Hospice care in Ventura County

Which Ventura County communities do we serve?

Ventura County is the farthest part of our service area. Call so we can confirm your address and explain how visits and after-hours calls would work before we promise a start date.

How far is our office from Ventura County?

Our one office is in San Bernardino. Every route to Ventura County runs the full width of Los Angeles County: the 210 and 118 freeways to Simi Valley, or the 101 to Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Oxnard and Ventura. Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks are roughly 90 to 100 miles from the office, Camarillo and Oxnard about 110 to 120, and the city of Ventura, Santa Paula, Fillmore and Ojai about 115 to 130. Drive time depends on Los Angeles traffic and is often more than two hours each way.

Hospice depends on a nurse being able to reach you when symptoms change, including at night. Ask us, as you should ask any hospice, where the nurse who would visit you starts the day and how nights and weekends are covered. Our answer: referrals get a response within two hours, 24 hours a day, and we confirm staff assignment and after-hours visit reach for Ventura County when arranging care. If a closer hospice would serve you better, we will tell you.

Medi-Cal in Ventura County: Gold Coast Health Plan

Ventura County is a county organized health system for Medi-Cal. The county's plan is Gold Coast Health Plan, a public plan that serves only Ventura County, plus Kaiser Permanente for people who meet Kaiser's rules for joining. 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. Naming them here does not mean Beta Hospice has a contract with them. 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 works the same way in every county. 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.

Where do we provide care in Ventura County?

In family homes and apartments, and in the retirement communities of the Conejo Valley and Camarillo, where many residents live alone or with a spouse of similar age. When a person lives alone, the social worker helps the family plan who will be there between hospice visits, because hospice staff are not in the home all day and night.

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.

Short inpatient stays are part of the hospice benefit: general inpatient care when medically necessary during a symptom crisis, and respite care for up to 5 days at a time. When general inpatient or respite care is needed, the hospice team confirms a contracted facility with an available bed and arranges the clinical handoff and transport before any transfer.

Languages: Oxnard, Santa Paula and Fillmore are home to large Spanish-speaking communities. English, Spanish, Russian, Armenian and other languages are spoken across Beta; we confirm local staff availability and any interpreter arrangement when scheduling. See language assistance.

Local help lines in Ventura County

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

• 211 Ventura County. Dial 2-1-1 anywhere in the county for referrals to food, housing, transportation and caregiver help, all day, every day.
• The county's Area Agency on Aging. Ventura County government runs its own Area Agency on Aging for county residents. It connects older adults and caregivers with meals, caregiver support, fall prevention classes 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.

Next steps

Read about hospice care and palliative care, or ask a nurse a question through the contact page. For palliative care in Ventura County, call (877) 258-7129 with the patient's city and ZIP code to confirm current palliative program availability, the visit setting and coverage.

Physicians, hospital case managers and facility staff in Ventura County can refer a patient at any hour. Please note the patient's city on the form so we can confirm visit reach when we call back. To check us in public records first, see how to verify a hospice.

Ventura County hospice questions