Our Mission
Hospice of San Luis Obispo County, committed to the dignity of the human experience, provides volunteer support, education, and counseling to those living with life threatening or terminal illness, their families, and the bereaved.

1345 Oak St.
Paso Robles
805-434-1164

About Us

Everyone faces mortality at some point in their lives, whether it’s their own death or that of a loved one. For the past 27 years, Hospice of San Luis Obispo County has provided in-home assistance and companionship, grief counseling, group support, crisis intervention, and wellness education—all at no cost.

Our Mission

Hospice of San Luis Obispo County, committed to the dignity of the human experience, provides volunteer support, education, and counseling to those living with life-threatening or terminal illness, their families and the bereaved.

Our Focus

Hospice of San Luis Obispo County is an incorporated non-profit 501 (c) (3) agency with offices located in San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles. Governed by a twelve member Board of Directors, Hospice has been providing uninterrupted services since 1977 and continues to rely 100% on community donations, fund raising events, grants and bequests.

Using this community financial support and volunteer support programs, Hospice of San Luis Obispo County supports individuals and families who are facing life-threatening illness. Eligible individuals include and are not limited to patients of home health agencies, residents of skilled nursing facilities and retirement communities, in-home clients, and to bereaved families. Empathic volunteer support programs include in-home respite care; a bereavement program; a supportive music program; community education, training and resource center; a children’s program; and servicios en espanol.

History and Philosophy of Volunteer Hospices in the United States

The American hospice movement started in the 1960s as a grassroots, volunteer intensive approach to serve children and adults dealing with grief or a life threatening or terminal illness. Around the country, volunteer hospices continue to offer these services free of charge, depending instead on the generosity of their local communities.

Due to the success both service wise and financially, the hospice movement shifted dramatically to Medicare-certified programs by the late 1980s. Although the Medicare benefit has had a powerful effect on providing credibility and financial security to the hospice movement, it limits services to potential clients based on their treatment choices. Volunteer hospices dedicate themselves to providing access to all who are grieving or dying in the community, regardless of whether a condition or situation meets federal Medicare requirements.

Unlike Medicare-certified programs, volunteer hospices can serve those who choose chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery with a curative focus. Although volunteer hospices do not provide skilled medical care, they offer an array of services that are comprehensive and which would be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve in a setting restricted by third party reimbursements or regulatory mechanisms. For example, in considering bereavement follow-up, a volunteer hospice has no statutes of limitation whereas most Medicare-certified hospices must limit or restrict bereavement services to survivors for up to 13 months after their loved one's death.

Invaluable Lifeline to Grieving and Dying Residents of San Luis Obispo County

Many individuals in San Luis Obispo County do not die while on a Medicare hospice program, but die in hospitals, prisons, or suddenly from catastrophic medical conditions, motor vehicle accidents, suicide or violent crime. As a volunteer hospice, Hospice of San Luis Obispo County provides an invaluable lifeline to surviving friends and family members who are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives.

Hospice of San Luis Obispo County has a staff of skilled, licensed mental health professionals who manage core programs and supervise 200 professionally trained volunteers. Hospice's staff and volunteers offer in-home support, grief counseling, wellness programs, bi-lingual services, community crisis response, community education, and training to more than 6,000 individuals annually.

Summary of Standards as a Volunteer Hospice

To ensure quality service is provided to the community, Hospice of San Luis Obispo County abides by the following self-imposed standards:

1. Provide free services to those grieving or coping with life threatening illness.
2. Implement intake criteria that do not restrict persons who have prognoses longer than six months, have no primary caregivers, wish to continue aggressive or curative treatment, or wish to continue life-sustaining treatment (CPR, TPN, etc.).
3. Educate the community about all modes of hospice care and end-of-life issues.
4. Offer services in partnership to any and all health care provider agencies in the community.
5. Encourage diversity of volunteer hospice models and recognize that programs are individually tailored to meet the needs of their own communities.
6. Provide bereavement care to the survivors of clients served, and to any others in the community dealing with grief issues who request assistance.
7. Maintain a governing board that is legally responsible for the management, operation, and financial security of the organization.

Our Volunteer Hospice Status

Hospice of San Luis Obispo County, a volunteer hospice, is an independent, community-based, non-profit 501(c)3 organization. Donations to Hospice of San Luis Obispo County are tax deductible under federal tax codes (federal ID # 95-3195126).

Any complaint against Hospice of San Luis Obispo County should be directed to the District Attorney and the State Department of Health Services.

Any complaint against personnel licensed by a board or committee within the Department of Consumer Affairs and employed by Hospice of San Luis Obispo County should be directed to the respective board or committee.

As a volunteer hospice, Hospice of San Luis Obispo County is not required to be licensed and is not regulated by the State Department of Health Services.

Currently Hospice of San Luis Obispo County is a United Way/Neighbors Helping Neighbors recipient.

Hospice of San Luis Obispo County receives no federal funds and depends 100% upon community donations and fund-raising events.