Frequently Asked Questions
Questions are welcome.
When you are navigating serious illness, aging, changing care needs, or end-of-life decisions, it helps to have clear information and steady support. Browse these common questions to better understand how Still Harbor Health can help you and your family.
About the Care
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Still Harbor Health provides unhurried, comfort-focused clinical house calls and virtual care by an experienced Nurse Practitioner. Karin specializes in navigating advanced illness, memory changes, and the sacred chapters of aging with absolute dignity, patient autonomy, and dedicated family caregiver support.
Karin helps patients and families understand what is happening, talk through options, manage symptoms, clarify wishes, prepare for next steps, and feel less alone in the healthcare system.
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No. You do not have to be dying, on hospice, or “ready to give up” to receive support.
Many patients work with Karin while receiving life-prolonging treatment, seeing specialists, pursuing more time, or living with a serious illness for years. Supportive care can help earlier in the process, before a crisis happens.
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No. Hospice is generally for people nearing end of life, likely with six months or less to live and are no longer pursuing life-prolonging treatment. Hospice care is delivered by a team and is covered by Medicare and other insurance.
Supportive or palliative care focuses on comfort, quality of life, symptom management, communication, and making sure care decisions align with the patient’s wishes. It can happen much earlier and can be provided while someone is still receiving treatment for cancer, heart failure, COPD, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, kidney disease, or another serious illness.
Karin can also support patients and families before hospice, during hospice, or after hospice discharge if ongoing guidance is needed.
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Karin works with patients and families who may be navigating:
Serious illness
Cancer
Heart failure
COPD
Kidney or liver disease
Parkinson’s disease or other neurodegenerative illness
Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease
Advanced age and frailty
Frequent hospitalizations or ER visits
Changing function or safety concerns at home
Caregiver stress
End-of-life planning
Hospice decisions
Death with Dignity in Maine
Solo aging without close family support
Grief and bereavement support
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Yes. Karin is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and can diagnose, order labs or imaging, make referrals, and prescribe medications when appropriate.
She may help with symptom management related to pain, nausea, shortness of breath, constipation, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, depression, or other distressing symptoms.
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Karin does not provide personal care such as bathing, dressing, toileting, or ongoing hands-on caregiving.
She also does not provide routine primary care services such as annual wellness visits or vaccines for patients expected to need long-term primary care.
She can, however, help identify what support is needed and connect families with appropriate resources.
Visits & Access
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The first visit is a chance for Karin to get to know the patient and family, understand what has been happening, and identify the most important needs.
This may include reviewing diagnosis and prognosis, symptoms, medications, advance directives, family concerns, safety at home, available resources, and the patient’s goals and wishes.
Karin often begins with a simple invitation: “Tell me your story.”
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No referral is needed. Patients, family members, caregivers, healthcare providers, hospice teams, and community partners may reach out directly.
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No. Still Harbor Health is not an emergency service and Karin is not available 24/7.
Her work is designed to provide proactive, unhurried support so patients and families can plan ahead, understand what changes may need urgent attention, and know what steps to take when concerns arise. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911.
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Karin can help long-distance family members stay informed through virtual caregiver consultations, family meetings, and clear communication about what is changing and what support may be needed.
She can meet with the patient in Maine when appropriate and help keep spouses, adult children, healthcare proxies, caregivers, or other trusted people connected around the plan.
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Care needs can change over time. Karin can talk with patients and families about what level of support makes sense as illness, function, symptoms, or family needs shift.
If a different level of support becomes a better fit, Karin can help discuss options and next steps.
Costs & Insurance
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No. Still Harbor Health is a direct care practice and does not bill insurance.
Because Karin works outside of insurance reimbursement requirements, her support is not limited by a specific diagnosis, checklist, or standard visit structure. This allows more time with patients and families and lets the care focus on what is actually needed.
Still Harbor Health operates under a Medicare opt-out model. Traditional Medicare benefits may still apply to outside services such as prescriptions, labs, hospital care, and other care provided by clinicians or facilities that bill Medicare.
Karin can review payment details and Medicare opt-out information with you before your first visit.
Planning & Support
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Yes. Sometimes the patient is not ready to have these conversations, but family members still need guidance.
Karin can meet with spouses, adult children, caregivers, or trusted friends to help them understand what may be happening, what support is available, and how to prepare for next steps.
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A Solo-Ager is someone who is growing older without a spouse, partner, nearby family member, or trusted person available to help make medical decisions.
Karin can help Solo-Agers clarify their wishes, complete advance directives, think through who may be able to serve as a healthcare proxy, coordinate paperwork with a legal team, and create a plan for future health changes.
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Yes. Advance care planning is an important part of Karin’s work.
She helps patients think through who would speak for them if they could not speak for themselves, what quality of life means to them, what treatments they would or would not want, and how to document those wishes clearly before a crisis happens.
When appropriate, she can also help with POLST and DNR forms. These documents can be especially important for people who are seriously ill, frail, nearing end of life, or clear about what kinds of medical intervention do and do not fit their wishes.
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Yes. Karin can help patients and families understand hospice eligibility, what hospice provides, what changes when someone enrolls in hospice, and whether a referral may be appropriate.
She can also collaborate with hospice teams or continue supporting the patient and family during hospice care.
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Sometimes, yes.
When the patient’s goals are clear and there is a plan in place, Karin can help families understand what needs urgent medical attention, what may be manageable at home, and when another trip to the emergency room may not align with the patient’s wishes.
This kind of planning can help families feel less alone when decisions need to be made quickly.
Death with Dignity
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Death with Dignity, also called Medical Aid in Dying, is a legal process in Maine for eligible terminally ill adults who meet specific requirements to obtain medication to end their life.
Karin can provide education about the process, help patients and families understand eligibility questions, connect patients with participating physicians when appropriate, offer preparation and guidance, and provide experienced support throughout the process.
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No. In Maine, Death with Dignity medication must be prescribed by a physician. Nurse Practitioners cannot prescribe it under Maine law.
Karin’s role is as a guide and support person. She can help explain the process, coordinate referrals, prepare the patient and family, be a calm presence during ingestion if requested, assist with next steps after death, and provide follow-up support.
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Death with Dignity requires decisional capacity. Because dementia affects capacity over time, many people with dementia do not qualify by the time they or their family begin asking about the process.
Karin can help families understand the law, what options may or may not be available, and how to plan for comfort, safety, and dignity as dementia progresses.
Getting Started
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You can call, text, or email Still Harbor Health to schedule an introductory call.
Karin will ask a few questions about what is happening, what kind of support you are looking for, and whether a home visit, telehealth visit, or family meeting makes the most sense as a next step.
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The best place to start is a free introductory phone call. During that call, Karin can learn more about your situation and help determine whether Still Harbor Health is a good fit.
Some people need one consultation to develop a clear plan. Others need ongoing monthly support, family meetings, symptom management, or more frequent communication during a difficult time.