospice is only for the final few days of life.
Fact: Eligible patients may receive hospice care for months. Medicare hospice eligibility generally involves a prognosis of six months or less if the illness follows its expected course, but care may continue beyond six months when eligibility is properly recertified.
Myth: Hospice means no more medical care.
Fact: Hospice provides active medical care focused on symptom management, comfort, and quality of life. Appropriate medications, therapies, equipment, and other services may be included in the individualized care plan.
Myth: Patients must be bedridden to qualify for hospice.
Fact: Hospice eligibility is based on the overall medical condition and prognosis. A patient does not necessarily have to be bedridden.
Myth: Patients cannot change their minds after enrolling in hospice.
Fact: Patients may revoke hospice care and pursue other treatment options. They may also elect hospice again if they meet the applicable eligibility requirements.
Myth: Hospice automatically ends after six months.
Fact: Hospice may continue beyond six months when the patient remains eligible and the required recertifications are completed.
Myth: Hospice is only provided in a facility.
Fact: Hospice is frequently provided in the patient's home and may also be available in nursing facilities, assisted living settings, and other appropriate locations.
Myth: Palliative care and home health cannot be provided together.
Fact: Palliative care and home health may be provided concurrently when the patient qualifies for the respective services and the care is appropriately coordinated.
What Quality Hospice and Palliative Care Should Look Like
This year's National Hospice and Palliative Care Month theme, "Care You Can Trust," is an important reminder that patients and families deserve healthcare that is compassionate, transparent, and centered on their individual needs.
When evaluating a hospice or palliative care provider, families should feel confident asking about:
Staff qualifications and clinical experience
How individualized care plans are developed
Communication between healthcare providers
Availability of support when urgent concerns arise
Medication and symptom management procedures
Caregiver education and available resources
Patient rights and involvement in decision-making
How changes in condition are evaluated and communicated
Quality care begins with listening. Patients deserve to understand their options, participate in decisions, and receive care that respects their dignity, preferences, and goals.
How CompleteOK Supports Oklahoma Patients and Families
At CompleteOK, our commitment to Neighbors Caring for Neighbors extends beyond providing healthcare services. We understand that serious illness affects entire families and that navigating changing or advanced healthcare needs can be challenging.
Through our Home Health and Hospice services, CompleteOK works to support eligible Oklahoma patients with individualized care, professional guidance, and compassionate attention.
Our Home Health services help eligible patients receive skilled healthcare or rehabilitation services in the comfort of their homes, while our Hospice services focus on comfort, symptom management, dignity, and support for patients with life-limiting illnesses.
For individuals receiving palliative care through an appropriate provider, home health may also be an option when medically necessary and eligibility requirements are met. When a patient's condition changes, our team can help families understand CompleteOK's available services, discuss whether a hospice evaluation may be appropriate, and coordinate care within our scope of services.
Additionally, CompleteOK provides in home care services through Medicaid Advantage program, VA Homemaker, and several others. The goal of these programs is to keep an aging individual in their home rather than in a nursing home or facility. Our home services assist with activities of daily living, such as personal care, light housekeeping, meal planning and prepping, running errands, grocery shopping, and etc. Learn more about our home services.
When Is the Right Time to Reach Out to CompleteOK?
If you are caring for someone with a serious illness, have questions about home health services, or believe a loved one may benefit from hospice care, reaching out for information can be a valuable first step.
Explore CompleteOK Home Health Services
Is your loved one recovering from hospitalization, managing a chronic condition, or experiencing new skilled healthcare needs at home? CompleteOK Home Health may be able to help.
Our team can provide information about available home health services, referral requirements, and eligibility.
Learn more about CompleteOK Home Health at www.completeok.com/home-health.
Learn Whether CompleteOK Hospice Care May Be Appropriate
If your loved one is experiencing a decline in health, repeated hospitalizations, increasing symptoms, or changing treatment goals, it may be time to discuss palliative care or hospice care. You do not have to wait until the final days of life to ask questions. Another common statement we hear is "I wish I would not have waited so long to make this decision." That statement came from my mother after seeing how hospice improved her husband's last days. His pain was under control and they were finally able to enjoy their time together.
Not everyone's hospice journey is the same, but the goal remains consistent: to provide pain and symptom management, spiritual support, family and caregiver support, improve quality of life, assistance with paperwork and legalities, making sure the patient's final wishes are met and honored, and bereavement and counseling services for the family.
Our hospice team can help explain the services available, the evaluation process, and what families can expect when considering hospice, palliative care, or any other service we offer such as home health or home services.
Our Request an Eval short form makes asking questions so easy. Simply fill in your contact information, select a checkbox of services, and provide a brief explanation of the current situation/diagnoses. The eval request forms go directly to our intake team and our wonderful liaisons. It is okay if you just have a few questions. That is what we are here for.
Healthcare Professionals: Help Patients Explore the Right Level of Care
Physicians, hospital discharge planners, case managers, and other healthcare professionals play an essential role in helping patients understand their options.
If you are caring for a patient whose healthcare needs are changing, CompleteOK welcomes the opportunity to discuss appropriate Home Health, Hospice, or Palliative Care referrals.
We understand that timely communication and coordinated planning can help patients and families better understand available resources and avoid unnecessary gaps in care. You may reach our intake team by faxing 844-253-1803 or feel free to use our eval request as well. We also have our coverage area maps listed on each of our service line pages. Or click below to view directly.
Palliative Care Coverage Map is coming soon!
Or visit www.completeok.com for more information about our services and referral options.
This November, Start the Conversation That Matters
National Hospice and Palliative Care Month reminds us that understanding healthcare options is an important part of advocating for ourselves and the people we love.
Palliative care can provide valuable support while patients continue treatment for serious illnesses. Home health services may address qualifying skilled needs alongside palliative care. And when a patient's condition and goals change, hospice may offer a more appropriate approach focused on comfort, dignity, and quality of life.
There is no single conversation that fits every family, and no two healthcare journeys are exactly alike. What matters is having access to reliable information, compassionate healthcare professionals, and the opportunity to make decisions that reflect each patient's wishes.
At CompleteOK, we are honored to serve Oklahoma families and remain committed to helping our neighbors navigate important healthcare decisions with compassion and respect.
Medical Disclaimer: This article is intended for general educational purposes and does not replace individualized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Eligibility for home health, palliative care, and hospice services depends on individual medical circumstances, provider assessments, applicable coverage requirements, and available services. Patients and families should consult their healthcare professionals to determine the most appropriate care options. If someone is experiencing a medical emergency, call 911.
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