I would be very rich if I had a nickel for every time I heard characters in a movie say he or she is "going to" hospice or when the media says the same. It is as if there is a building that has a big sign on it with a big red blinking arrow that says "hospice here." 

This is a service that everyone needs to understand. I too need to be more conversant in the subject and am thankful that I was nominated to attend the 21st Annual Hospice and Palliative Care Conference that will take place in June.

I am driven to educate you about this service in basic terms. After I attend the conference we will all have an opportunity to understand the nuances of these services.

What is Hospice Care?

So, let's get started by addressing the first and obvious question: what is hospice? 

Hospice care is a philosophy of care that provides medical services, emotional support, and spiritual resources for people who are in the last stages of a serious illness, such as cancer or heart failure. Volunteer support, such as preparing meals and running errands is also quite common.

This philosophy is rooted in the notion that we must accept death as the final phase of life. That is very powerful. Because one is still alive when these services are provided the goal is assist patients by enabling them to live their last days as alert and pain-free as possible (or palliative care).  

Most hospice patients can achieve a level of comfort that allows them to concentrate on the emotional and practical issues of dying.

This represents a shift from medically treating the underlying disease in an attempt to cure it, to management of symptoms so that a person's last days may be spent with dignity and quality, surrounded by their loved ones 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Hospice affirms life and neither hastens nor postpones death. The reason I highlighted last stages of a serious illness was to distinguish palliative care services  which as you can see by the chart below do not require one to be dying and is most often provided in an institution such as a hospital, extended care facility, or nursing home that is associated with a palliative care team.

Many people wrongly believe that hospice services are intended to speed up or prolong the dying process.

Hospice companies are highly regulated and they are forbidden in engaging in activities that would have this result. 

In fact, I have been with families when they have asked the hospice organization to just help let their parent go when breathing has become belabored and they are scared that their loved one is suffering only to be met by a call or visit from adult protective services or social worker concerned that the family wants death to be induced for financial reasons. 

I know we live in a weird world. I wonder where these entities are when my living and health clients are being abused or neglected. Anyway, I digress! 

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