The Doctor with a Hospice Heart

“The grieving process starts when the patient receives a terminal diagnosis and doesn’t end until a year or more after the patient passes away. There is a gap in the care and support that patients and families receive and that’s where hospice comes in. It is a safety net for patients and families during the most trying time of their lives. I want to be there to make this kind of difference. "

Dr. Laurence Boggeln has been a physician in the Temecula area for the past 21 years. He graduated from St. Louis University Medical School and did his residency at Camp Pendleton. He was in family practice full time from 1984 -2005 and during this time, as he made house calls, occasionally ran into home care and hospice nurses who were also seeing patients in their homes. He was so impressed by the care he saw being delivered, that he decided to look further into working in hospice.

In 2001, he had the opportunity to be the part-time medical director for a local hospice. His love of helping patients through the most difficult time of their lives increased, as he became an integral part of the hospice care team.

For 6 months in 2003, Dr. Boggeln was on active duty in Iraq. When he returned, his passion to provide full time hospice care increased. His dream was realized in 2005 when he became the full time Administrator and Medical Director for Hospice of the Valleys. 

Dr. Boggeln states, “The rewards are different – being a family practice physician versus being a hospice physician. My sense of helping someone is heightened when dealing with end of life issues. I deal with patients and families with raw emotions and there is no façade. At end of life, you deal with the basics. It can be a very tender and beautiful time for people.”

“It says a lot about our country and our health care system that we can provide care to people when they need it most. And we can provide that care based on need rather than on ability to pay. We don’t have to stop providing care part way through the process– we are there when cure stops and comfort begins.”