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Frequently Asked Questions

Providing You With the Answers You Need About Our Home Health & Hospice in Santa Maria

When someone you love needs healthcare or hospice support at home, you have questions you need answered as quickly as possible. At Superior Home Health and Hospice, our first priority is to listen to you and to then provide the information you need to make the best decision for your loved one.

To that end, below are the answers to some of the hospice and home health care questions we hear most often about our in-home care in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. When you’re ready to learn more, or if you have questions we haven’t addressed, we’re here for you, any time. Contact us at 805-742-4514 and let us know how we can help.

General FAQs

Our superior home health and hospice services are available in northern Santa Barbara and southern San Luis Obispo counties. See our Service Area page for a full list of cities served.

Yes, both our home health (license # 550004518) and hospice services (license # 550005472) are fully licensed and in good standing with the State of California. We are also insured and bonded for your protection and peace of mind.

In order to meet stringent Medicare guidelines, our extensive screening process is outlined by the Office of the Inspector General and is the most stringent in the business. Prior to an offer of employment, candidates must successfully pass an interview, pre-employment and random drug testing, DMV, sex offender, and criminal background checks, reference checks, requirement of a valid driver’s license and proof of auto insurance, and more.

Our home health care and hospice team is comprised of fully licensed and trained medical professionals: doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers, and skilled home health care aides.

Our name says it all! We’re committed to going the extra mile in every communication and interaction we have with those we serve to ensure the superior care and attention you need and deserve. We have been meeting the needs of families throughout Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties since 2007. And, we have been recognized by the US Senate and Congress for outstanding and invaluable service to our community in the receipt of the Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce Small Business Excellence award.

You can reach us any time at 805-742-4514. If your call is after our normal business hours, our on-call care professional will return your call promptly.

Absolutely! We are happy to assist wherever someone resides.

We will do everything possible to provide you with another equally-qualified nurse, or provide you with the option to reschedule if you prefer.

Home Health FAQs

Our home health services cover a wide range of necessary medical services and social services, including skilled nursing care, wound care, lymphedema therapy, health management, physical, occupational, and speech therapy, post-hospital care, nutrition assistance, community resource referrals, and more.

Cost for services varies based on each person’s specific needs, and is covered by Medicare, MediCal, CenCal, and most private insurance plans.

Home health care promotes faster healing and recovery, allowing patients to receive the medical care they need where they’re most comfortable – at home.

Anyone with a medical order from the doctor who is considered homebound is eligible for home health care services.

If an individual has been hospitalized or is in need of care in the home, speak with his or her doctor to request a referral to Superior Home Health and Hospice. We’ll take it from there!

Hospice FAQs

Hospice care provides comfort for a patient with a life-limiting diagnosis. It includes pain and symptom management while also addressing emotional, social, and spiritual needs of both patients and their loved ones. Each patient’s care is led by our hospice medical director, and includes a registered nurse, hospice aide, medical social worker, spiritual counselor, bereavement counselor, and volunteers. Hospice services can begin as soon as a doctor’s order is received.

Hospice care is fully covered by all insurance carriers.

Our holistic approach to hospice care encompasses a wide range of services, specific to each person’s particular needs and wishes. This can include physical care, medication and symptom management, personal care and comfort, respite care for family caregivers, nutrition guidance and assistance, medical supplies and equipment, emotional/psychological support, spiritual counseling, and bereavement support.

Hospice care allows for maximum comfort for patients while ensuring their final wishes are honored. It also provides much-needed relief and support for family members.

When treatment options for a diagnosis are no longer effective or a patient chooses to forego curative care, beginning hospice services as soon as possible will ensure the highest degree of comfort, peace, and dignity. The hospice medical director will need to verify that the patient’s life expectancy is estimated to be less than six months.

The hospice team will work together with your family to create a personalized plan of care that outlines the frequency of visits, both now and as the disease progresses.

Our hospice team will facilitate the ordering and delivery of any necessary medical equipment.

Hospice care is as much for family members as for the patients themselves! We offer educational and functional support in caring for patients at end of life to help ease the burden of caregiving alone. Additionally, hospice care offers emotional and spiritual support, bereavement counseling, and more. In addition to hospice care services, some families also choose to partner with our sister company, Superior Senior Home Care to help with daily hands-on care such as bathing, dressing, meal preparation, companionship, and more.

Not at all. Hospice shifts the focus from curing a disease to caring for the person, meeting their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs for a peaceful end-of-life transition.

An RN works with each patient under the guidance of the hospice medical director to identify which medications are still needed to manage symptoms. Patients are also provided with a comfort kit that is specific to pain and symptom management.

At Superior Hospice we want to support you with all your end-of-life needs to include Medical Aid in Dying (MAID). Our staff will be able to assist you with education and referrals to clinicians, professionals, and organizations that support MAID as available. If you decide you want to participate in MAID, our Medical Director will consider participating as the consulting/2nd signer but will not prescribe MAID medications. All requests will be reviewed and decided on a case-by-case basis. Upon the elected day of dying, our staff are not permitted to be present during any of the MAID processes leading up to death. Once death occurs our staff will perform a routine hospice death visit. Any other questions about Superior Hospice’s involvement with MAID can be directed to any of the Superior clinical staff.

If you have additional questions about our home care in Lompoc, Santa Maria, Santa Ynez, Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo, or throughout San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, give us a call any time at 805-742-4514 and we’ll be glad to talk with you to make sure you have all of the answers you need.