Hospice Engagement: A Resource Guide for Funeral Professionals

November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, a time to recognize the profound impact hospice organizations have on patients, families, and communities facing life's most sacred transition. This year, I'm celebrating by sharing with CANA members an exclusive resource; a comprehensive guide to hospice volunteering for funeral professionals.

After ten years as a hospice volunteer with Hosparus Health in Louisville, Kentucky, I can honestly say it has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my professional life. When I started, I wasn't sure how hospice volunteering would fit into an already demanding schedule. What I discovered is that hospice organizations are incredibly flexible and welcoming to funeral professionals who want to serve.

Crafting Your Why

Here's what I want you to know: if you can only give two to five hours a month, hospice organizations will deeply appreciate that contribution. Whatever time you can offer—whether it's one patient visit a month or helping with a quarterly event—makes a genuine difference.

You already navigate what most people avoid. Death doesn't make you uncomfortable to be around. It’s where you bring your best skills. That familiarity with grief, combined with your ability to stay steady when emotions run high, positions you perfectly for hospice volunteer work. You know how to hold space for families in crisis because you do it every day.

The nice aspect of hospice volunteering is its adaptability to your life. Direct patient visits are just one option. You might contribute by supporting administrative needs, creating memory books, helping families preserve legacies, organizing community memorial events, or staffing educational programs. Whatever fits your schedule and your strengths, there's a place for you.

The guide I've created for CANA members walks you through the essentials: identifying your personal motivation for serving, maintaining appropriate boundaries between your volunteer and professional roles, navigating patient interactions with compassion, handling challenging situations, and sustaining your service without burning out.

My volunteer experience has been wonderfully varied from sitting with hospice patients during their final journey to working behind the scenes organizing medical supplies or dressing up as an elf for the Kourageous Kids Holiday Party. Some of the most meaningful connections I've made have been with hospice care team members whose tireless work has expanded my understanding of compassionate care and enriched my professional practice in ways I never anticipated.

Building a Partnership

This synergy between funeral service and hospice care is exactly why I'm excited to present at the CANA Symposium in February. My session will focus on how funeral and cremation providers can partner more effectively with hospice organizations not just through volunteering, but through building collaborative relationships that benefit the families you serve.

Building on Greg Grabowski's insightful hospice presentation from February 2025, I'll share more practical strategies for deepening these partnerships and explore how volunteering can open doors to meaningful professional relationships with hospice care teams.

These partnerships create continuity of care that spans life's final chapter. In your funeral home, you meet families in the aftermath. As a hospice volunteer, you may walk alongside them through the journey itself or assist care team members in a meaningful way.  Each role enhances the other, creating a fuller understanding of how to serve families with both competence and heart.

This November, as we honor National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, I invite you to explore hospice volunteering for yourself. Download the CANA member-only guide, reach out to your local hospice organization, and discover how even a small commitment of time can create profound ripples of compassion in your community.

At CANA's 2026 Symposium, Lacy Robinson moves beyond basic hospice collaboration to equip funeral and cremation providers with four actionable strategies that transform casual hospice relationships into strategic partnerships, to generate measurable results. 

Register now so you don't miss the actionable strategies, visual examples, and practical frameworks to position your funeral home as the preferred provider among hospice teams while serving families with dignity and excellence! 

CANA Members! You can download Lacy's helpful Hospice Engagement guide from the CANA Connect CommUnity Forum.

Lacy Robinson brings over 20 years of expertise in developing and facilitating customer service training programs tailored for funeral home clients. As an instructor at Worsham College of Mortuary Science, she teaches Fundamentals of Customer Service and conducts training programs for Johnson Consulting Group clients. Lacy co-authored the book Engaging the Heart of Hospice - Making Funeral and Memorial Services an Extension of Hospice Care with Greg Grabowski, founder of Hospice Advisors. 

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A licensed funeral director/embalmer and certified funeral celebrant, Lacy has served as a board member for the Selected Independent Funeral Homes Educational Trust and the APFSP Board of Trustees. She holds degrees from Georgetown College and Mid-America College of Funeral Service and an MBA in Bourbon Tourism and Event Planning from Midway University.