Hospice Care in Wayne County, MI

Written and reviewed by the Lily Hospice clinical team.

Wayne County is really several places: Detroit and its inner-ring cities, the western suburbs along I-96 and Michigan Avenue, the Grosse Pointes, Downriver. They have different hospitals and different aging agencies. Lily Hospice serves all of it from Troy, and this page is organized around what changes depending on where you live: which resources apply to you, and how far away we are. Our Canton page covers that city in detail.

Where you live in Wayne County changes a few practical things

Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Harper Woods and the Grosse Pointes

Your aging agency is the Detroit Area Agency on Aging (DAAA), which handles in-home services, caregiver support and Medicaid waiver referrals for these communities specifically.

Nearby hospitals include Henry Ford Hospital on West Grand Boulevard, the Detroit Medical Center campuses in Midtown (including Detroit Receiving and Harper University Hospital) and the Karmanos Cancer Institute, DMC Sinai-Grace on the northwest side, and Henry Ford St. John Hospital on Moross on the east side. The John D. Dingell VA Medical Center in Midtown is the VA hospital for the whole region, which matters for veteran families across all three of our counties.

From Troy, the north end of Detroit (Palmer Woods, Sherwood Forest, the University District) is about 20 to 25 minutes down Woodward or I-75. The east side, Indian Village, East English Village and the Grosse Pointes, is 30 to 35 minutes via I-94. Northwest neighborhoods like Rosedale Park and Bagley are around 30 minutes by the Lodge or the Southfield Freeway; Corktown and Southwest Detroit 30 to 40.

Western Wayne: Livonia, Canton, Plymouth, Northville, Westland, Redford, Garden City, Dearborn Heights, Wayne, Romulus, Belleville and Van Buren Township

Your aging agency is The Senior Alliance, the Area Agency on Aging for the communities of western and southern Wayne County, based in the city of Wayne.

Trinity Health Livonia, Garden City Hospital and Corewell Health Wayne Hospital serve much of this area; many Canton and Plymouth families also use Ann Arbor hospitals.

From Troy, Livonia and Redford are roughly 30 minutes via I-696 and I-96. Canton, Plymouth, Northville and Westland run 35 to 45 minutes via M-5, I-275 or M-14. Belleville and Romulus are 45 minutes or so, and we schedule for it.

Dearborn and Downriver: Dearborn, Melvindale, Allen Park, Lincoln Park, Taylor, Southgate, Wyandotte, Riverview, Trenton, Woodhaven, Brownstown, Flat Rock, Gibraltar, Grosse Ile, Rockwood

Also served by The Senior Alliance for aging services.

Corewell Health Dearborn Hospital (long known as Oakwood, then Beaumont Dearborn) anchors Dearborn. Downriver has Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital, Corewell Health Taylor Hospital and Corewell Health Trenton Hospital.

From Troy, Dearborn is 30 to 35 minutes via the Southfield Freeway; Wyandotte and Southgate about 40 via I-75; Trenton, Grosse Ile and Flat Rock 45 to 55. We tell Downriver families this plainly. Scheduled visits are planned around the drive, and when an after-hours visit is needed, an on-call nurse is sent.

What hospice at home looks like in Wayne County

The care itself is the same everywhere. A Lily nurse comes to where your father lives: a Dearborn brick colonial, a Grosse Pointe Park condo, a Livonia ranch, an assisted living apartment in Canton, a flat in a Detroit two-family. Nurse visits are scheduled; aide visits handle bathing and personal care; a social worker manages paperwork and family logistics; a chaplain is available; volunteers give you a break; bereavement support follows for your family. Medications, a hospital bed, oxygen and supplies are delivered to the house. Between visits, you call (248) 955-5100 and a real person answers, every hour of every day.

Eligibility and how to begin

Medicare hospice requires that a physician certify a life expectancy of six months or less if the illness runs its normal course, and that the patient elect comfort-focused care instead of curative treatment for the terminal illness. No requirement to have “tried everything,” none to be bedbound, no penalty for living longer. Certification is renewed at each benefit period: two 90-day periods, then unlimited 60-day periods.

Call us to begin. We contact your doctor, arrange the certification and usually admit within 24 hours. If your mother is being discharged from a Wayne County hospital, tell the case manager you want Lily Hospice; under Medicare you have the right to choose.

What Medicare pays

Medicare Part A pays Lily directly. Covered: the interdisciplinary team, medications for pain and symptom control related to the terminal illness, equipment, supplies, short-term inpatient care and respite. You may owe up to $5 per prescription and 5% of the Medicare-approved amount for inpatient respite. Medicaid and most private insurance mirror the benefit, and you may revoke hospice at any time. The four levels of care are routine home care, continuous home care during a short crisis, inpatient respite (up to five consecutive days per occurrence) and general inpatient care for uncontrolled symptoms. Reference:
medicare.gov; the National Alliance for Care at Home.

The Pathways Palliative Program for people still in treatment

Many Wayne County families are still in active treatment at Karmanos, Henry Ford or elsewhere and are not ready to stop. Pathways provides symptom control and care coordination while treatment continues. It is billed through Medicare Part B visits and does not require a six-month prognosis. Details at the Pathways Palliative Program.

Veterans in Wayne County

Wayne County Veterans Affairs, the county’s veteran service office in Detroit, helps with VA claims including Aid and Attendance; the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center is the regional VA hospital. Lily has a Veteran Advisory Committee and a Veteran Rapid Response program, and is working toward VA Community Care Network participation. We are family-owned, not veteran-owned. More at
our veterans page.

Why Wayne County families call Lily

Family-owned, Medicare-certified, ACHC-accredited, and run from Troy rather than a corporate office in another time zone. A real person answers the phone. Our Journey Program brings virtual reality experiences to patients who can no longer leave the house. See
why families choose Lily and our reviews.

Wayne County communities we serve

City page: Hospice care in Canton

Also served: Allen Park, Belleville, Brownstown Township, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Detroit (all neighborhoods), Ecorse, Flat Rock, Garden City, Gibraltar, Grosse Ile, Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe Shores, Grosse Pointe Woods, Hamtramck, Harper Woods, Highland Park, Huron Township, Inkster, Lincoln Park, Livonia, Melvindale, Northville, Plymouth, Redford, River Rouge, Riverview, Rockwood, Romulus, Southgate, Sumpter Township, Taylor, Trenton, Van Buren Township, Wayne, Westland, Woodhaven and Wyandotte.

Neighboring counties: Oakland County and Macomb County.

How to reach us from Wayne County

Our office is at 2125 Butterfield Dr, Suite 299, Troy, MI 48084, near I-75 and Big Beaver Road. From Detroit, I-75 north; from Dearborn or Livonia, the Southfield Freeway or I-96 to I-696 east, then I-75 north. You do not need to come to us. Call and we come to you.

Frequently asked questions

Is Lily too far away to serve Downriver well? We are honest about drive times and plan visits and after-hours coverage around them. If distance ever becomes a problem for your family, we will tell you.

Which Area Agency on Aging do I call? Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Harper Woods and the Grosse Pointes: the Detroit Area Agency on Aging. Everywhere else in Wayne County: The Senior Alliance.

My father gets his care at the Detroit VA. Can he still use Lily? Call us and we will walk through the options with you and the VA.

Does hospice cover the cost of a nursing home? No. The hospice benefit pays for hospice services in the nursing home, not room and board. Medicaid may cover room and board for those who qualify.

Talk to us

Call (248) 955-5100 and a real person will answer, day or night. Reach us online at our contact page. Lily Hospice serves all of Wayne County from Troy.