Finding Your Path: Understanding Hospice, Transitions, and In-Home Primary Care at ClearPath

For forty-seven years, the people of Central Oregon have trusted us to walk beside them through some of life’s most tender moments. We began in 1979 as Hospice of Redmond, and while our name has grown into ClearPath Healthcare, the heart of what we do has not changed. 

What has changed is the number of ways we can help. Today, we are proud to offer three distinct lines of care: in-home primary care, Transitions, and hospice. Each one meets people in a different season of life, and understanding how they fit together can make a real difference when you or someone you love needs support. 

In-Home Primary Care: quality healthcare that comes to you

For many older adults in Central Oregon, getting to a doctor’s appointment is harder than the appointment itself. Whether due to transportation issues, health concerns like dementia that make leaving home difficult, or lack of time, many Central Oregonians postpone seeing their primary care physician when they shouldn’t. In-home primary care changes that by bringing care directly to your front door.

Our provider, Taylor Garr-Jones, FNP-C, and Helan, our licensed practical nurse, travel together to homes across Deschutes, Crook, and Jefferson counties. The service is for adults fifty-five and older and anyone with complex medical needs who finds it difficult to leave home for regular care. Visits are unhurried, often lasting 45 minutes to an hour, and occur as often as needed. This allows plenty of time to ask questions, discuss medications, and be heard. It also lets Taylor identify small details in your home that may affect your health.

When we designed this program, we built it around access from the very beginning. Care is billed to Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance, and patients are responsible only for their usual co-pays and deductibles. Adding Medicaid means even more of our community with fixed and limited incomes can receive primary care in the comfort of their homes. There is no membership fee.

There is one more thing worth mentioning. In-home primary care differs from home health, which is short-term, goal-based care after a hospital stay or for a specific recovery. Our primary care is ongoing. It is the steady, year-round relationship with a provider who knows you. In-Home primary care is also available to patients’ family caregivers who are 55+, because we understand how challenging it can be to get to the doctor when caring for another person is the priority.  

Transitions: the support you need, when you need it

A serious illness brings more than medical questions. It brings paperwork, hard decisions, and a constant sense of not knowing where to turn next. Transitions exists for exactly these moments. It is a free, non-medical program that provides people facing a serious illness with practical support and a steady guide through the resources available to them.

Transitions does not replace your medical care. Instead, our Transitions staff walk alongside your clinical team, helping with navigation and connections that make a difficult time less overwhelming. A healthy person does not yet qualify for Transitions. The program is designed to support people with a serious diagnosis. A Transitions client does not need to be anywhere near “hospice-ready” to sign up. Additionally, someone can sign up for both our in-home primary care service and Transitions at the same time for added support. 

Hospice: comfort, dignity, and presence at the end of life

Hospice is the service we have offered the longest, and it remains the heart of who we are. It is expert comfort care for people nearing the end of their lives, focused entirely on preserving one’s dignity, peace, and quality of life. Care is delivered wherever you call home, whether that is a private residence, a family member’s house, an assisted living community, or any other place.

One of the most important things to understand about hospice is that when someone begins receiving hospice care, our clinical hospice team becomes the patient’s primary medical provider. A patient on hospice can still see their established doctors; however, it is not necessary. An entire interdisciplinary hospice team gathers around the patient and their family, providing not only medical care but also emotional and spiritual support. Hospice is not about giving up. It is about making sure that the time a family has together is spent on what matters most, surrounded by people who care.

How the three paths work together

Because these services meet people in different seasons, it helps to know how they relate to one another.

In-home primary care and Transitions can work side by side. A person can receive ongoing medical care from our primary care team while Transitions handles resource navigation and support. Both happen wherever you call home, and both teams stay in close communication so the care feels like one connected circle rather than separate appointments.

Imagine someone in her eighties, living independently in one of our rural communities, who is struggling with a recent life-limiting diagnosis. She might benefit from Transitions for support and guidance, and from in-home primary care for the convenience of not having to drive to her medical appointments. Together, those two services give her holistic support, steady access to care, and the reassurance that someone is paying attention. That is the kind of whole-person care we hope every Central Oregonian can find when they need it.

Conversely, someone may sign up for our in-home primary care service only, or the Transitions service only, based on their specific needs. 

Once our rural patient in her eighties decides she is ready to prioritize her quality of life (as opposed to aggressive, curative treatment of her diagnosis), and once her medical team is in agreement that she qualifies, having a prognosis of six months or less, hospice is the one path that stands on its own. Because the hospice team takes full charge of a patient’s care, hospice is not combined with primary care or Transitions. 

Whatever path you are on, we are here.

Choosing care for yourself or someone you love is rarely simple, and you do not have to figure it out alone. Whether you are looking for a primary care provider who will come to you, searching for support through a serious illness, or facing the final chapter with someone dear, ClearPath Healthcare has a path for you and a team ready to walk it with you.

To learn more about in-home primary care or to become a patient, visit https://clearpathhealthcare.org/primary-care or call 541.323.0853. For questions about Transitions or hospice, visit https://clearpathhealthcare.org or call 541.548.7483. 

We would be honored to help you find the path that is right for you.