Hospice care at home in Lancaster, Palmdale and the Antelope Valley

Antelope Valley communities and ZIP codes we serve

The Antelope Valley is the high desert of northern Los Angeles County, on the far side of the San Gabriel Mountains from the city. Medicare's hospice ZIP code data lists these nine ZIP codes for Beta Hospice; the communities are the ones the Census Bureau maps to each.

Lake Los Angeles uses both 93535 and 93591. If your Lancaster or Palmdale neighborhood is not named, it is still served.

How far is the Antelope Valley from our office?

By road, central Lancaster is about 72 miles from our office on North D Street in San Bernardino, and central Palmdale about 64. The route runs north on the 215 and the 15 over the Cajon Pass, then west on Highway 138 and Pearblossom Highway. That makes Lake Los Angeles (about 52 miles) and Littlerock (54) the closest communities to us.

Without traffic the drive takes roughly 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes. Traffic on the 15, and snow or high wind on the pass, can make it longer.

How to start hospice care in Lancaster or Palmdale

Anyone can call: the person who is ill, a family member, or a doctor or case manager at Antelope Valley Medical Center or Palmdale Regional. A hospice nurse answers (877) 258-7129 at any hour, asks a few questions and arranges an evaluation visit, and we ask the doctor for the order. Read how to start hospice.

Before admission we go over the plan for your street. It covers how often the nurse and the hospice aide are scheduled to come, how a night or weekend visit would reach you and about how long it could take, and when the hospital bed, oxygen and comfort medicines would arrive. If we cannot reach an address reliably, for example out toward Lake Hughes or Llano, we say so before you count on us.

For a new referral, our standard is a response within two hours, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The plan of care also covers the wait for a visit: which medicines are already in the house, who to call, and when 911 is the right call. Read about the comfort kit.

Older residents in the Antelope Valley

In the Census Bureau's American Community Survey for 2020 to 2024, 20,413 Lancaster residents were 65 or older, 12.1% of the city, and 18,344 Palmdale residents, 11.1%. Across the nine ZIP codes in the table, about 49,400 people were 65 or older. Acton is older than the valley floor: 22.8% of its residents were 65 or older.

Hospice comes the same way to a family house, a mobile home, a ranch property or a small six-bed board-and-care home. Wherever the person lives, they or their representative choose the hospice.

Older residents and Spanish at home, by community

From the Census Bureau's American Community Survey for 2020 to 2024. Quartz Hill, Acton, Lake Los Angeles, Sun Village and Littlerock are unincorporated communities that the Census Bureau counts on their own.

Hospitals and nursing facilities in the Antelope Valley

The state license file lists two general acute care hospitals in the Antelope Valley: Antelope Valley Medical Center on West Avenue J in Lancaster, run by the Antelope Valley Healthcare District, and Palmdale Regional Medical Center on Medical Center Drive in Palmdale. Neither hospital's name nor its license holder appears on a hospice license in the state file. Beta Hospice is not part of either hospital.

If a doctor at either hospital brings up hospice, you choose the hospice. Give us the case manager's name. We work with the discharge planners so the first nurse visit, the hospital bed and the medicines line up with the day the person comes home. Read in the hospital now.

All 4 skilled nursing facilities the state file lists in these ZIP codes are in Lancaster. We also care for people in RCFEs (residential care facilities for the elderly) and board-and-care homes, working with the facility staff. Read where care happens.

Crisis care and inpatient stays

Continuous home care is available in all five counties we serve, the Antelope Valley included. When it is medically necessary during a short symptom crisis, nursing care stays in the home for extended hours so the person does not have to leave.

When symptoms cannot be managed at home, general inpatient care takes place in a hospital or skilled nursing facility under contract with Beta Hospice. Beta does not run a hospice house or an inpatient unit of its own. The team confirms a contracted facility with an available bed, tells you where it is and arranges the handoff and transport before any transfer. Read the levels of care.

Medi-Cal plans in the Antelope Valley

Most people with Medi-Cal in Los Angeles County belong to a managed care plan. The county's Medi-Cal plans are L.A. Care Health Plan and Health Net, plus Kaiser Permanente for people who meet Kaiser's rules for joining.

Both L.A. Care and Health Net also work through partner plans and medical groups, so the name on your card may be different. Medi-Cal covers hospice, and when you are in a managed care plan, hospice is arranged through that plan.

These are the county's plans. Listing them here does not mean Beta Hospice has a contract with each one. Whether we are contracted with your plan is checked for each patient. Call us at (877) 258-7129 with your plan card and we will tell you where things stand before care starts.

If you have Medicare, the rules are the same in every city. Medicare covers hospice care related to the terminal illness. Under Medicare, most people pay nothing for hospice care itself.

There can be a copay of up to $5 per prescription for symptom medicines and 5% of the Medicare amount for inpatient respite care. Medicare does not pay room and board where you live. Read paying for care and does Medicare cover hospice.

Community resources in the Antelope Valley

These are public services, not part of Beta Hospice. They can help with needs hospice does not cover.

• 211 LA. Dial 2-1-1 anywhere in Los Angeles County for referrals to food, housing, transportation and caregiver help, all day, every day, in many languages.
• The county's Area Agency on Aging. Lancaster, Palmdale and the rest of the valley are served by the Los Angeles County agency, not the City of Los Angeles one. It connects older adults and caregivers with meals, caregiver support and Medicare counseling (HICAP). California's statewide aging information line, 1-800-510-2020, routes you to it.
• In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS). A county-run Medi-Cal program that can pay for a caregiver's hours at home. IHSS is separate from hospice and the two can be used together.
• Grief support. Beta offers grief support to the family for 13 months after a death, by phone, letter, visit and in groups. For community groups, dial 2-1-1 and ask what meets in Lancaster or Palmdale, including groups in Spanish.

Hospice in Spanish in Palmdale and Lancaster

About 49% of Palmdale residents aged 5 and over speak Spanish at home, and about 30% in Lancaster, in the same Census survey; across the nine ZIP codes it is about 39%. Our team includes Spanish speakers, and you can ask for Spanish when you call. This page is also in Spanish through the language link at the top, and you can read about hospice care in Spanish.

Antelope Valley hospice questions