Preparing for hospice
The week before hospice begins is mostly paperwork, logistics, and one hard conversation. These guides cover what to gather, how to set up one room of the house, and what the first days of care are actually like.
2 guides · Revised November 2026
Guides in this topic
Preparing for hospice9 min read
The Hospice Comfort Kit, Explained
This guide explains the hospice comfort kit, including what emergency medications are for, why you track them, and how to keep these medications safe at home.
Preparing for hospice7 min read
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.
Other topics in the library
- Choosing a hospice providerWhat to compare before you sign.
- Talking about hospiceHow to raise it, and what to say.
- Caring at homeExhaustion, respite, and asking for help.
- Hospice by illnessDementia, heart failure, cancer, COPD, ALS, kidney disease.
- The final daysWhat happens, and what helps.
- Grief and the weeks afterThe weeks after a death.
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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