Going Home on Hospice from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit: A Family Guide
Updated September 2026. Written and reviewed by the Lily Hospice clinical team.
If hospice has been raised at Henry Ford Hospital, you can choose any Medicare-certified hospice, not only Henry Ford’s own program. Once you choose, a nurse evaluates, equipment and comfort medications go to the house, and many patients are home within a day or two.
Lily Hospice is an independent hospice and is not affiliated with Henry Ford Hospital or Henry Ford Health.
Henry Ford Hospital is at 2799 W Grand Blvd, Detroit, MI 48202. Its main number is (313) 916-2600. Henry Ford Health describes a 53-acre campus that draws patients from across the country for specialized care. It also has a Comprehensive Stroke Center. Many patients come here for transplant, heart or cancer care. So the conversation about hospice often follows months of treatment, and it can feel sudden even when it is not.
Who you will meet at Henry Ford Hospital
Henry Ford Health says its Palliative Medicine team serves all hospitalized patients with serious illness at any Henry Ford location. That team focuses on symptoms, family meetings and care transitions. They may be the ones who first talk with you about hospice. A case manager or social worker then plans the discharge and sends the referral.
You choose the hospice
Henry Ford Health runs its own hospice program, and the hospital team may mention it. That is a reasonable option to consider. It is still your choice. Medicare lets the patient pick any Medicare-certified hospice that serves their home. You can tell the case manager the name you want at any point before the referral goes out.
To compare, use our metro Detroit hospice directory and the questions in how to choose a hospice. Ask every hospice the same things. Who answers at 2 a.m.? How soon can a nurse come?
From the conversation to the front door
The path is shorter than most families expect.
- Choose and refer. Tell the case manager your hospice, or call the hospice yourself. Either works.
- Evaluation. A hospice nurse reviews the hospital records and meets the family, often in the room. The attending physician and hospice medical director confirm eligibility.
- Equipment. A hospital bed, oxygen if needed, a commode and supplies are ordered right away. The goal is for them to arrive before your loved one does, or the same day.
- Medications. Comfort medications are delivered to the home, with written instructions.
- First nurse visit. A hospice nurse comes to the house soon after arrival. The family gets one number that reaches a nurse at any hour.
Read how fast hospice can start and what happens on the first visit.
Questions to ask before discharge
- After a transplant or long treatment, which medications continue for comfort?
- Are there lines, ports, drains or dressings we need to learn to care for?
- Who is arranging transport home, and at what time?
- Is a do-not-resuscitate order signed for home, if that is the wish?
- Can the specialist who knows the patient stay involved? (Yes, often. See keeping your own doctor.)
- Who do we call tonight if symptoms change?
Getting home across Detroit and beyond
Henry Ford Hospital sits in the New Center area, beside the Lodge Freeway. Patients go home to North End, Boston-Edison, Virginia Park, Woodbridge and every other Detroit neighborhood. Others head to Hamtramck, Highland Park, Dearborn or the suburbs. Many are going home to a two-flat, a bungalow or a senior apartment.
Lily serves all of Detroit and Wayne County. See hospice in Detroit, Wayne County, Arabic-speaking families in Dearborn and Livonia. If the patient is a veteran, our veterans page explains how hospice works alongside VA benefits.
When a nursing facility or assisted living makes more sense
Sometimes nobody can be home full-time. A patient may go from Henry Ford Hospital to a nursing facility or an assisted living community. Hospice can start there the day they arrive. The facility provides the daily care. The hospice manages symptoms, medications, equipment and family support. The hospice benefit does not pay facility room and board. How hospice works in a facility.
How Lily works with families from Henry Ford Hospital
Lily is family-owned, Medicare-certified and ACHC-accredited, based in Troy. A real person answers our phone at any hour. We can usually evaluate within 24 hours, and often the same day. Admission is often the same day once the order and consents are in place. Discharges late on a Friday do not need to wait until Monday. How to start hospice this weekend.
Our early live discharge rate on Medicare Care Compare is 3.2%, against 7.3% nationally. That reflects careful admissions. See the quality scores page.
Common questions
Do we have to use Henry Ford’s hospice if we are at Henry Ford Hospital?
No. Henry Ford Health has its own hospice program, and you may choose it. You may also choose any other Medicare-certified hospice that serves your home.
Can the palliative care team still help after we go home?
Once hospice begins, the hospice team takes over comfort care at home. Henry Ford says it has some clinic and home-based palliative programs, so ask the team what applies to you.
Can someone go home on hospice after a transplant or major surgery?
Yes, if the doctors confirm the illness is life-limiting and the patient chooses comfort-focused care. The hospice reviews every medication with the transplant or surgical team.
How fast can hospice start in Detroit after discharge?
Often the same day or the next day. The evaluation, physician order and equipment delivery can all happen in parallel.
Does hospice come to senior apartment buildings in Detroit?
Yes. Hospice visits happen in the apartment like any home visit. Equipment is delivered to the unit.
Is Lily Hospice part of Henry Ford Health?
No. Lily is an independent, family-owned hospice. Families at any hospital can choose Lily or any other Medicare-certified hospice.
Hospice isn’t giving up. It’s showing up.
Call (248) 955-5100. A real person answers, 24 hours a day. Also see our general guide, going home on hospice from the hospital.