Search
Close this search box.

Hospice Programs: Our Office’s Experience

Hospice programs exist in pretty much every American community. From their first appearance in this country in the mid-1970s, the movement has grown dramatically.

There are two obvious reasons for the growth in hospice programs in the past half-century:

  1. The kind of care available, focusing on palliative care, is attractive to many patients at the end of life, and
  2. Medicare funding has made hospice available to far more patients.

But do patients (and their family members) find the care comforting and helpful? In our experience, the answer is almost always a resounding “yes!”

In this podcast episode, we discuss our (local) experiences with hospice programs. The Tucson community has long embraced the hospice movement. In fact, the Hillhaven Corporation opened the first free-standing hospice program in the country here in Tucson, in 1973. While that program eventually failed, there has been a strong hospice presence in the Tucson area for almost fifty years.

Fleming & Curti, PLC, began in its first form just three years after that first hospice opening. With that rich background, we have had a lot of opportunities to observe hospice in actual real-world cases. We’ve always been impressed by what we see.

As individuals, we’ve also had a number of experiences with various hospice organizations. Join us for our discussion of hospice programs in Tucson, and our real-world experiences.

Follow us on your favorite platform:

Be sure to stay up to date on our latest episodes on your favorite platforms. Make sure to follow, subscribe, and download your favorite episodes and be notified when new episodes are released. 

Robert B. Fleming

Attorney

Robert Fleming is a Fellow of both the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He has been certified as a Specialist in Estate and Trust Law by the State Bar of Arizona‘s Board of Legal Specialization, and he is also a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. Robert has a long history of involvement in local, state and national organizations. He is most proud of his instrumental involvement in the Special Needs Alliance, the premier national organization for lawyers dealing with special needs trusts and planning.

Robert has two adult children, two young grandchildren and a wife of over fifty years. He is devoted to all of them. He is also very fond of Rosalind Franklin (his office companion corgi), and his homebound cat Muninn. He just likes people, their pets and their stories.

Elizabeth N.R. Friman

Attorney

Elizabeth Noble Rollings Friman is a principal and licensed fiduciary at Fleming & Curti, PLC. Elizabeth enjoys estate planning and helping families navigate trust and probate administrations. She is passionate about the fiduciary work that she performs as a trustee, personal representative, guardian, and conservator. Elizabeth works with CPAs, financial professionals, case managers, and medical providers to tailor solutions to complex family challenges. Elizabeth is often called upon to serve as a neutral party so that families can avoid protracted legal conflict. Elizabeth relies on the expertise of her team at Fleming & Curti, and as the Firm approaches its third decade, she is proud of the culture of care and consideration that the Firm embodies. Finding workable solutions to sensitive and complex family challenges is something that Elizabeth and the Fleming & Curti team do well.

Amy F. Matheson

Attorney

Amy Farrell Matheson has worked as an attorney at Fleming & Curti since 2006. A member of the Southern Arizona Estate Planning Council, she is primarily responsible for estate planning and probate matters.

Amy graduated from Wellesley College with a double major in political science and English. She is an honors graduate of Suffolk University Law School and has been admitted to practice in Arizona, Massachusetts, New York, and the District of Columbia.

Prior to joining Fleming & Curti, Amy worked for American Public Television in Boston, and with the international trade group at White & Case, LLP, in Washington, D.C.

Amy’s husband, Tom, is an astronomer at NOIRLab and the Head of Time Domain Services, whose main project is ANTARES. Sadly, this does not involve actual time travel. Amy’s twin daughters are high school students; Finn, her Irish Red and White Setter, remains a puppy at heart.

Famous people's wills

Matthew M. Mansour

Attorney

Matthew is a law clerk who recently earned his law degree from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. His undergraduate degree is in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Matthew has had a passion for advocacy in the Tucson community since his time as a law student representative in the Workers’ Rights Clinic. He also has worked in both the Pima County Attorney’s Office and the Pima County Public Defender’s Office. He enjoys playing basketball, caring for his cat, and listening to audiobooks narrated by the authors.