ABSTRACT
Hospice is concerned with dying, death, and grief. It is not necessarily a place to go to die; it is much more a philosophy of caring that says to the dying person, “You matter because you are you. You matter until the last moment of your life, and I will do anything possible to help you live fully.” Hospice is both a response to the existing status of health care and a stimulus to the health care system to respond to changing societal values. Hospice comes in when all efforts at cure are no longer effective, and when care is aimed at providing physical, emotional, and spiritual comfort. Hospice care is offered not only to the patient but also to the family, and is provided in a choice of environments by a comprehensive multidisciplinary team of professionals and trained volunteers. Hospice care focuses on living rather than on dying, and on living to the fullest whatever time remains. Hospice continues its caring into the bereavement period by offering a variety of supportive services to grieving family members until after the first anniversary of the patient’s death.
