Hospice is not a place as much as it is a state of mind...
1. Palliative Care means that a dying person is given care that
is not curative; that will not sustain life. It will however,
ensure that what life remains can be lived in comfort and
without pain.
2. Hospice may be a place but is definitely a "way". It's a
method of offering palliative care to the terminally ill. It
can take place in a definite location and be called a Hospice
or it may be a way of allowing people to die with dignity at
home.
3. Dame Cicely Saunders is the founder of the Hospice movement
and started the first hospice in 1967 in England. The first
hospice in U.S. began in 1974 by Florence Wald in Connecticut.
4. Some hospice patients have a DNR order nearby. It means Do
Not Resuscitate as they want no heroic measures taken to
prevent their natural death.
5. Hospice volunteers, who provide respite care or run errands
for the patient or family, usually participate in highly
focused training.
6. Many insurance health plans cover all or much of hospice
care. Because the hospice team is comprised of many people,
including social workers, much effort is put into successfully
coordinating care and benefits, including Medicare.
7. Caregivers come in many forms: husbands, wives, siblings,
other family members and friends. Caregivers need recognize
that they need to take breaks and time out for themselves as
caregiving can often become very stressful over time.
8. Hospice care does not stop nor accelerate death and has no
association with assisted suicide.
9. Terminally ill prisoners can find help through the National
Prison Hospice Association.
10. According to the Hospice Foundation of America 885,000
people received hospice care in 2002.
PLUS ONE: If a person goes into remission or otherwise
improves, they may leave hospice. If they become ill again,
they may return.
Hospice is a reasonable alternative for persons who wish to die
with dignity, without pain, in their chosen environment and on
their own terms.
(c) 2006 Pamela Tyree Griffin
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 4
Thank you so much for posting this on Our Memorys and important things in our lives, with me, you hit both ;) Both my Mom and Dad were terminally ill and Hospice was set-up to come when Mom passed away. We cared for her at home and that's where she wanted to be. Same with my Dad, a few years later, though it was our home he came to. He went faster than thought, so Hospice didn't come, and he did have a DNR bracelet and order. Thank you for explaining as like us, many people don't find out or look into this wonderful organization that gives "SO" much of themselves for those who are terminal and their familys. We looked into it when everything was already happening and this information is invaluable to have.
Thanks again,
Marilyn