Hiring guideRead at source, 29 September 2026
How to Recruit Hospice Aides: Cap the Caseload, Pay the Drive, and Name the Hard Part
To recruit hospice aides, hire from the pool of certified nursing assistants and home health aides, confirm they meet the federal hospice aide qualification in 42 CFR 418.76, and write an ad that states the visits per day, paid drive time and mileage, and an honest line about end-of-life work and the support you provide. Reach aides with Facebook and Instagram ads, keep the application short, and text applicants within minutes, because home health, assisted living and skilled nursing are hiring the same people.
Who you are recruiting
BLS does not publish figures for hospice aides on their own. The people you are recruiting are counted in two larger occupations, and your candidates come from both.
| Occupation | Employed, 2025 | Change, 2025-35 | Openings a year | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home health and personal care aides | 4,677,100 | +18.1% | 760,500 | $35,800 |
| Nursing assistants | 1,505,900 | +2.6% | 196,200 | $42,260 |
Those openings are shared with every home health agency, assisted living community and nursing home in your area. Hospice has one real advantage in that competition: the aides who want this work tend to want it specifically. The recruiting job is to find them and make it easy for them to say yes.
The federal qualification: what a hospice aide must have
Medicare-certified hospices must use aides who meet 42 CFR 418.76. A qualified hospice aide has completed one of: a training program and competency evaluation meeting the regulation, a competency evaluation program meeting it, "a nurse aide training and competency evaluation program approved by the State" (with the aide "currently listed in good standing on the State nurse aide registry"), or "a State licensure program." Points that change how you recruit:
- Competency comes first. The regulation says an individual "may furnish hospice aide services on behalf of a hospice only after that individual has successfully completed a competency evaluation program."
- The 24-month lapse. An aide is not considered qualified if there has been "a continuous period of 24 consecutive months" since completing the program in which none of their aide services were for pay. Ask about recent paid work, not only the certificate date.
- Training if you build your own. Classroom and supervised practical training combined "must total at least 75 hours," and "a minimum of 16 hours of classroom training must precede a minimum of 16 hours of supervised practical training."
- Ongoing requirements. An aide "must receive at least 12 hours of in-service training during each 12-month period," and a registered nurse must visit the patient's home "no less frequently than every 14 days" to assess the aide's care.
State certification and registry rules sit on top of the federal rule and vary by state. Check your state's requirements before writing the requirements section.
Where to find hospice aides
- CNAs in skilled nursing and assisted living who have cared for residents at end of life and want more time with each patient. See our CNA job description for that credential.
- Home health aides already working in homes and driving between visits. Our guide to home health aide recruiting covers that pool and its federal training rules.
- Caregivers who want a credential. If you run or sponsor a qualifying training program, private-duty caregivers become a trainable pipeline.
- Former hospice family caregivers and volunteers, for whom the work already means something.
- Your own aides' referrals. Hospice aides know which colleagues have the temperament for this work.
- Facebook and Instagram ads. Ads reach working aides who are not searching job boards. Meta's Employment special ad category requires a radius of at least 15 miles and blocks age, gender and ZIP code targeting (details).
Our ranking of where to find caregivers covers the same broader pool, and our healthcare recruiting hub covers the clinical roles hospice teams hire alongside aides.
What to pay hospice aides
The BLS May 2025 medians were $35,800 for home health and personal care aides and $42,260 for nursing assistants. The wage section of our hospice aide job description covers pay in more detail. In home hospice, how the day is paid matters as much as the rate: say whether drive time between visits is paid and what mileage you reimburse. Unpaid drive time between several visits is a pay cut the candidate will work out in the first week.
How to write the hospice aide ad
Three things distinguish a hospice ad that fills: the caseload (visits per day, and whether it is capped), paid drive time and mileage, and an honest sentence about the emotional weight with the support named (team debriefs, bereavement support). That last line is not a liability. It attracts people who have thought about the work, which is who you want.
- "Hospice Aide (CNA/HHA): 5-6 visits a day, capped. Paid drive time plus mileage."
- "Hospice work is hard, and we support you through it: team debriefs, bereavement support, an RN a phone call away."
- "Want more time with each patient? Home hospice aide, weekdays, local territory."
Use your own caseload and pay numbers; the samples show the structure. Our healthcare job ad templates show more examples that pass the special ad category review.
Screening questions for a mobile application
- Do you hold a current CNA or home health aide certification in this state? (Knockout, unless you train and qualify aides yourself.)
- Have you worked as a paid aide in the last 24 months? (Relevant to the 418.76 lapse rule; route rather than reject.)
- Do you have a valid driver's license and a reliable, insured vehicle? (Knockout for home hospice.)
- Have you cared for patients at end of life? (Scores; does not knock out.)
- Which schedule works for you? Days / evenings / weekends / on-call (Routes to the right role.)
Speed and follow-up: the best way to recruit hospice aides
A certified aide who applies to you may well be applying to other providers the same week. The best way to recruit hospice aides is to reach them first: text within minutes, offer a phone call that fits around their current shifts, and describe the caseload and the team on that first call. Boostpoint Connect, the SMS add-on to Boostpoint Attract, sends the instant text on apply, runs automated sequences set per job and keeps every thread in a shared inbox for your recruiters.
What it costs to recruit hospice aides
Hospice aides come from two families in Boostpoint's 2026 benchmark. The CNA / nursing assistant family had a median of $7.72 per applicant, a middle half of $6.18 to $12.06, a blended cost of $8.17 and an 18% apply rate. The Caregiver / home care family had a median of $3.76, a middle half of $2.99 to $5.83, a blended $3.87 and a 31% apply rate. Costs are what advertisers paid for advertising only; cost per applicant is not cost per hire. See the full benchmark.
A posting that requires certification narrows the pool, so it may cost more per applicant than an uncredentialed caregiver posting. Budget for that, and keep the application short: across the benchmark, the apply experience explained 70% of cost variation between campaigns.
Frequently asked questions
How do you recruit hospice aides?
Recruit from CNAs and home health aides, confirm they meet 42 CFR 418.76, state the caseload, paid drive time and mileage in the ad, be honest about end-of-life work and the support you offer, advertise on Facebook and Instagram, and text applicants within minutes.
Where can I find hospice aides?
Among CNAs in skilled nursing and assisted living, home health aides, caregivers who would train for a credential, former hospice family caregivers and volunteers, and your own aides' referrals.
What qualifications does a hospice aide need?
Under 42 CFR 418.76, a hospice aide must have completed a qualifying training and competency evaluation, a competency evaluation program, a state-approved nurse aide training and competency evaluation program (with the aide listed in good standing on the state nurse aide registry), or a state licensure program. State rules also apply.
Can a CNA work as a hospice aide?
A state-approved nurse aide training and competency evaluation program is one of the routes 42 CFR 418.76 accepts, as long as the aide is listed in good standing on the state nurse aide registry and has not gone 24 consecutive months without paid aide work since completing it. Check your state's rules as well.
How much do hospice aides make?
BLS does not report hospice aides separately. The May 2025 median annual wage was $35,800 for home health and personal care aides and $42,260 for nursing assistants.
How much in-service training do hospice aides need?
42 CFR 418.76 requires at least 12 hours of in-service training in each 12-month period.
What does it cost per applicant to recruit hospice aides on Facebook?
In Boostpoint's 2026 benchmark, the CNA / nursing assistant family had a median of $7.72 per applicant and the Caregiver / home care family $3.76. Cost per applicant is not cost per hire.
Find the aides who chose hospice on purpose
Boostpoint Attract runs your hospice aide ads on Facebook and Instagram with the creative made for you, and Boostpoint Connect texts every applicant the moment they apply. If your openings live in an ATS feed, Boostpoint Programmatic 2.0 runs one ad per job and uploads each candidate's answers and summary to that job.
Book a DemoSources: 42 CFR 418.76 (Hospice aide and homemaker services), eCFR; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 and BLS, May 2025 median annual wage (home health and personal care aides; nursing assistants); Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark. Read at source 29 September 2026.