Support for Families

Devoted Care Hospice recognizes that caregivers need support too. Education, emotional support, respite, and other resources are provided to help prevent burnout and overwhelm. Caring for yourself is part of caring for your loved one.

Devoted Care Hospice is available 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, 365-days a year. A nurse is always on call to provide guidance or visit if needed.

No. Morphine does not mean death is near.

Morphine is commonly used in hospice to help manage pain and ease shortness of breath. It works by helping the body relax and by reducing the sensation of discomfort or air hunger, allowing patients to rest more comfortably.

Morphine is used at low, carefully adjusted doses based on each patient’s symptoms. The goal is comfort, not sedation and not to shorten life. Many patients receive morphine early in hospice care and continue it safely as part of their comfort plan.

Morphine is often associated with the final days of life because hospice is frequently elected too late in the course of illness. When hospice begins near the end, morphine may be started around the same time, creating the impression that morphine causes death. In reality, the medication is responding to symptoms of advanced illness, not causing the decline.

Hospice nurses provide guidance on when and how morphine is given and remain available to answer questions and adjust care.