Hospice Care
Hospice is not a place but a concept of care. Eighty percent of hospice care is provided in the patient’s home, family member’s home or in nursing homes. Inpatient hospice facilities are sometimes available to assist with care giving.
Today there are more than 3,200 hospice programs in the Unites States, Puerto Rico and Guam. Hospice programs cared for nearly 885,000 people in the United States in 2002.
Hospice care neither prolongs life nor hastens death. Hospice staff and volunteers offer a specialized knowledge of medical care, including pain management.
The goal of hospice care is to improve the quality of a patient’s last days by offering comfort and dignity.
Hospice addresses all symptoms of a disease, with a special emphasis on controlling a patient’s pain and discomfort. Hospice also deals with emotional, social and spiritual impact of the disease on the patient and patient’s family and friends. Bereavement and counseling services are made available to families before and after a patient’s death.
Hospice and Sea Services
Sea Services works closely with hospice councilors and advisors when they assist families making funeral arrangements. When a patient in hospice requests a Burial at Sea, it is our goal to fulfill their final wishes.
Hospice History
The word “hospice” stems from the Latin word “hospitium” meaning guesthouse. It was originally used to describe a place of shelter for weary and sick travelers returning from religious pilgrimages. During the 1960’s, Dr. Cicely Saunders, a British physician began the modern hospice movement by establishing St. Christopher’s Hospice near London. St. Christopher’s organized a team approach to professional care giving, and was the first program to use modern pain management techniques to compassionately care for the dying. The first hospice in the United States was established in New Haven, Connecticut in 1974.
Additional Hospice Links
