Is It Time for Hospice? A Nine-Question Self-Check
From the Lily Hospice clinical team. Updated September 2026. Nothing you check here is stored or sent anywhere; this runs entirely in your browser.
Families almost always wonder before anyone says the word. This self-check turns that wondering into a clearer picture. Check each statement that describes your loved one right now. There are no scores to pass or fail; the result is a plain-language read on whether it is worth a conversation with a hospice nurse or your loved one’s physician.
Nothing checked
That is good news. Keep this page for later; the signs on it are the ones physicians and hospice nurses watch for. If your loved one has a serious illness, a palliative program such as Lily’s Pathways can help with symptoms and planning long before hospice is a question.
of 9: worth watching
One or two of these signs can have many causes. It is not too early to ask your loved one’s physician what they expect over the next year, and to learn what hospice and palliative care are before you need them. Reading our gentle guide now means the decision later is made with clarity instead of fear.
of 9: time to ask
Several signs together usually mean the illness is advancing. This is the right moment for a conversation, not a decision: ask the physician whether they would be surprised if your loved one died within the next year, and call a hospice for a free evaluation visit. Most families tell us later that they wish they had called sooner.
of 9: please call someone this week
Many of these signs at once means your loved one is likely eligible for hospice now, and that comfort, support and time at home are available to your family today. A hospice evaluation is free, carries no obligation, and can usually happen within 24 hours. You do not have to decide anything on the phone.
Talk it through with a nurse, day or night: (248) 955-5100. Lily Hospice serves Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties from Troy. If hospice is not the right fit yet, our Pathways palliative program may be.
What the signs mean
Medicare hospice eligibility rests on a physician’s judgment that life expectancy is likely six months or less if the illness runs its usual course. Physicians look for the same patterns this self-check asks about: repeated hospitalizations, weight loss and reduced intake, declining function and more time in bed, falls and confusion, symptoms that are hard to control, recurrent infections, and treatment that has stopped helping. No single sign decides it. Several together, especially with a serious diagnosis such as heart failure, COPD, dementia, cancer, kidney disease, Parkinson’s or ALS, usually do. Condition-specific signs are on our pages for dementia, heart failure, COPD, cancer and Parkinson’s, ALS and neurological disease.
What happens if you call
A real person answers. A nurse can talk with you the same day and visit, usually within 24 hours, to evaluate and explain. If your loved one is eligible and the family wants to proceed, admission is often the same day, with equipment and medications arranged before the nurse leaves. If not, you leave with a plan and a number to call when things change. Read what happens in the first hospice visit.
This self-check is general education, not a medical assessment or a determination of eligibility, which is made by a physician. Lily Hospice, 2125 Butterfield Dr, Suite 299, Troy, MI 48084. Medicare-certified since 2021. ACHC-accredited.
Hospice isn’t giving up. It’s showing up.