Andy Covington with a photo of his mother, Toyoko, and her great-granddaughter.
“We were thrown into the deep end,” Andy says. “My mom couldn’t go back to her home; everything she knew was taken away.”
The family found an adult care home, Lavender House, and shortly afterward, they were introduced to Housecall Providers. Just before the onset of COVID-19, Toyoko was accepted into the primary care program, where she began receiving in-home medical care tailored to her needs. “It was a godsend,” Andy remembers. “At a time when the world was shutting down, they were stepping in.”
The Housecall Providers primary care team offered consistent, thoughtful support—care that helped stabilize Toyoko and allowed her to remain in the comfort of her new home. But about nine months later, her condition began to decline: Her appetite dropped, energy waned and desire to engage diminished. That’s when the team recommended an additional level of support with a transition to hospice care.
For Andy, there was no hesitation. “I knew it was the right decision,” he says. “People think hospice means giving up, but for us, it was an intervention. It was a way forward.”
What followed was a remarkable period of reconnection and healing. With hospice care came more intensive support—regular chaplain visits, dietary adaptations and a deepened level of communication that allowed the entire family to feel held and cared for. “She began smiling again, talking more, recognizing us,” Andy recalls. “It was beautiful. It gave us real time together.”
Remarkably, hospice care sparked a noticeable turnaround in Toyoko’s health. In September 2024, after months of meaningful improvement, Toyoko was discharged from hospice and returned to primary care with Housecall Providers, where she continued to thrive under the same trusted team she had before. “It wasn’t a step backward,” Andy emphasizes. “The hospice care gave her the stability she needed. And the primary care team picked right up, keeping her well and connected to her family.”
For five more months, Toyoko remained active and engaged, enjoying video calls with her granddaughters, meals she loved and visits with family. But when her condition began to worsen again in early 2025, she was seamlessly transitioned back to hospice care. “It was immediate, supportive and exactly what we needed,” Andy says. “She passed peacefully, with caregivers by her side. She was never alone.”
Andy, a former VA employee, says the Housecall Providers model—the seamless integration of primary care and hospice—is something rare and deeply needed. “They never dropped the thread. Whether it was primary care or hospice, they were always there.”
