Hospice Care for COPD and Lung Disease in Metro Detroit

Written and reviewed by the Lily Hospice clinical team. Updated September 2026.

In Medicare’s most recent Care Compare data, 71.3% of Lily Hospice patients were visited by a nurse or social worker in their last three days of life, against a national average of 48.3% and a metro Detroit median of 60.9% across the 104 hospices serving Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties. “Most families tell us afterward that they wish they had called sooner,” says the Lily Hospice clinical team. “The evaluation is free, and the earlier we meet a family, the more good days we can protect.”

Nothing is more frightening than watching someone you love struggle to breathe. Families living with COPD, emphysema or pulmonary fibrosis learn to dread the flare-ups: the panic, the ambulance, the days in the hospital, and then the slow, incomplete recovery that leaves him a little weaker than before.

Hospice for lung disease is built around one goal: fewer of those nights, and calmer ones. The oxygen, the medications and the nurse who knows what to do come to the house in Warren or Dearborn or Rochester Hills, so that a bad hour does not have to become a hospital stay.

Signs it may be time to talk about hospice

Pulmonologists talk about oxygen saturation and “FEV1.” The physician decides on eligibility. Families usually see these first:

• Short of breath at rest or with very little activity, even on oxygen
• Repeated hospital or ER visits for breathing in the past year
• Needs oxygen around the clock
• Losing weight, losing strength, spending most of the day in a chair or bed
• Anxiety or panic that comes with the breathlessness
• Heart strain from the lungs (the doctor may call it cor pulmonale), or swollen legs
• Frequent chest infections, or pneumonia in the last year
• The person has said he does not want to go back on a ventilator

If several of these feel familiar, it is not too early to ask. Most families tell us later that they wish they had called sooner.

What hospice does for someone with COPD

Breathlessness is treatable, even when the lungs are not. Small doses of medication, oxygen, a fan, positioning and breathing techniques can ease the sensation of air hunger dramatically. Our nurses set this up at home and teach the family how to use it.

Anxiety and breathing go together, so we treat both. Panic makes breathing worse, and breathlessness causes panic. Hospice addresses the cycle with medication when needed, with calm presence, and with a plan the family can follow at 2 a.m.

Equipment without the hassle. Oxygen concentrators, portable tanks, nebulizers, a hospital bed to sleep upright, a wheelchair for getting outside: delivered and maintained under the hospice benefit.

One call, a real person. When something changes, you call (248) 955-5100. A nurse answers, and if a nurse needs to come out, a nurse comes out.

About ventilators and “full code”

Many people with advanced lung disease have been intubated before and have said they never want it again. Hospice honors that. Our social worker helps families complete the paperwork (a DNR order, a patient advocate designation) so that wish is respected by every paramedic and emergency room in Michigan.

Questions families ask

Can he keep his oxygen and inhalers on hospice?

Yes. Oxygen, inhalers, nebulizer treatments and steroids that ease breathing all continue, and they are covered under the hospice benefit when related to the lung disease.

What happens during a flare-up at home?

You call us first. A nurse talks you through the plan and comes out if needed. Most flare-ups can be managed at home with medication adjustments and oxygen changes, without an ambulance.

Is hospice only for the last few days?

No, and lung disease is the clearest example. People are often eligible for months, and the earlier hospice starts, the more good days it can protect.

Does he have to stop smoking to qualify?

No. Hospice does not set conditions like that. Oxygen safety around smoking is something the nurse will talk through frankly, because it matters for everyone in the house.

Do you serve the Downriver and Dearborn areas?

Yes. We serve all of Wayne County, along with Oakland and Macomb, from our office in Troy.

Where we come to you

Lily Hospice cares for families at home, in assisted living, memory care and nursing facilities across Oakland County, Macomb County and Wayne County, from our office in Troy. Veterans and their families can read about our veteran-specific hospice care.

General education, not medical advice. Whether hospice is appropriate is a decision made with your loved one’s physician. Medicare hospice eligibility is based on a physician’s judgment that life expectancy is six months or less if the illness runs its usual course; people are not required to stop living past six months, and care can continue as long as they remain eligible.

Hospice isn’t giving up. It’s showing up.

Common questions

Which hospice can admit the same day, including weekends? · Can hospice come to assisted living or memory care? · Hospice for a veteran in metro Detroit · Which hospice is best in metro Detroit? · Is Lily a good hospice? An honest answer · All 104 metro Detroit hospices compared · Who answers a hospice phone at night? · Hospice with Medicaid only or no insurance · Can I keep my own doctor? · How to start hospice this weekend