Hospice Caregiving Services
True North Home Care provides hospice caregiving for individuals and families who need additional non-medical support at home during hospice care. Serving Omaha and surrounding communities, our Care Providers can assist with personal care, companionship, mobility, meals, supervision, comfort-focused routines, and practical day-to-day needs between hospice team visits. Our role is to complement, not replace, the medical and clinical services provided by the hospice organization.
When Hospice Starts, Families May Still Need More Help at Home
A wife has been caring for her husband through months of declining health.
When hospice begins, she feels some relief knowing there is finally a team helping with his comfort and medical needs.
But daily life is still demanding.
He needs help getting repositioned. He needs assistance with personal care. He wakes several times overnight. She is afraid to leave the room for too long.
One afternoon, after another exhausting night, she admits to her daughter:
“I know hospice is helping us, but I still can’t do all of this by myself.”
That is an important distinction.
Hospice provides essential end-of-life care, but hospice staff are not typically present in the home every hour of every day.
Families may still need help with the many non-medical needs that continue between visits.
Hospice caregiving can help fill those gaps.
A Care Provider can be present to assist with personal routines, offer companionship, support mobility, help with meals, provide supervision, and give family members opportunities to rest.
The goal is not to replace the family.
It is to support them during one of the most demanding seasons of care.
What Is Hospice Caregiving?
Hospice caregiving is non-medical home care provided alongside hospice services.
It can help with the everyday needs that continue while the hospice team manages the individual’s clinical plan of care.
Support may include:
- Bathing
- Dressing
- Grooming
- Toileting
- Mobility assistance
- Transfers
- Meal support
- Companionship
- Supervision
- Light household assistance
- Comfort-focused routines
- Family caregiver relief
- Daytime or overnight support
- 24-hour home care when appropriate
The exact services depend on the individual’s needs and established care plan.
Hospice Care and Home Care Have Different Roles
Families sometimes assume that once hospice begins, someone from the hospice organization will remain in the home around the clock.
That is generally not how routine hospice care works.
Hospice focuses on end-of-life medical, nursing, symptom-management, psychosocial, and supportive services according to the hospice plan of care.
Non-medical home care focuses on daily living assistance.
That may include:
- Helping someone get dressed
- Assisting with bathing
- Preparing a simple meal
- Providing companionship
- Helping with mobility
- Staying with the individual while family members rest
- Supporting established routines
The two types of care can work alongside each other.
True North Home Care does not replace the hospice team or provide hospice medical services.
Our Care Providers support the day-to-day, non-medical needs of the individual and family.
Hospice Caregiving Services We Provide
Personal Care
Care Providers may assist with:
- Bathing
- Grooming
- Dressing
- Toileting
- Personal hygiene
- Mobility
- Transfers
Support is based on the individual’s care plan and current abilities.
Learn more about Personal Care at Home.
Companionship
End-of-life care can be quiet.
A Care Provider can offer conversation or simply remain nearby so the individual is not alone.
Companionship may also allow family members to step away briefly without feeling that their loved one has been left by themselves.
Learn more about Companion Care.
Mobility Support
As strength and endurance decline, movement can become more difficult.
Care Providers can provide appropriate assistance with mobility and transfers according to the established care plan.
Meal and Routine Support
Families may be focused on medical conversations, visitors, and caregiving responsibilities.
A Care Provider can help with simple meals and daily household routines included in the care plan.
Supervision
Some individuals should not be left alone for extended periods.
This may be due to weakness, confusion, dementia, mobility limitations, or changing needs.
Additional caregiver coverage can provide greater continuity.
Overnight and 24-Hour Care
When families need more consistent support, True North Home Care can provide 24-hour home care through continuous caregiver coverage.
True North Home Care provides 24-hour home care, not live-in care.
Learn more about 24-Hour Home Care.
Benefits of Additional Care During Hospice
More Hands-On Help at Home
As health declines, even simple activities can require more assistance.
Bathing, dressing, toileting, repositioning, moving through the home, and preparing meals may become increasingly difficult for family members to manage alone.
A Care Provider can share some of that practical responsibility.
Relief for Family Caregivers
Many hospice caregivers are spouses, adult children, or other relatives who have already been providing care for months or years.
They may be physically and emotionally exhausted by the time hospice begins.
Additional home care can give them time to:
- Sleep
- Shower
- Attend an appointment
- Spend time with children
- Run necessary errands
- Sit quietly
- Be present as a spouse, child, or loved one instead of constantly performing care tasks
Rest is not separate from caregiving.
It often makes continued caregiving more sustainable.
More Companionship
There may be long stretches when the person receiving hospice care simply needs another calm presence nearby.
A Care Provider can sit with the individual, talk, listen to music, read aloud, look through photographs, or provide quiet companionship.
Not every moment has to be filled with conversation.
Sometimes presence itself is the support.
Help Maintaining Dignity
Personal care can become increasingly difficult near the end of life.
A Care Provider can assist with private routines such as bathing, dressing, grooming, and toileting while maintaining as much dignity, comfort, and privacy as possible.
Support Overnight
Nights can be particularly difficult for families.
A spouse may be afraid to sleep because they are worried the individual will need help.
An adult child may be trying to cover overnight care and still go to work the next morning.
Families can discuss overnight or continuous caregiver support when additional coverage is needed.
Learn more about 24-Hour Home Care.
Why Choose True North Home Care for Hospice Caregiving?
Hospice and Palliative Care Experience
True North Home Care’s leadership brings direct hospice and palliative care experience to the agency.
Founder and CEO Kayla Nelson, RN, has a professional background that includes geriatric, hospice, palliative, and home care.
This experience helps shape an approach that recognizes how different end-of-life caregiving can feel for families.
A Focus on Quality of Life
Hospice caregiving is not about filling every minute with tasks.
Sometimes comfort means a quiet room.
Sometimes it means helping someone get cleaned up and dressed.
Sometimes it means listening to a favorite song.
Sometimes it means simply allowing a family caregiver to sleep.
Care should reflect what matters to the individual and family in that moment.
Screened Care Providers
True North Home Care is fully insured and bonded, and Care Providers complete background checks.
Support for Complex Care Needs
True North Home Care also offers dementia care, personal care, companion care, senior home care, and 24-hour home care.
That range of services can be valuable when needs change quickly.
Hospice Caregiving for Someone With Dementia
Hospice and dementia can overlap.
A person living with advanced Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia may also qualify for hospice when appropriate clinical criteria are met.
When both conditions are present, families may be dealing with:
- Memory loss
- Communication changes
- Confusion
- Personal care needs
- Mobility changes
- Sleep disruption
- Anxiety
- Difficulty expressing discomfort
A Care Provider experienced in dementia support can help maintain familiar routines and provide reassurance.
True North Home Care has Certified Dementia Practitioners on its team.
Learn more about Alzheimer’s & Dementia Care.
Supporting the Family, Not Just the Individual
Hospice affects the entire household.
One family member may become the primary caregiver.
Another may handle communication with healthcare providers.
Someone else may coordinate relatives coming into town.
At the same time, everyone is processing the emotional reality of what is happening.
Additional home care can reduce some of the practical pressure.
A Care Provider can handle parts of the daily routine so the family has more time to be together.
That may mean a daughter gets to sit beside her mother instead of spending the entire visit doing laundry and preparing meals.
It may mean a husband can sleep for several uninterrupted hours.
It may mean grandchildren can visit while another person helps manage basic care needs.
Those moments matter.
When Should Families Consider Additional Hospice Caregiving?
Families may want to consider additional home care when:
- The primary caregiver is exhausted
- The individual needs more hands-on assistance
- Family members are missing work to provide care
- Overnight needs are increasing
- Someone should no longer be left alone
- Personal care has become physically difficult for the family
- Dementia is creating additional supervision needs
- Relatives live out of town
- The family needs more help between hospice visits
- Continuous caregiver coverage is becoming necessary
You do not have to wait until the family caregiver reaches a breaking point.
Additional support can be introduced before exhaustion becomes a crisis.
Hospice Caregiving Can Change Over Time
End-of-life care needs may change quickly.
A person may need only a few hours of support at first.
Later, the family may request longer visits, overnight care, or 24-hour coverage.
True North Home Care can discuss changing needs as the situation evolves.
The hospice organization should continue to manage clinical care, symptom changes, medications, and the hospice plan.
Home care can adjust around the non-medical needs of the individual and family.
24-Hour Home Care During Hospice
Families receiving hospice services may also need additional hands-on help at home.
Hospice teams provide important clinical and comfort-focused support, but family members may still need help between visits.
24-hour home care may provide additional assistance with personal routines, supervision, companionship, mobility, and comfort-focused support included in the care plan.
True North Home Care specializes in hospice caregiving and understands how emotionally demanding this time can be for families.
Learn more about Hospice Caregiving.
You Should Not Have to Carry Every Part of Hospice Care Alone
When someone you love is receiving hospice care, every hour can feel important.
Families often want to spend that time together, but the practical work of caregiving does not stop.
There are still meals.
There is still personal care.
There are still nighttime needs.
There is still exhaustion.
True North Home Care can provide additional non-medical support, so your family does not have to manage every part of the day alone.
Call True North Home Care at (402) 981-8593 to discuss hospice caregiving.
How to Get Started With Hospice Caregiving
1. Tell Us What the Family Needs
Call and explain what is becoming difficult at home. You do not need to know exactly how many hours of care you need before talking with us.2. Tell Us About the Existing Hospice Plan
Let us know which hospice organization is involved and what non-medical gaps the family is trying to address.3. Discuss Daily and Overnight Needs
We talk about personal care, mobility, companionship, supervision, family availability, overnight needs, and other practical concerns.4. Create a Home Care Plan
Care is organized around the individual’s non-medical needs and the support the family is seeking. The hospice organization remains responsible for hospice medical care.Serving Omaha and Surrounding Communities
True North Home Care provides hospice caregiving from its Omaha location:
True North Home Care
11314 Elm Street
Omaha, NE 68144
Phone: (402) 981-8593
Fax: (402) 285-7162
Email: info@truenorthhomecare.com
Priority service communities include:
Omaha, Papillon, Bellevue, La Vista, Ralston, Council Bluffs, Gretna, Elkhorn, Bennington, and Millard.
Service availability may depend on location, requested schedule, care needs, and Care Provider availability.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hospice Caregiving
What is hospice caregiving?
Hospice caregiving is non-medical home care provided alongside hospice services. It may include personal care, companionship, mobility assistance, meals, supervision, overnight support, and other everyday assistance included in the individual’s home care plan.
Does home care replace hospice?
No. True North Home Care does not replace the hospice organization. Hospice is responsible for the individual’s hospice medical and clinical plan of care. Non-medical home care provides additional help with everyday activities and caregiver support.
Will hospice provide someone in the home 24-hours a day?
Routine hospice care does not generally mean a hospice staff member is continuously present in the home. The level and frequency of hospice visits depend on the hospice plan of care. Families who need additional ongoing non-medical coverage can discuss private home care options.
Can True North Home Care provide overnight help during hospice?
Yes. Families can discuss overnight care needs with True North Home Care. Support may include companionship, supervision, personal care, mobility assistance, and other approved non-medical activities included in the care plan.
Can you provide 24-hour care during hospice?
Yes. True North Home Care offers 24-hour home care through continuous caregiver coverage for individuals who need support throughout the day and overnight. True North Home Care does not provide live-in care.
Can home care help someone receiving hospice who also has dementia?
Yes. True North Home Care has Certified Dementia Practitioners and can provide non-medical dementia support alongside hospice services. Care may include familiar routines, reassurance, personal care, companionship, cueing, and supervision based on the individual’s needs.
What areas does True North Home Care serve?
True North Home Care serves Omaha and surrounding communities, including Omaha, Papillon, Bellevue, La Vista, Ralston, Council Bluffs, Gretna, Elkhorn, Bennington, and Millard. Availability may depend on location, requested schedule, care needs, and Care Provider availability.