Offering the Highest Quality of Care

Volunteer Information & FAQs

With over 40 years of experience in hospice care, the staff at Alinea Family Hospice Care offers innovative, caring hospice and palliative care to patients across North and East Texas communities. Our company was founded to provide patient-centered services. We are a faith-based, family-owned company with offices in Longview, Terrell, and Athens, TX and are here to guide patients and families through every stage of care.

We take a comprehensive approach to our services. We owe our success to the high-quality of care our staff and volunteers provide on a daily basis. We all work together to help our patients and their families understand the full scope of our care by providing educational resources and supportive counsel. It is our mission to enrich the lives of those we serve by supporting their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.

NEW! Online Volunteer Application

Give Your Time & Enrich Lives in Your Community

Our volunteers are an essential part of our organization and play an important role in ensuring we provide the hallmark of care. By giving your time or donating to our organization, you will make a vital contribution to our work here at Alinea Family Hospice Care and the industry as a whole.

What Do Volunteers Do?

Our volunteers provide companionship and emotional support to both patients and families. There are a number of ways you can help, from running errands to simply sitting and talking with the patients. We value our volunteers and provide them with all the help they need to bring companionship into the lives of those with few days remaining and their families.

Training

Alinea Family Hospice Care volunteers are thoroughly trained in the goals and philosophy of hospice care, as well as the care and comfort of the hospice patient. Training for patient care volunteers address topics such as:

Providing comfort and support to patients and families
Understanding the emotional and spiritual needs of patients at the end of life
Concepts of death and dying
Emergency procedures

In addition to providing comfort and company to patients and families, our volunteers can help behind the scenes by assisting in clerical tasks, organizing and working special events, and working with other community organizations.

Interested in volunteering? Fill out our NEW online application. Want to refer a patient? Please give us a call at one of the numbers below.

Longview Office

903-232-1877

Terrell Office

Home Office

972-563-1560

Athens Office

972-563-1560

Frequently Asked Questions & Resources

What areas does Alinea Family Hospice Care serve?

Our company serves the following counties in Texas: Collin, Dallas, Ellis, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Hunt, Kaufman, Morris, Raines, Rockwall, Rusk, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood.

When is it time to consider hospice? Who should make this decision?

When an individual is experiencing a life-limiting illness, it is essential to discuss all of the care options, including hospice. By law, this decision belongs to the patient. We accept patients who have a life expectancy of six months or less and who are referred by their personal physician.

Times to Consider Hospice

When an individual is experiencing a life-limiting illness and has chosen to no longer seek aggressive treatment for the illness.
When an individual displays a rapid decline or excessive and/or consistent weight loss compounded by a comorbidities and is not responding successfully to treatment.
When an individual is experiencing excessive physician visits and hospitalization secondary to a late-stage disease.
When an individual is incapable of appropriately communicating any potential discomfort/pain secondary to their physical or mental condition, hospice care is an option to consider.
When an individual is no longer capable of safely consuming any nutrition by mouth, and other alternatives of feeding have been declined.

Should we wait for our doctor to raise the topic of hospice or should we raise it first?

You should feel free to discuss this topic at any time with your doctor, other healthcare professionals, clergy, or friends.

What is the referral process?

Our referral process is as follows:

Express concern of clinical issues with patient and/or family and explain the desire to refer the patient to hospice service.
Call Alinea Family Hospice Care. Our team will provide you with appropriate education throughout the entire referral process.
Alinea Family Hospice Care admission coordinator will contact family and set up an appointment.
A qualified registered nurse will assess the patient for clinical need for hospice care. On the decision to being hospice services, the order will be obtained from the physician of patient’s or family’s choice.
One simple phone call from your and Alinea Family Hospice Care will do the rest. AFHC believes in a team approach and will communicate the interdisciplinary plan of care with all appropriate care professionals, caregivers, and the patient.

Is all hospice care the same?

Not at all. Many communities have more than one hospice. All certified hospices are required to provide a basic level of care, but the quality of care can vary from one company today another. Finding the right hospice to fit your needs is a big decision. Speaking with your physician, friends, social workers, clergy, or others who have received care for a loved one is important. If you have questions about our services, we encourage you to contact us today.

What if a patient shows sign of recovery while they are in hospice care?

If an individual’s condition improves and they seem to be moving into remission, they can be discharged from hospice and return to more aggressive treatments or to their daily life. Should a patient need to return to our care, Medicare and most private insurance will allow additional coverage for this purpose.

What is the hospice admission process?

One of the first things we do is contact the patient’s physician to make sure they agree that hospice care is appropriate for the patient at this time. The patient will be asked to sign insurance and consent forms. These forms are similar to those you sign when you enter a hospital. For Medicare patients, this form also lists out how hospice benefits affect other Medicare coverage.

What changes or equipment do I need to bring into my home before hospice begins?

We will assess your needs and provide you with the necessary equipment. AFHC has its own inventory of durable medical supplies, and our team will efficiently place or extract all equipment from your home. We are here to make your home care experience as convenient, safe, and comfortable as possible.

Common Myths About Hospice

Hospice is a place

Our services are provided wherever the need exists. Seventy percent of hospice care takes place where the patient lives. It is our priority to provide dignified, comfortable services to you or a loved one in a place where you feel safe, secure, and at peace.

Cancer patients are the only ones to receive hospice care.

Over half of hospice patients across the country have diagnoses other than cancer. In more urban areas, hospice centers serve a large number of patients with HIV/AIDs. Hospices are also increasingly serving families coping with the end stages of chronic diseases like Alzheimer’s and emphysema, as well as cardiovascular and neuromuscular diseases.

Only old people receive hospice services.

While the majority of hospice patients are older, patients of all ages can receive hospice care. Many hospices have staff on hand who specialize in pediatric hospice care. Patients under 65 account for about 20 percent of hospice patients.

Hospice is only for dying people.

Our services are dually focused on helping the patient remain comfortable, while providing their family and loved ones with the care and resources they need to healthily grieve and cope. We offer bereavement and grief services to our community at large and have remained family-centered since our inception.

Hospice can only help when family members are available to provide care.

We recognize that not all families have the capacity to provide care and that some terminally ill people may live alone. When this occurs, we coordinate with the community to make home care possible for the patient, help find an alternative place of care for the individual.

Hospice is only an option for people who don’t need a high level of care.

While our priority is providing patients with comfort and easing the end-of-life transition, hospice care is still serious medicine. We employ experienced medical directors and nurses who help manage symptoms and enjoy what they have left of life. We offer state-of-the-art care, using advanced technology to alleviate symptoms, pain, and discomfort.

You must accept death if you are to receive hospice care.

Coming to terms with death can be a struggle, and it is our job to help patients find their way at their own speed. We work with patients and families alike to ensure hospice care is the right option. If you have any questions whatsoever, we are here to address your concerns and discuss all the options available.

Hospice care is costly.

For individuals over 65, most are entitled to the Medicare Hospice Benefit. This covers almost all the hospice services and requires little, if any, out-of-pocket costs. For families, this means there are typically no financial burdens, in sharp contrast to the large expenses that can occur when hospice is not used.

You cannot use hospice with managed care.

Managed care organizations are not required to include hospice, but Medicare users can use their hospice benefit anywhere, anytime they choose. A patient is not locked into the end-of-life services offered or not offered by their managed care organization. For patients under 65, they are confined to MCO services, but most will provide at least some coverage for hospice services.

Hospice means there is no hope.

Our work and services are focused on celebrating life and helping patients live as full as ever until the very end. We do everything in our power to help families cope with their loss, while nurturing the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of all involved. It is our commitment to provide services you can look back on with gratitude, knowing your loved one was treated with care, respect, and everything they needed to have a peaceful passing.

We are here to answer your questions and address your concerns. For more information about our quality of care and available services, please give us a call today.