Hospice care in Santa Barbara
Hospice care at home in Santa Barbara, with a Santa Maria team that already travels this coast.
Care that comes to you
Santa Barbara is the southern end of our service area. We come to homes on the Mesa, on the Riviera, in the downtown neighborhoods, and in Goleta-adjacent streets when that is where home is.
Distance does not change the benefit. Santa Barbara patients receive the same nurses, the same 24/7 phone line, and the same admission timeline — typically 24–48 hours from the first call.
If you live on a hillside street or in a gated building, give us parking and gate notes on the first call.
About 75 minutes south of Santa Maria on Highway 101.
Questions about care in Santa Barbara? Call (805) 361-0264. A member of our team answers day and night.
At a glance
- 24/7
- Nurse always on call
- 24–48hr
- Typical admission
- Medicare
- Hospice benefit for eligible patients
Three questions to shape the first call
Almost no family knows what to ask the first time. These are the three things we need to know, and what usually follows from each answer.
- 1
Where does your loved one live?
- A house or condo on the Mesa, the Riviera, or downtown — care comes to the home, and family caregivers are trained and supported.
- Upper State Street or the Goleta side — the same team already travels that corridor, and we confirm the visit plan on the first call.
- Montecito or along the 101 corridor — hillside streets and gated buildings are welcome; give us parking and gate notes on the first call.
- An assisted living or senior community in the city — hospice is added on top of the care they already receive.
- A skilled nursing facility — we coordinate directly with facility staff so hospice fits the routine already in place.
- Still in the hospital — care can begin at discharge, or follow them where they are.
- 2
What is hardest this week?
- Pain, breathing, nausea, or hard nights — skilled nursing and pain management.
- Bathing, dressing, and transfers — a home health aide.
- Paperwork, benefits, or a conversation nobody wants to start — social work.
- Grief, fear, or questions of meaning — chaplain and emotional support.
- 3
Has a doctor said the illness is life-limiting?
- Yes — call today, and we will start arranging the certification and the first visit.
- Not yet, but the family is carrying all of the caregiving — call anyway. We will talk it through with you and with the doctor.
- You are still weighing hospice against palliative care — call and ask. Nobody is signed up on a first conversation.
What it costs and how fast it starts
What it costs
For most Santa Barbara families, hospice is a benefit rather than a bill. Medicare Part A covers nursing visits, home health aide visits, medications for the hospice diagnosis, medical equipment such as a hospital bed, supplies, social work, chaplain support, volunteers, and bereavement care for the family afterward. Medi-Cal coverage is similar, and most private plans include a hospice benefit.
Medicare may still leave a small copayment for outpatient prescriptions and a share of the cost of inpatient respite care, and we verify your coverage and tell you what applies before care begins. Treatment for conditions unrelated to the hospice diagnosis stays with regular Medicare or your other insurance. We never require a financial contribution from your family, and we never turn anyone away for inability to pay. Because Santa Barbara is about 75 minutes from Carmen Lane, we walk through your benefits by phone, and a social worker can bring the paperwork to the kitchen table on the first visit.
Full coverage detail lives on the eligibility and coverage page.
How fast care starts
Call at any hour and a real person on our team answers, nights and weekends included. A physician has to certify eligibility before care begins, and we help arrange that. From there, admission is typically organized within 24 to 48 hours of the referral, and we usually deliver medications, a hospital bed, and other supplies within 24 hours of admission.
Santa Barbara is about 75 minutes south of the Carmen Lane office on Highway 101 — the southern end of our service area, and a coast the team already travels. The drive does not change the timeline: admission is still typically organized within 24 to 48 hours of the referral. Hospice care is intermittent rather than live-in: your nurse sets a visit schedule with your family based on the care plan, and revisits it as needs change. The same interdisciplinary team follows the patient. Between visits, our on-call nurse is reachable by phone 24 hours a day, and we can send a nurse to the home for urgent support.
Our certification and quality record is public on Medicare Care Compare.
What Santa Barbara families receive
The full hospice benefit travels with us: the same team and the same services every family receives, plus medications, equipment, and supplies related to the hospice diagnosis, delivered to the home.
Where we provide care in Santa Barbara
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Private homes
Most of our Santa Barbara patients receive care in their own home, supported by family caregivers and our visiting team.
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Assisted living
We partner with residential and assisted living communities, adding hospice support on top of the care they already provide.
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Skilled nursing facilities
Our team coordinates directly with facility staff so hospice care fits into the daily routine already in place.
Wondering if it's time? Read about hospice eligibility or browse our frequently asked questions.
What Santa Barbara families ask
Is there hospice care in Santa Barbara?
Yes. Care happens wherever home is — a house or condo on the Mesa, the Riviera, or downtown, a place on upper State Street or the Goleta side, Montecito, or along the 101 corridor, an assisted living community, or a skilled nursing facility. Santa Barbara is the southern end of our service area, and the team already travels this coast.
Why would a Santa Maria hospice come to Santa Barbara?
Because the team already travels this coast — Santa Barbara is the farthest south we go, about 75 minutes down Highway 101 from the Carmen Lane office. The drive does not change the work: admission is still typically 24 to 48 hours from the referral, an on-call nurse is reachable by phone at any hour once your loved one is on service, and the same interdisciplinary team follows the patient.
How much will this cost our family?
For most patients covered by Medicare Part A, nothing for the hospice services themselves. We verify your benefits by phone and explain what is covered before care begins, and a social worker can bring the paperwork to the first visit.
How quickly can care start?
Typically 24 to 48 hours from the referral — the same timeline as closer towns, even though Santa Barbara is about 75 minutes south on Highway 101. Call any hour and someone answers, and once your loved one is on service a nurse is reachable by phone 24/7.
Do we need a doctor to call first?
No. A family on the Mesa, on upper State Street, on the Goleta side, or in Montecito can call us first. Anyone can refer. A physician still has to certify eligibility before care begins, and we help arrange that with your loved one's own doctor. Nobody is enrolled on a first conversation.
Can hospice come to assisted living or a nursing home?
Yes. We add hospice support on top of the care the community already provides, and we coordinate directly with facility staff so nothing is duplicated or missed — in Santa Barbara the same as anywhere else we serve.
Is care available in Spanish?
Yes. Say so on your first call and we will match you with a team member who can speak with you in Spanish.
Is hospice only for cancer?
No. We care for people with heart disease, lung disease including COPD, dementia and Alzheimer's, stroke, kidney or liver disease, ALS and other neurologic illness, Parkinson's disease, and general decline with advanced age.
Will a nurse live in the house?
No. Even at the southern edge of the service area — 75 minutes down Highway 101 — hospice in Santa Barbara is intermittent rather than live-in. Your nurse sets a visit schedule with your family based on the care plan, and revisits it as needs change, whether home is on the Mesa, on upper State Street, on the Goleta side, or in Montecito. Between visits, our on-call nurse is reachable by phone 24 hours a day, and we can send a nurse to the home for urgent support.
If your question is not here, call and we will answer it on the phone.
View all questionsReady to talk about care in Santa Barbara?
No obligation, no pressure, just answers. Call anytime, day or night, and a real person on our team will pick up.