Resource library
Guidance for the parts of this that nobody prepares you for
These guides are written for families and caregivers, not for clinicians. Each one opens with the short version, then explains what to expect, what to ask, and what to do next with its sources and the month it was last revised.
12 guides · 3 topics · Last revised October 2026
Start here
3 guidesThe three guides most families need first: what to gather before care begins, how to compare providers, and how to raise the subject at home.
Preparing for hospice
How to Prepare for Hospice: A Practical Checklist
What to gather, what to set up at home, and what to ask before care begins, so the first week is calmer than it would be otherwise.
7 min read
Choosing care
How to Choose a Hospice Provider: Questions Worth Asking
What to compare between hospices, which answers signal a well-run program, and the promises nobody can honestly make.
6 min read
Communication
Talking With a Loved One About Hospice
How to raise the subject without triggering fear, what to say when they refuse to discuss it, and how to handle disagreement in the family.
6 min read
Caring at home, and what comes at the end
3 guidesFor the long weeks of hands-on care, and for the days and weeks around a death.
Caregiving
Caregiver Exhaustion: Signs, and How to Get Help
The difference between tired and depleted, the help that hospice actually provides, and scripts for asking family members to share the load.
6 min read
End of life
What to Expect in the Final Days of Life
The physical changes that usually happen, what helps, what does not help, and who to call when you are unsure.
8 min read
Grief
The First Weeks After a Death
The practical tasks nobody mentions, what grief actually feels like, and how to know when to ask for more help.
6 min read
Guidance for a specific illness
6 guidesHow comfort-focused care works when the diagnosis is dementia, heart failure, cancer, COPD, ALS, or advanced kidney disease.
Illness
Hospice and Advanced Dementia
How comfort-focused care works when someone can no longer speak for themselves, and what families usually need to know.
6 min read
Illness
Hospice and Advanced Heart Failure
What comfort-focused care looks like when breathlessness and hospitalizations dominate, and how to recognize a turning point.
5 min read
Illness
Hospice and Advanced Cancer
The shift from treatment to comfort, what pain management really involves, and the fears that keep families from calling too early.
5 min read
Illness
Hospice and Advanced COPD
Breathlessness, anxiety, and the repeated hospitalizations that make COPD hard to plan around.
5 min read
Illness
Hospice and ALS
A disease with a predictable trajectory, a very heavy caregiving load, and decisions that are better made early.
5 min read
Illness
Hospice and Advanced Kidney Disease
How dialysis and hospice fit together, and how comfort is managed when dialysis stops or is never started.
5 min read
How these are written
These guides draw on published guidance from Medicare, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the National Institute on Aging. Each one lists its sources and the date it was last revised. They are general education, not medical advice, and they do not describe what a particular provider offers.
Reading helps. Talking helps more.
If something you read here matches what you are seeing at home, call and describe it. A nurse can help you think through whether an evaluation is worth arranging.
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