What is Hospice?

“Hospice is a philosophy of neither shortening life nor prolonging life, but rather letting the terminal illness take its natural course with care and comfort of symptoms to provide the goal of a peaceful death with dignity.” - Barbara Roberts

When is a Hospice Referral Appropriate:

More supportive care could help relieve distress.

The client and/or loved ones are ready to discontinue curative treatment.

The needs of the client are not being adequately met by
    the current treatment routine.

The assumption has been that hospice care is only for the very end of life. In fact, anyone with a life-threatening or chronic illness can be referred to hospice-the earlier, the better. A hospice worker will
assess the patient, and contact the patient’s doctor if hospice care is appropriate.

Patient Comfort is Priority

The basic tenet of hospice is facing death rather than denying its inevitability. The first priority of any hospice care is to alleviate physical, emotional and spiritual distress. Also, to provide durable medical equipment and medications, both for comfort and related to the primary diagnosis. Criteria for admittance to hospice care have become broader, and include failure to thrive, uncontrolled pain, and other causes of suffering that may not be tied so directly to a predictable time frame of approaching death.

The focus of modern hospice is pain and symptom control. Oral medications are used to prevent pain. The spiritual and psychological needs of the dying person are addressed. The importance of family and friends is recognized, as well as the need for a caring interdisciplinary team, which may include physician, nurse, social worker, caregivers, spiritual counselor, harpists, etc.

Hospice Issues to Consider

All who are coping with dying may have unfinished business which they may want to talk about.

Many people feel it is wrong to “give up,” that is, to stop aggressive medical intervention even when there is no chance of a cure. A lot of unnecessary suffering results from this attitude.

The belief that going on hospice always hastens death. In fact, a significant percentage of people improve with the extra care of hospice, and may even be discharged from hospice.

It is important to complete Advance Directives. Writing down your preferences  early can save your loved ones the stress of guessing what your preferences are. You can change your mind at any time, as long as you are competent and able to express your wishes.