Written and reviewed by the Lily Hospice clinical team. Updated September 2026.
Short answer: You can start hospice this weekend in metro Detroit. Call (248) 955-5100 now, whatever the hour; a person answers and a Lily nurse calls you back. A nurse can evaluate your parent at home, in assisted living or in a nursing facility on Saturday or Sunday, and if a physician can certify eligibility (their own doctor by phone, or our medical director), admission and equipment can happen the same day. The steps below are what to do in the next hour, and what to have ready.
In the next hour
- Call the hospice. Say where the person is, what is happening, who their doctor is, and what insurance they have (Medicare card, Medicaid, VA, or a plan name). You do not need anything else to make the call.
- If they are in the hospital, tell the nurse or case manager that you want hospice at home and which hospice you are calling; by law the choice is yours. Discharge on a weekend is possible, and the hospice coordinates it.
- If they are in assisted living or a nursing facility, tell the charge nurse you are calling a hospice so the building expects the visit.
- Do not stop any medication or call 911 for symptoms you can describe to the hospice nurse first; the nurse will tell you if an ER is needed.
What has to happen for a weekend admission
- A physician’s certification that the illness, in its normal course, gives a prognosis of six months or less. Your parent’s own doctor can give this by phone; if they cannot be reached, Lily’s medical director can evaluate and certify.
- A nurse evaluation at the bedside, usually within hours of the call on a weekend.
- Consent signed by the patient or the person with authority to sign for them (a patient advocate under a Michigan durable power of attorney for health care, or next of kin when there is no document). Have the paperwork nearby if it exists; if it does not, do not let that stop the call.
- Equipment (hospital bed, oxygen, commode, wheelchair) is ordered at admission and typically delivered the same day or next morning, including weekends.
What to have ready (none of it is required to start)
The Medicare or insurance card; the current medication list or the bottles; the doctor’s name and office number; any advance directive or power of attorney; a list of who in the family should be called. The nurse will take a history at the visit; you do not need to prepare a summary.
What the first weekend looks like
The admitting nurse assesses your parent, sets up comfort medications and the “comfort kit,” teaches you what to watch for and when to call, and arranges equipment. A hospice aide is scheduled. The social worker and chaplain follow in the first days. The 24-hour line is yours from that moment. Read what happens in the first hospice visit.
If the hospice you called can’t come until Monday
Call another. Many hospices in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties admit on weekends; some do not, whatever the website says. Ask the direct question: “Can a nurse be here today?” Our directory of all 104 metro Detroit hospices gives you the phone number and Medicare’s quality measures for each, and this page explains what same-day admission should mean.
Lily Hospice, Troy: (248) 955-5100, 24 hours a day, including Saturday and Sunday.
Hospice isn’t giving up. It’s showing up.