Going home on hospice from City of Hope

About City of Hope

Beta Hospice is not part of City of Hope. Hospital details come from the hospital's own website and the state license file; call the hospital to confirm.

What to know at City of Hope

• City of Hope's website does not list a hospice program of its own. Its supportive care team gives palliative care alongside cancer treatment, and a City of Hope article says some patients are referred to hospice agencies in their home regions. Hospice at home comes from a separate licensed hospice, and you choose which one.
• The hospital's site does not list a case management number. Ask the patient's nurse to reach the case manager or a clinical social worker, or call the main line, (877) 460-4673. City of Hope says its clinical social workers help at turning points such as a worsening prognosis or end-of-life care.
• Palliative care is not hospice. It can go on during treatment. Hospice is for when the goal changes to comfort, and a doctor certifies a life expectancy of six months or less if the illness runs its usual course.
• City of Hope's patient rights page says you have the right to be involved in your discharge plan. Tell the case manager which hospice you choose.
• City of Hope says interpreting support is available to every patient at any hour, by phone and video, in over 200 languages. Ask for an interpreter when hospice is discussed.
• A hospice whose name sounds like a hospital's is not necessarily part of that hospital. Before you choose any hospice, check its state license and Medicare certification. Read how to verify a hospice.
• The hospital's own site calls it City of Hope's Duarte cancer center. The state license file lists the hospital as City of Hope Helford Clinical Research Hospital. Both names mean the same hospital on Duarte Road.
• Duarte is about 42 miles from our office, west on the 210. That is roughly 55 minutes without traffic. Hospice comes to where the person lives, which may be far from Duarte. Call us with the home address before discharge so we can confirm the visit plan. If home is outside our five counties, ask the case manager for a hospice near home.

What to tell the case manager

Say the name Beta Hospice Care, Inc., the phone (877) 258-7129 and the referral fax (855) 563-3575, or call us and we contact the hospital team. The full list, with our Medicare number, is on the in the hospital now page.

Can you choose the hospice?

Yes. Hospitals must respect the patient's freedom to choose among providers for care after discharge, and the hospice is your choice whatever list you are given. If the person has a Medicare Advantage plan, hospice is still paid by Original Medicare, so the plan does not limit the choice.

A person leaving the hospital is usually admitted on the day of discharge, unless you ask for a different day. The next 24 hours are described on the in the hospital now page.

Going home nearby

Hospice care happens where the person lives. For hospice at home in and around Duarte, see hospice in Duarte. Our service area covers San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties.

Common questions about going home from City of Hope