Mobile app for hospice brings families closer to care

Hospice of Michigan is offering a free mobile app that keeps family members involved in their loved one’s care, no matter how far away they live.

The app, called HOM Cares, allows families to get to know the members of the hospice care team, receive updates on the care being delivered, and stay engaged without having to ask key family members repeatedly for updates. Each patient’s family has its own private account subscription, and a designated family member controls who can join the family group and see the messages.

“We see HOM Cares as a digital solution that will enable families and friends to create a private social network surrounding their loved one — a hub of expression, if you will,” Marcie Hillary, executive director of Hospice of Michigan/West Michigan, told Grand Rapids Business Journal. “The new app will enhance patient comfort, care and communication, giving our care team the opportunity to interact in real time with an extended network of patient family and friends.”

The hospice is already considering how to make the app more interactive, perhaps by incorporating comment spaces, text messaging and/or memorial communications after a patient’s death.

The app, released Wednesday, is available for iOS and Android mobile devices.

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.