Does this sound familiar?
When the hospice nurse first walked through Margaret's door, her daughter Sarah felt something she hadn't felt in weeks: relief.
Finally, professionals. Finally, people who knew what they were doing. Finally, help.
The hospice team was everything they promised. The nurse came twice a week, checking vitals, adjusting medications, answering every panicked question Sarah had been Googling at 2 AM. The CNA helped with bathing and personal care, treating Margaret with a dignity that brought tears to Sarah's eyes. The chaplain stopped by for quiet conversations that seemed to ease something deep in Margaret's spirit. And the social worker? She became Sarah's lifeline, helping navigate insurance, advanced directives, and all the impossible decisions no one prepares you for.
"Thank God for hospice," Sarah told me later. "I don't know what we would have done without them."
But then she paused.
"The thing is... the nurse visits on Tuesday and Friday. And Mom needed help every single day. Every meal. Every bathroom trip. Every moment of confusion at 3 AM when she forgot where she was."
Filling The Gap
Here's what nobody tells you about hospice care: it's excellent. It's professional. It's compassionate. And it's absolutely essential.
But hospice nurses aren't—and can't be—in your home 24/7.
The hospice team scheduled it perfectly. Between the nurse visits, CNA appointments, and social worker check-ins, someone from hospice came almost every day.
But here's the reality: that visit lasts an hour, maybe ninety minutes. What about the other 23 hours?
What about breakfast before the nurse arrives at 10 AM? What about the meals that need preparing after she leaves? Someone to help with the walk to the bathroom at 2 PM, and again at 6 PM, and again at midnight. Someone to just sit and hold a hand during the 3 AM confusion when the fear gets overwhelming.
Someone to be there during all the hours when hospice can't be.
Someone to notice if something changes and call the hospice nurse before it becomes a crisis.
Sarah tried to do it all herself. She took FMLA leave from work. She moved into her mom's guest room. She set alarms to check on her mother every few hours through the night.
By week two, she was exhausted. By week three, she was making mistakes. By week four, she was starting to resent the very person she was trying to care for.
"I felt like I was failing at everything," she told me. "I wasn't being a good daughter because I was too tired to really be present. I wasn't being a good caregiver because I didn't know what I was doing. And I definitely wasn't taking care of myself."
The Partnership That Changes Everything
This is where Atlee comes into the picture—not instead of hospice, but alongside them.
We work seamlessly with hospice teams because we understand something crucial: we're not medical professionals, and we're not trying to be. The hospice nurse is the quarterback. We're part of the team.
Our caregivers bring comfort. They prepare meals. They help with showers and make sure your loved one stays clean and dry throughout the day and night. They help with light housekeeping. They sit with your loved one so you can take a shower, run to the grocery store, or just breathe for a minute. They provide the consistent, non-medical presence that fills the gaps between those essential hospice visits.
But here's the part that makes this partnership work: communication.
Our caregivers observe, document, and communicate. If they notice a change in appetite, a new confusion, increased pain, difficulty breathing—anything that seems different—they alert the family immediately. Together, you can decide whether to reach out to the hospice nurse. We use the Serenity app to keep everyone connected—the family, our caregivers, and the hospice team all stay in the loop, and the nurse can leave specific directions for our caregivers right there in the app. We don't diagnose. We don't treat. But we make sure nothing gets missed.
Think of it this way: the hospice team brings the medical expertise. Atlee brings the daily presence. Together, we create something neither of us can do alone—we shoulder the weight of care so families can do what really matters.
Just be the family.
What Sarah Discovered
When Sarah finally called us (at her hospice social worker's suggestion), she was skeptical.
"I thought I'd feel like I was giving up or abandoning my mom," she admitted. "Like I was supposed to be able to do this myself."
But here's what actually happened:
With one of our caregivers there from 8 AM to 5 PM, Sarah started sleeping through the night. She could go to her mom's house without that knot of anxiety in her stomach, wondering what she'd find. She stopped Googling symptoms at midnight and started trusting the team—both hospice and Atlee—to handle what they were trained to handle.
And most importantly, she could actually sit with her mom. Hold her hand. Watch old movies together. Tell stories. Laugh. Cry. Be present.
"I got my mom back for those last six weeks," Sarah said. "Not the patient I was trying to manage, but my actual mom. That time was a gift, and I wouldn't have had it without this partnership."
You Don't Have to Choose Between Professional Care and Family Time
If your loved one is on hospice and you're feeling overwhelmed by everything that falls between the nursing visits, you're not failing. You're human.
Hospice provides essential medical oversight and support. Atlee provides the daily presence that makes it all sustainable.
Together, we create space for what you really need: time to be the daughter, the son, the spouse, the family member—not the exhausted, solo caregiver who's trying to do it all.
That's not just care. That's partnership. And that's how it should be.
Atlee Home Care works closely with hospice agencies throughout the Denver metro area to provide seamless support for families during life's most difficult transitions. If you're wondering whether additional support might help your family, we'd be honored to talk with you. No pressure. Just a conversation about what might help.
📞 720-378-8708
🌐 www.atleecare.com
