Caring House is Different
Different business model. Different approaches to payment. Different in care focus. Different for families. Different is good. Read more.
Becoming a Resident
Who is eligible?
We welcome community members who are receiving hospice services and are in the last weeks or days of their lives.
When we determine eligibility, we take the person’s medical condition and circumstances, our RCFE license, our experience and safety into account. There must be a person responsible for the resident’s care decisions and financial matters. We cannot admit residents with active infections, IVs, complex wounds or other RCFE-prohibited conditions. Read detailed admission criteria.
About COVID-19
Keeping our residents, visitors and staff safe is of the utmost importance. Find more information here:
Where is Caring House located?
We are located at 2842 El Dorado Street in Torrance, California, south of Torrance Boulevard and east of Maple Avenue, in the City Hall/Madrona neighborhood of Torrance.
Click here for complete location and parking details.
Do you have a video tour? Can we tour in-person?
We have three videos. With them you can a look at house and neighborhood and learn about the Caring House experience from family members of past Caring House residents. View videos.
We love giving tours of our home. Please call our admissions team at 310-796-6625 ext. 2 to schedule a visit. All visitors must take additional precautions due to the pandemic. Click here for more details.
Is Caring House religious-affiliated?
No. We welcome and honor people from all cultures, spiritual backgrounds and traditions. We welcome residents without regard to race, ethnicity, national origin, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age or and gender as long as they meet the admission criteria.
Do you have availability?
Availability of bedrooms changes frequently. We can often admit a resident on fairly short notice, but it’s best to discuss matters in advance of a possible need.
Is Caring House the right place for me or my loved one?
Staying at home to receive care at the end of life is not always possible.
The choice of location depends on the person’s goals of care, medical condition, needs and circumstances.
- Hospitals and skilled nursing homes are medical facilities. Caring House is a non-medical residential home.
- Skilled nursing homes and most assisted living facilities (large or small) focus on long-term residents (two or more years). Caring House focuses on men and women in the last weeks and days of their lives.
Those who come to live at Caring House have, alongside their doctors and loved ones, set goals of care focused on peace and comfort and quality of life rather than on a cure or aggressive treatments.
- At Caring House, our focus and mission is end-of-life care for men and women in their last weeks or days of life.
- Other homes provide end-of-life care as a secondary service. Their focus is long-term care.
- When considering homes for end-of-life care, we suggest that families ask what percentage of a home’s residents have been on hospice in the last year. For Caring House, it’s 100%.
Resident VIP Package
Every Caring House Resident is a VIP (Very Important Person) and receives the VIP Package. All these services and amenities are provided without additional charge. Read more about the VIP Package.
What does the admission process involve?
The admission process involves collaboration between the potential resident and/or their family or friends, the Caring House admissions team, and the potential resident’s medical/hospice team.
We encourage residents and/or their family or friends to visit Caring House prior to admission. We also use email and DocuSign to expedite things.
We want to be sure that we can safely care for the potential resident and meet their care needs. If a potential resident is eligible (see “Who is eligible?” above) and the necessary information is gathered and provided promptly, we can sometimes admit within 24 hours.
We also use an admissions pool approach for eligible potential residents (not “first-come, first-served”). When a bedroom becomes available, if the physical care requirements of the potential residents in the pool are equal, our team first offers the bedroom to the person who then has the greatest overall need.
Once we offer a bedroom to a resident, the resident and/or family then completes the family packet of documents, and the first payment is due the day of admission.
Can I receive hospice care while at Caring House?
Yes. We welcome residents who are receiving hospice care from Medicare-certified hospice services. 100% of our residents have received hospice care during their stay. Hospice care teams offer medical care and pain and symptom management, as well as spiritual support, counseling and education. Hospice team members will visit those residents and provide vital support to them and their loved ones, in collaboration with our staff.
We’ve created a directory of Medicare-certified hospices that serve patients in or near the South Bay area. We’ve noted whether they have already provided hospice care for one or more residents at Caring House. Before helping residents, a hospice enters into a care coordination agreement with Caring House. Caring House itself is not a hospice service.
Which hospital/hospice group do you belong to?
None. Caring House is an independent nonprofit organization.
See our directory of Medicare-certified hospices for information on hospice agencies which have previously served residents at Caring House.
Do you accept residents from outside the South Bay?
Yes. We primarily serve residents and families from Los Angeles County and the South Bay area. The South Bay cities include Carson, El Segundo, Gardena, Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lomita, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, San Pedro, Torrance and Wilmington.
Residents have come to us from across Southern California and other parts of the state – even as far away as New York – when they have family located near Caring House.
Do you serve residents with dementia?
We can admit a resident with a secondary diagnosis of dementia, unless they would require one-on-one care or would disrupt the peace of our home. We are unable to admit residents whose primary diagnosis is dementia.
Charges and Insurance
How much does it cost?
We ask residents and families to cover the costs of care, and we trust them to do that to the best of their ability. Our Admissions team can discuss this more with you during the preliminary conversations and/or admission process.
What are the payment arrangements?
Since a resident’s stay is typically less than 45 days, we offer the option to pay for 7, 14 or 28 days at a time. We accept a variety of payment methods, and the first payment is due upon admission. Our Admissions team can discuss this more with you during the preliminary conversations and/or admission process.
What are your additional charges?
There are none. No evaluation charge; no admission charge; no supplies charge; no charge for increased needs.
Do you accept Medicare, Medi-Cal or private insurance?
Medicare, Medi-Cal and insurance do not pay Caring House for a resident to stay at Caring House. We are not a medical facility. If a resident has long-term care insurance, they might be reimbursed for the costs of living at Caring House, depending on the terms of their policy.
What is the typical length of stay? Maximum stay?
Our mission is to serve members of the community in the last weeks or days of their lives. A resident’s stay is typically less than 45 days.
In the normal course, residents stay at Caring House indefinitely. There is no maximum length of stay.
There are three exceptions:
- If a resident’s needs increase such that we can no longer safely care for them.
- If a resident no longer needs the level or type of services we provide.
- California law also allows us limited circumstances to shorten a resident’s stay with us.
Are there ever refunds?
A refund could be available for contributions made to help cover a resident’s costs of care, depending on the circumstances. Read our refund policy.
Are payments tax deductible?
A portion of resident and family payments to help cover costs of care might be deductible as medical and/or long-term care expenses for federal income tax purposes. Check with your tax advisor. Those payments are not deductible as charitable donations under the IRS/Federal income tax rules.
Life at Caring House
What is provided?
Each bedroom is a fully-furnished private bedroom, which includes a fully-powered residential care bed, side table, lamp, guest chairs, and wardrobe space. In addition, each bedroom has a cable TV and clock. All residents receive ample linens and bath towels as well as basic toileting items. In general and together with the resident’s hospice agency, we provide all of the necessary items to assist in the care of the resident.
Are meals provided?
Yes. When a resident first arrives, we find out their food preferences and work hard to meet them. Homemade meals and snacks are provided. Timing is adjusted to meet the resident’s wishes as much as possible. Accommodations can be made for residents wishing to store special food items.
What are the bedrooms like?
As a house built in the 1950s and renovated since, each bedroom has its own unique character. They all have soft colors and windows allowing in natural light. All bedrooms are private. All are located on the same floor of our single-story home.
Do you have male / female bedrooms?
No. All bedrooms are private, not shared.
How are medications stored?
All medications (including over-the-counter) are kept locked up and monitored by the Caring House staff.
Can I smoke on the premises?
No. Caring House is a non-smoking property.
What are the visiting hours?
Visiting hours are 9:00 am and 6:00 pm daily. Click here to learn more about visiting Caring House and our residents.
We have dedicated personal electronic devices for each resident to utilize in the comfort and safety of their room. Residents will be assisted in using video and audio calling to reach loved ones.
Where should we park?
In respect of our neighbors, we ask that visitors park directly in front of the house or to the west of the house whenever possible, and do not park directly across the street from Caring House.
We also ask that you help us save the closest parking directly in front of the house for hospice staff and those unable to comfortably walk further distances, especially since we are in a residential neighborhood with limited parking.
We prefer if our visitors park in the parking lot at First Christian Church (the blue church) at the intersection of Onrado St. and Felbar Ave., just a short walk west of Caring House, or in the Gold Zones. Questions? Feel free to ask us for more information! Click here for more details about visiting, including a parking map.
Can I bring my own furniture and other personal belongings?
Each bedroom at Caring House is fully furnished and space is provided for personal belongings, such as clothing, towels, toiletries, blankets and other small items. We’re not able to accommodate large furniture like dressers, cabinets and tables.
To help Caring House feel like “home,” we welcome photos, personal art and similar items, as space allows. We ask that residents not bring money, wallets, jewelry or other valuables.
Are pets allowed?
The intimate environment of the home requires us to limit the kinds of pets we can accommodate. We welcome therapy animals, and other pets may visit, but it must be approved and arranged in advanced with our Resident Care Manager.
Is the house wheelchair accessible?
Yes. A wheelchair entrance makes indoor and outdoor areas easily accessible. Wide doorways and bathroom access assure mobility throughout the house.
End of Life Option Act
California’s End of Life Option Act (effective June 9, 2016) authorizes health care providers to participate in aid-in-dying activities and protects them from liability if they do. Caring House is not a health care provider as defined in the Act, so it is not protected or authorized to participate.
Caring House will continue its mission to provide peace, comfort and support to men and women who are dying, but will not participate in aid-in-dying activities under the Act.