A respite stay is a short, planned time when the person on hospice moves to a facility for care while the family rests. The hospice benefit includes it, and it can be a real option for a family that has been on duty for a long stretch. It is also the part of the plan that most often arrives with a bag already packed and a car idling, so settle the terms first.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Ask where the stay happens

Find out which facility the hospice uses, whether the hospice has an arrangement with it, and whether you can see the room before the day comes. Ask whether the bed is held for you or whether you are placed on a list. Ask what happens if no bed is open on the day you need one, and who calls you when it is.

Ask how the days are counted

The benefit limits how many days can be used in a single stay. That limit comes from federal rules, so get the number the hospice will use in writing, not from a conversation in the hallway. Ask whether a partial day counts as a full day, whether the count starts at arrival or at the first night, and what happens if the stay has to end early or runs longer than planned.

Ask who pays for what

The bill for a stay can look different from the bill for a routine home visit, and the lines are where families get surprised. Ask the hospice what it covers during the stay, what your own insurance or supplement would cover if you have one, and which items, such as personal supplies or transport to the facility, are left to the family. Ask for the answer as a list. A list is easier to check later than a promise.

What it costs: The Missouri median for non-medical in-home care is $33 an hour, per the CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey 2025 state data tables, released March 2026. New Plan Care's standard rate is $34 an hour with a four-hour minimum, so a visit starts at $136 (newplancare.com/services).

Ask who holds the medicine list and the care plan

Before the handoff, ask who will send the current medicine list and the care plan to the facility, who there is the contact, and who gives each dose while the person is in the building. Ask the hospice nurse to read the list back to you, and keep your own copy. The family, the doctor and the pharmacist remain the people who settle what is on that list.

What comes back home with the person

When the stay ends, ask for a written note of what happened during it, including any changes the facility noted in comfort, sleep, eating or mood. Ask who will go over that note with the hospice team at home. You want the handoff to run in both directions.

The rules behind the hospice benefit are listed on the Sources page. If you want to see how this site approaches questions like this one, read How We Write.