Hospice care at home in the San Gabriel Valley: Pasadena, West Covina, El Monte and Covina

San Gabriel Valley communities and ZIP codes we serve

The San Gabriel Valley runs west from the Pomona Valley to Pasadena and Alhambra, below the San Gabriel Mountains. The ZIP codes are the ones the Census Bureau maps to each city. Listed from nearest to farthest from our office.

We confirm the visit plan for each address before care starts. If your San Gabriel Valley neighborhood is not named, call and ask. Pomona, Claremont, San Dimas, Diamond Bar and Walnut have their own page.

How far is Pasadena from our office?

Our only office is on North D Street in the city of San Bernardino. By road it is about 35 miles to Glendora, 38 to Covina and Azusa, 42 to West Covina and to City of Hope in Duarte, and 45 to Arcadia and Baldwin Park. El Monte is about 48 miles, Pasadena about 51, and Alhambra and Monterey Park about 55, west on the 210 or the 10.

Without traffic that is roughly 45 to 50 minutes to Glendora, Covina and West Covina, about an hour to Arcadia and El Monte, and 65 to 70 minutes to Pasadena, Alhambra and Monterey Park. Rush-hour traffic on the 210 and the 10 can add a lot to that, and we plan visits with it in mind.

How to start hospice care in the San Gabriel Valley

Anyone can make the first call: the person who is ill, a family member, or a doctor, case manager or social worker at a hospital such as City of Hope or Huntington Hospital. A hospice nurse answers (877) 258-7129 at any hour, sets up an evaluation visit at the home and asks the doctor for the order. Read how to start hospice.

Before admission we go over the plan for your address: how often the nurse and the hospice aide come, how a night or weekend visit would reach you, and when the hospital bed, oxygen and comfort medicines would arrive. For the western cities, Pasadena, Alhambra and Monterey Park, we tell you plainly how visits would work before any promise is made.

For a new referral, our standard is a response within 30 minutes, 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 San Gabriel Valley

In the Census Bureau's American Community Survey for 2020 to 2024, about 166,100 people aged 65 or older lived in the 15 communities on this page. Pasadena has the most, about 23,800, followed by West Covina and El Monte. In Monterey Park, Altadena, Duarte and Arcadia more than 1 in 5 residents was 65 or older. The share for Los Angeles County was 15.2%.

Hospice comes the same way to a family house, an apartment, a multi-generation home, a retirement community or a small board-and-care home. In a retirement community, the choice of hospice still belongs to the person or their representative.

Older residents and languages at home, by city

From the Census Bureau's American Community Survey for 2020 to 2024. Language shares are for residents aged 5 and over.

Hospitals and nursing facilities in the valley

The state file lists Huntington Hospital in Pasadena with 493 licensed beds, the most of any hospital in these cities, then USC Arcadia Hospital (348), Emanate Health Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina (325) and Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Baldwin Park (271). Others include Garfield Medical Center and Monterey Park Hospital in Monterey Park, San Gabriel Valley Medical Center, Emanate Health Inter-Community Hospital in Covina, Alhambra Hospital Medical Center and Emanate Health Foothill Presbyterian Hospital in Glendora. Beta Hospice is not part of any of them.

City of Hope, the cancer center on Duarte Road, has 217 licensed beds in the state file. Its own website lists no hospice program of its own, and a City of Hope article says some patients are referred to hospice agencies in their home regions. Wherever the hospital is, you choose the hospice. Kaiser members can read Kaiser and hospice. Read in the hospital now.

The state file lists 67 skilled nursing facilities in these cities, 14 of them in Pasadena and 10 in El Monte. We care for people wherever they call home, including nursing facilities, RCFEs (residential care facilities for the elderly) and board-and-care homes, in coordination with facility staff. Read where care happens.

How do I choose a hospice in Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley?

Check any hospice before you sign. Many hospices are licensed in these cities, so it helps to know what to ask. Our own office is in San Bernardino, and our team comes to you.

Los Angeles County has been the center of recent hospice fraud cases. Whichever hospice you look at, ours included, the same checks apply: a current state license, Medicare certification, its results on Care Compare and plain answers about after-hours visits to your address. Read how to choose a hospice and how to verify a hospice.

Medi-Cal plans in the San Gabriel 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.

Listing these plans 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.

Medicare and Medicare Advantage

More than half of the people with Medicare in Los Angeles County (57% in 2025, by CMS's count) are in a Medicare Advantage or other Medicare health plan. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan and choose hospice, Original Medicare pays the hospice, not the plan. Beta Hospice accepts patients from every Medicare Advantage plan, Kaiser Permanente Senior Advantage included. Read Medicare Advantage and hospice.

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.

Community resources in the San Gabriel 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. The San Gabriel Valley is 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 near you.

Hospice in Spanish, Chinese and other languages

About 60% of Baldwin Park residents and 56% of El Monte residents aged 5 and over speak Spanish at home, in the same Census survey. Our team includes Spanish speakers, and you can ask for Spanish when you call. Read about hospice care in Spanish.

In Monterey Park, San Gabriel, Temple City, Arcadia and Alhambra, a third or more of residents speak Chinese at home. For Chinese and other languages, phone and video interpreters are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and in-person interpreters are arranged for visits when needed. You do not need to bring your own interpreter. Read language assistance.

San Gabriel Valley hospice questions