Our RN is available to help you identify the type of support your loved one needs — you decide what to request.
Hospice Caregiver Support in Southwest Florida
Hospice brings the care team. We help you find the caregiver for every hour in between.
When a loved one enters hospice, families are often surprised to learn what it doesn't include: someone there around the clock. Hospice nurses and aides visit — they don't stay. Since 1997, Abby Services has helped families across Lee, Collier, and Charlotte Counties find screened, credentialed private caregivers who supplement hospice care, so no one faces these days alone. Abby Services is a state licensed nurse registry that has helped Southwest Florida families find experienced, screened caregivers who supplement hospice care since 1997.
Reviewed by Scott Strachan, RN BSN
Helping Southwest Florida families find the right caregiver since 1997.
We've worked both sides of hospice care
Our owner, Scott, worked on a hospice unit as a registered nurse and spent years as an oncology nurse — and he's also worked as a private caregiver himself. He's been part of the clinical team that visits, and he's been the person who stays. That's exactly the difference families need to understand: hospice is a tremendous gift — expert nurses, aides, chaplains, and social workers focused on comfort — but hospice is a visiting service. The team comes for appointments and is on call for crises, while the long hours in between fall to family.
Your caregiver can supplement the services hospice provides: staying through the night, helping with personal care between aide visits, preparing meals, and giving exhausted family members permission to rest — or simply to sit and be family instead of caregivers. Hospice does not cover or pay for private caregivers; this is support families arrange alongside it, and many tell us it made all the difference.
Want to talk through your situation with someone local?
How Caregivers Help Alongside Hospice
Working with — never replacing — the hospice team, caregivers help with:
Signs It May Be Time for Extra Support
Hospice families rarely ask for help soon enough. It may be time to add a private caregiver if:
- Family members are taking shifts and running on empty
- Nights have become the hardest part — no one is sleeping
- The hospice team has suggested more support at home
- Personal care needs exceed what family can comfortably provide
- Out-of-town family can't be there as much as they want
- You want your remaining time to be spent as family, not only as caregivers
If any of this sounds familiar, our team is happy to help — quickly, and with the gentleness this time deserves.
How it works
Getting started is simple, and there's never any pressure.
1
Call us
Tell us about your loved one and what's going on. The consultation is free.
2
Build a care plan
3
Meet your caregiver
We refer screened, credentialed caregivers who align with your requests. You choose the fit.
4
Stay in control
Adjust hours and direction anytime as needs change. You're always in charge.
Paying for Hospice Caregiver Support
Cost is one of the first questions families ask. Here are the most common ways our clients pay for care:
Private pay
The most common option — pay only for the hours you actually need, and scale up or down anytime.
Long-term care insurance
Many policies cover in-home care. We help you make sense of the paperwork. Learn about LTC insurance →
Hospice benefit
For those who qualify, hospice can cover in-home support. We'll help you understand if it applies.
Veterans' benefits
Veterans and surviving spouses may qualify for aid that helps offset the cost of in-home care.
Areas We Service
Abby Services helps families find in-home caregivers throughout Southwest Florida, including:
Don't see your community? If you're in Lee, Collier, or Charlotte County, call us — we can help.
Hospice Support Questions, Answered
No — hospice is primarily a Medicare benefit, and it covers the hospice team's services: the visiting nurses, aides, chaplains, and social workers. It does not pay for private caregivers or continuous presence in the home. Families arrange and pay for supplemental caregivers separately — through private pay, long-term care insurance, or veterans' benefits. We're upfront about this so there are no surprises.
Yes — though it's worth understanding how the pieces fit: the family is ultimately responsible for orchestrating and directing their care team, and your caregiver works alongside hospice at your direction, following the comfort measures the hospice team has shown. Having worked hospice as both a nurse and a caregiver, our owner knows both roles firsthand — and hospice nurses genuinely welcome a consistent caregiver in the home: someone there to notice changes and call them when it matters.
Yes. Many families arrange around-the-clock coverage as needs intensify — caregivers working in shifts so someone is always awake and present. If you're already working with us, scaling up can happen quickly. Our flexibility is why this works for so many families: some services require two weeks' notice and a two-week deposit — not Abby. You can adjust or cancel anytime with 24 hours' notice, and in most cases, no deposit is required.
We understand — and hospice situations move to the front of the line. Call us, tell us what's happening, and we'll prioritize your search. In urgent situations, care can be arranged in as little as an hour. That said, we encourage families to make arrangements in advance whenever possible — in our experience, the biggest delay isn't finding a caregiver, it's completing the basic paperwork and payment details. Getting those in place early means help can start the moment you need it.
We're a matchmaking service, and we like to say you don't marry the first person you go on a date with. While we work hard to find the best fit the first time, that isn't always possible — you can request a different caregiver at any time, no hard feelings, no hassle. The right personality match matters, and your feedback helps us identify better candidates for you. We'll keep working with you until you find the right fit.
Why families choose Abby Services
Local since 1997
Nearly three decades referring caregivers throughout Fort Myers, Cape Coral & Lee County.
Screened & experienced
We refer trained, background-screened caregivers — and help you direct their care.
Nurse-guided care plans
Our registered nurse is available to help you understand your loved one's needs — hospice support isn't one-size-fits-all, and neither is your search for the right caregiver.