The American hospice movement started in the 1960s as a grassroots, volunteer intensive approach to serve children and adults dealing with grief or a life threatening or terminal illness. Around the country, volunteer hospices continue to offer these services free of charge, depending instead on the generosity of their local communities.

Due to the success both service wise and financially, the hospice movement shifted dramatically to Medicare-certified programs by the late 1980s. Although the Medicare benefit has had a powerful effect on providing credibility and financial security to the hospice movement, it limits services to potential clients based on their treatment choices. Volunteer hospices dedicate themselves to providing access to all who are grieving or dying in the community, regardless of whether a condition or situation meets federal Medicare requirements.

Unlike Medicare-certified programs, volunteer hospices can serve those who choose chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery with a curative focus. Although volunteer hospices do not provide skilled medical care, they offer an array of services that are comprehensive and which would be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve in a setting restricted by third party reimbursements or regulatory mechanisms. For example, in considering bereavement follow-up, a volunteer hospice has no statutes of limitation whereas most Medicare-certified hospices must limit or restrict bereavement services to survivors for up to 13 months after their loved one's death.

Many individuals in San Luis Obispo County do not die while on a Medicare hospice program, but die in hospitals, prisons, or suddenly from catastrophic medical conditions, motor vehicle accidents, suicide or violent crime. As a volunteer hospice, Hospice of San Luis Obispo County provides an invaluable lifeline to surviving friends and family members who are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives.

Hospice of San Luis Obispo County has a staff of skilled, licensed mental health professionals who manage core programs and supervise 200 professionally trained volunteers. Hospice's staff and volunteers offer in-home support, grief counseling, wellness programs, bi-lingual services, community crisis response, community education, and training to more than 6,000 individuals annually.

About Hospice of San Luis Obispo County

Summary of Standards as a Volunteer Hospice
Our Volunteer Hospice Status