What is Hospice?

Do you know what hospice is and why you might want to use it for a loved one or family member?

Do you know how hospice services are provided or what's involved in getting this service?

Do you know who pays for hospice?

Should you care?

I'll use this space to try and answer these questions for you. This is an issue that will probably come up in everyone's life should you be lucky enough to live that long. Baby Boomers are now approaching sixty and beyond. If you're lucky enough to still have your parents around, enjoy them because they won't be here forever. Fact of life, natural course of events, natures' way of evolving the species, take your pick. We all die. How we deal with it is the issue of hospice. We're all over preparing for childbirth and helping a woman bring a new life into the world. Entire industries are devoted to it. Should'nt we put at least some effort into the other end of this natural cycle?

Hospice as used here means home for the terminally ill. It comes from the Latin "hospitum" meaning guest house, hospitality. To mean it denotes making one comfortable. It is simply the easing into the unknown the life of any of us and easing our families and loved ones during this transition.

The passing of a family member is traumatic for everyone. This is true even when the passing is expected. Hospice personnel help to mitigate this trauma and make the event bearable for all involved. To accomplish this they use nurses, medical social workers, clergy and volunteers that all work together in tending to the needs of the patient and family.

It starts with the patients' doctor. If a patient is suffering from an incurable, progressive condition such as cancer or Alzheimers, etc, death can be predicted with some certainty. At some point in the progression, a decision will need to be made regarding whether to continue trying to cure the disease or to let nature run its course. If it's decided to let the process progress, then hospice is an option. The doctor will generally recommend an agency that delivers hospice services to the patient and will contact the agency to refer the patient.

Hospice services can be administered either in a specialized facility, a long term care facility or in the patients' home. The decision will really rest with the family and the patient. If the patient is still living in their home, then there's usually no reason to move them to a specialized facility. The patients comfortable, the family's comfortable and everyone gets to spend the time left together. Nursing services can be easily provided in the home, along with any specialized equipment that might be required (i.e. hospital bed, oxygen, etc).

Hospice nurses provide palliative care. Palliative care simply means to provide relief without providing a cure. We've all treated ourselves with palliative care before. When we take an aspirin for a headache, we're treating a symptom. Well, we're doing the same with a hospice patient. There are all sorts of wonderful pain medications available for terminal patients. Most anyone now can be free of pain from illness with the right medication. It's important to remember though that medication administered in hospice is only for comfort, not treatment. Don't forget that at this point we're letting nature take over.

Actually, some patients' conditions improve with palliative care. About 13% of patients nationally improve enough under hospice that they are discharged from hospice care. Yes, hospice is revocable. It is not a death sentence or a sign of giving in to the inevitable. It is an acceptance of the fact that all livings things die. We just can't predict with certainty when that might occur.

Hospice is a paid benefit of Medicare and many private insurance companies. Check with your carrier to see if a hospice benefit is included in your policy.

So in summary, hospice is a gift. A gift to the terminally ill and their families. Like a baby shower is a gift to an expectant mother bringing a new life into this world, hospice is a gift to a family to help usher a life out of this world.

Clyde Cathcart is a former marketer for home health and hospice services