ADMISSIONS

Helpful information on residency at Caring House

End of Life Option Act ("EOLA") / Medical Aid In Dying ("MAID") Admission Information

What is EOLA and MAID?

The California End of Life Option Act, until January 1, 2026, authorizes an adult who meets certain qualifications, and who has been determined by their attending physician to be suffering from a terminal disease, as defined, to make a request for an aid-in-dying drug for the purpose of ending their life.

Caring House supports the general right of an individual(s) to choose, within generally accepted parameters including but not limited to legal, moral, cultural and ethical standards, the time, place and manner of their death.

Per SEC. 7, Section 443.15 of the Health and Safety Code regarding EOLA (see URL at bottom), Caring House, Inc., has chosen the option to not have Caring House be a location where a MAID action can take place, with this webpage satisfying the requirement of public notification.

The reasons include the effect on our dedicated caregiving staff, as well as fellow Caring House residents on hospice care and their families.

We appreciate your understanding of our position and will gladly help with information on where and how a MAID passing can take place at another location.

Also, if a resident at Caring House and their family decides, after coming here, that a MAID passing is the right choice for them, we will help facilitate the location change, transfer of paperwork and other duties as required, and with full HIPAA protocols.

Here are some links that may be helpful:

California Department of Public Health EOLA Act:

https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/Pages/End-of-Life-Option-Act-.aspx

and SB-380:

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB380

Key facts provided by the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California.

https://coalitionccc.org/CCCC/CCCC/Resources/Consumer-Information-on-EoLOA.aspx

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.

Here are the differences:

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 persons 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%.

What All Residents Receive

Fully-furnished private bedroom
Fully-powered residential care bed
24/7 personalized, responsive and attentive care
24/7 coordination with hospice and home care services
Support for families
Status updates provided to families (on request)
Homemade meals and snacks
Meals and mealtimes to match resident preferences
Mealtime assistance as needed
Medication management
Toileting and continence assistance and supplies
Dressing and bathing assistance
Hair grooming and cleaning
Transferring and escort at the house
Reminder and wake-up service (on request)
Listening and comforting
Hand, back, leg and foot massages, as appropriate
Housekeeping
Linens, bath towels, toiletries
Laundering of personal clothing
In-room widescreen TV with DirecTV and music
WiFi and high-speed internet
Use of private outside gardens and patio
Help with writing resident’s life story (on request)
And more!

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, immigration status, sexual orientation, age or gender as long as they meet the admission criteria.

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 have availability?

Availability of 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.

Please call or email us. 310-796-6625 or contact@yourcaringhouse.org

Do you have a video tour? Can we tour in-person?

We have three videos. With them you can look at Caring House and our neighborhood and learn about the Caring House experience from family members of past 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.

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.

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. We have also cared for unhoused persons.

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.