Hospice of San Luis Obispo County
Because the end of life deserves as much respect as the beginning.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our organization, as a volunteer hospice, serves as a safety net for individuals with a life limiting illness and their families. We can provide services to those who would otherwise fall into a category of being ineligible for hospice services because they are projected to live longer than 6 months or have chosen to continue to receive "curative" treatments. As a volunteer hospice organization, we provide all services free of charge. While we do not provide nursing care, we work closely with all local home health agencies, certified hospice programs and private duty agencies to meet the nursing needs of those we serve. We are available to offer emotional, social and spiritual support as early as the time of diagnosis if needed through end of life. Our bereavement services are available to anyone impacted by death, regardless of when, how or where the death occurred. We often serve those who are coping with sudden or traumatic death including suicide, homicide and accidents.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Individual Grief Counseling and Group Support
GRIEF COUNSELING
Hospice Counseling Services are provided by licensed therapists, LMFT and Social Work Interns and Masters Prepared trainees under under the clinical supervision of licesned staff. Supportive grief counseling after a death, and counseling to support individuals with life threatening illnesses and their families and friends, is available to anyone in our community at no charge for up to 10 sessions. Counseling sessions typically provide clients with both emotional support, information, and an opportunity to explore how they can more effectively negotiate these challenges.
These service are provided to anyone seeking support in coping with the death of another regardless of when or how death occurred.
Hospice of San Luis Obispo offers Support Groups which provide emotional support and education about the grief process and finding comfort through connecting with like-minded individuals. Support Group meetings are offered according to the needs of the community, and often change to meet those needs.
All counseling services are provided without charge.
In Home Respite Care
Hospice SLO County volunteers provide a consistent supportive presence for the entire family. By utilizing a blend of professional and volunteer skills, the Hospice staff offers a comprehensive, integrated care program capable of giving specialized and sensitive volunteer support to clients and their families at no charge. This is made possible by:
A small paid staff that train and facilitate the services of 80-100 consistently active in-home volunteers.
Working in collaboration with home health and medical hospice agencies and many other existing community service programs and facilities.
Services may include:
Care Management
Accompaniment to medical appointments
Advanced Medical Care Directives; POLST
Advocacy and empowerment
Anticipatory Grief support
Companionship
Complementary Therapy (Reiki)
Errands
Life Review and Reminiscence
Light Housekeeping Tasks
Meal Preparation
Practical support for in-home animals
Spiritual Support
Supportive Music Services
Transportation
End of Life Doula Services
Just as a Birth Doula brings greater comfort and deeper meaning to the process of labor and the beginning of a life, EOL Doulas offer the same during the process of dying. The EOL Doulas serve people and families going through the end stages of a terminal illness when caregivers experience many losses in the patient’s function and role as well as an increase in physical symptoms. This is correspondent with greater demands for their time, energy and fatigue in the face of knowing the end is coming. Doulas companion and support the family during the final months of the illness in facilitating conversations about the end of life and help the patient and family develop a plan for how the final months, weeks, days will be if they have the ability to choose its direction. In the final days, doulas acting in teams provide 24/7 support for both the patient and families.
Pet Peace of Mind
Pet Peace of Mind program (PPOM) allows clients to complete their end-of-life journey with the comfort and companionship of their pet, assures the continued support of the animal, and a safe and loving home when their companion can no longer be with them. Services may include practical support, feeding, exercising, grooming, fostering and adoption. Pets are there for us and Hospice SLO County’s Pet Peace of Mind program ensures that we are there for them in return.
Support Groups
Hospice of San Luis Obispo offers Support Groups which provide emotional support and education about the grief process and finding comfort through connecting with like-minded individuals. Support Group meetings are offered according to the needs of the community, and often change to meet those needs. As with all HSLO services, there is never a charge.
Community Response
Hospice of San Luis Obispo County's Community Response Team provides timely counseling support, consultation, and education about grief and coping with loss, including anticipating a loss and sudden death. Community Response services are provided to businesses, schools, churches, government and community agencies at no charge. Trained staff and volunteer counselors work with both children and adults, and consult with groups and agencies on the approach that feels most helpful to them.
Threshold Singers
Threshold Singers are a cappella group of primarily women's voices: whose mission is to sing for and with those at the thresholds of life. The music is specifically designed an sung for patients and caregivers to provide compassion and comfort,
Hospice of San Luis Obispo County
From Southern Monterey County to Northern Santa Barbara County.
Where we work
External reviews

Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
OUR VISION
We envision a community that recognizes death as a part of life; where dying and grieving are embraced as natural; where all have access to support services without charge; where no one dies or is left to grieve without comfort.
OUR MISSION
We recognize death as a natural and personal event. In this spirit, we support the community in working with those near the end of life and the people who love them by providing in-home support, caregiver respite, grief counseling, support groups, community response, and education. All services are offered free of charge.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
For over 41 years, Hospice of San Luis Obispo County (Hospice SLO County) has provided county-wide non-medical in-home respite care, emotional support, practical assistance, and comfort to individuals, their families and caregivers who are coping with a life-limiting illness.
Hospice SLO County Grief Counseling services offer individual and family counseling and group support to anyone grieving a death regardless of when or how the death occurred.
All Hospice SLO County Services are provided at no charge.
CARE MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Hospice SLO County helps caregivers caring for loved ones with life-limiting illnesses to find and access extra resources and support needed. Being a family caregiver is stressful and our Care Manager strives to help ease the burden of finding appropriate resources to assist the home caregiver with respite, care needs, planning, or access to services.
IN-HOME SUPPORT
Hospice of San Luis Obispo County (Hospice SLO County) In-Home volunteers offer respite care to relieve the primary care person.
END-OF-LIFE DOULA PROGRAM
Just as a birth doula brings greater comfort and deeper meaning to the process of labor, Hospice SLO County’s (HSLO) End-of-Life Doulas offer the same level of support to the dying. End-of-Life doulas provide non-medical, holistic support and comfort to the dying person and their family, which may include education and guidance; emotional and spiritual support; and practical care.
GRIEF COUNSELING
Counseling is provided by Licensed Therapists, Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapists and Associate Clinical Social Workers, and Master’s Prepared Trainees under the clinical supervision of licensed staff. Sessions typically provide clients with both emotional support, information, and an opportunity to explore how they can more effectively negotiate these challenges.
PET PEACE OF MIND
For many patients in hospice care, their physical condition leads to a decrease of previously enjoyed social opportunities and relationships. Their pets help to fill that void by offering unconditional love and acceptance, comfort, and companionship when it is needed most; such as when friends and family aren't seen as frequently, or when words are too hard to say. Pets are there for us, and Hospice SLO County’s Pet Peace of Mind program ensures that we are there for them, in return.
THRESHOLD SINGERS
Hospice SLO County Threshold Singers sing for those at the thresholds of life and dying. They offer a calm and focused presence with gentle voices, simple songs, and sincere kindness. Their songs can be soothing and reassuring to clients, family, and caregivers alike.
In pairs and trios, Threshold Singers visit homes, assisted living facilities, and skilled nursing facilities throughout San Luis Obispo County. They sing for individuals experiencing life-limiting or end-of-life conditions, offering peace, tranquility, and what has often been described as a spiritual experience for those for whom they sing.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
For over 40 years, Hospice of San Luis Obispo County (Hospice SLO County) has depended on the generosity and time of volunteers to provide our free services throughout San Luis Obispo County.
We offer our comprehensive 30-hour In-Home Volunteer Training throughout the year. This training explores personal attitudes about death and dying, the history of hospice, current medical and non-medical approaches to end of life care, communication skills, anticipatory grief and bereavement, and spiritual, practical, and emotional support needs of clients and families including family dynamics.
In-Home Volunteers provide 3-4 hours of service per week. This training is also a pre-requisite for other training offered by Hospice SLO County including End-of-Life Doula, Grief Companions, and Community Response.
Counseling is provided by Licensed Therapists, Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapists and Associate Clinical Social Workers, and Master’s Prepared Trainees under the clinical supervision of licensed staff. Sessions typically provide clients with both emotional support, information, and an opportunity to explore how they can more effectively negotiate these challenges.
Support groups are offered to allow the bereaved to find comfort and support by connecting with others in similar circumstances. Groups are also available for individuals who are struggling with a life-limiting illness and their loved ones. Support groups are available according to the needs of the community.
Hospice of San Luis Obispo County's Community Response Team provides timely counseling support, consultation, and education about grief and coping with loss, including anticipating a loss and sudden death. Community Response services are provided to businesses, schools, churches, government, and community agencies at no charge. Trained staff and volunteer counselors work with both children and adults and consult with groups and agencies on the approach that feels most helpful to them.
Services are usually provided at the group’s own site but can be done at another location if more appropriate. Hospice of SLO County’s counseling services are available to participants after the initial community response, in case an individual wants more support.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The major accomplishment of Hospice SLO County is that it has been able to remain a Volunteer Hospice.
The American hospice movement started in the 1960s as a grassroots, volunteer intensive approach to serving children and adults dealing with grief or a life-limiting or terminal illness. Volunteer hospices have continued to offer these services free of charge through the dedication and support of professional and hospice trained volunteers.
The U.S. 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 still limits services to potential clients based on their treatment choices, the duration of their illness, or the progress of their health decline. Volunteer hospices dedicate themselves to providing access to all who are dying or grieving in the community, regardless of whether a condition or situation meets federal Medicare requirements.
VOLUNTEER HOSPICE STANDARDS
Provide free services to all clients.
Offer services in partnership with all health care agencies in the community and is not exclusive to anyone.
Provide an organized program of bereavement care to the survivors of clients served, and to any others in
the community who are dealing with grief issues and request assistance regardless of when or how the
death occurred.
Provide community education regarding dying, death, grief, and end of life
Volunteer Hospices depend financially on the generosity of their local communities. Hospice SLO County develops a tight budget each year, minimizes expenses, functions with a small staff, and outreaches to the community for funding on a regular basis.
Besides remaining open and viable for 43 years, Hospice SLO County has started new programs in the previous decade including End-Of-Life Doulas, Pet Peace of Mind, and Threshold Singers.
In 2019 the Board of Directors voted to bring on a Director of Development. This position was filled in November of 2019 and is working on Major Gifts, Recurring Donations, and Planned Giving.
The next steps include increasing recurring donations and multi-year major gifts to ensure our budget needs are met each year.
Programmatically, we strive to offer more community education on death and dying, advanced care directives, planned giving, and volunteer opportunities.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Case management notes,
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Hospice of San Luis Obispo County
Board of directorsas of 11/16/2021
Dr Terry Housinger
Patrick O'Hara
Wacker Wealth Partners
Rick Berard
More Diagnostics
Abe Lincoln
Mark Larsen
Len Jarrott
Lindsey Faucette, MD
Rabbi Janice Mehring
Congregation Ohr Tzafon
Lauren Prewitt, MD
Board leadership practices
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 02/04/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.