Hospice Care Can Begin Months, Not Just Days, Before the End

Hospice Care Can Begin
Months, Not Just Days,
Before the End

VNA Health Encourages Santa Barbara Residents
to Explore Their Options

By Tyler Hayden | August 24, 2023

Find the rest of our 2023 Active Aging Guide here.

It’s a common misconception that hospice care is meant only for those with days left in their lives. President Jimmy Carter — who announced in February he was entering hospice, where he remains months later, eating ice cream and keeping up with the Carter Center — is shifting the conversation around end-of-life options at a national level. 

Here in Santa Barbara with stories like Ray West’s, VNA Health is driving home the point that Medicare and other insurance providers may begin covering hospice services as many as six months out from a terminal diagnosis, and that it does no good to wait. 

“This is one of our prime missions in the community — to help people understand what end-of-life care can be,” said VNA President and CEO Kieran Shah, whose own experience with a dying family member steered him toward his career.