Hospice is a philosophy of care (sometimes called "palliative care"). The hospice philosophy or viewpoint accepts death as the final stage of life. The goal of hospice is to enable patients to continue an alert, pain-free life and to manage other symptoms so that their last days may be spent in comfort and quality, surrounded by their loved ones. Hospice affirms life and does not hasten or postpone death. Hospice care treats the person rather than the disease; it focuses on quality rather than length of life. It provides family-centered care and involves the patient and the family in making decisions. Care is provided for the patient and family 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Hospice care can be given in the patient's home, a hospital, nursing home, or private hospice facility. Most hospice care in the United States is given in the home, with a family member or members serving as the main hands-on caregiver.
Doctors, nurses, social workers, counselors, home health aides, clergy, therapists, and trained volunteers care for the patient and offer support based on their special areas of expertise. Together, they provide complete palliative care aimed at relieving symptoms and giving social, emotional, and spiritual support.
Hospice, in the earliest days, was a concept rooted in the centuries-old idea of offering a place of shelter and rest, or "hospitality" to weary and sick travelers on a long journey. In 1967 Dame Cicely Saunders at St. Christopher's Hospice in London first applied the term "hospice" to specialized care for dying patients. St. Christopher's organized a team approach to professional caregiving, and was the first program to use modern pain management techniques to compassionately care for the dying. The first hospice in the United States was established in New Haven, Connecticut in 1974.
Today, hospice care provides humane and compassionate care for people in the last phases of incurable disease so that they may live as fully and comfortably as possible.
There are more than 4,700 hospice programs in the United States[1]. Hospice programs cared for 965,000 people enrolled in Medicare in 2006[2], and nearly 1.4 million people in the United States in 2007[3].
"You matter because of who you are. You matter to the last moment of your life, and we will do all we can, not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die". --Dame Cicely Saunders
For more information or to find a hospice care provider: National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
For help in dealing with life-limiting illness: Consoling Communities
