What is Hospice Care?

Hospice care is a team oriented support system that focuses on the medical, physical, and emotional well being of hospice patients and their family members.

Hospice is not a specific place, but rather a service that supplements patients and family members by providing care in a setting that they consider home. It can be provided either in a home, a nursing home, or an elderly care facility.

Hospice care is palliative and focuses on maintaining maximum comfort. Hospice care is for people who have an advanced illness and a limited life expectancy. It is for people who are nearing the end of life.

Hospice is usually utilized when the patient and family have decided to no longer seek aggressive or curative treatments, but would rather benefit from a more natural approach of care that focuses on pain management, comfort, and dignity.

Hospice care is provided by the Hospice Interdisciplinary Team, which consists of medical professionals (doctors, nurses, home health aides, social workers, volunteers, and spiritual counselors) who visit the patients periodically in their home setting. The overall goal is to ensure that patients are comfortable, their symptoms are well managed, and they have the support that they need both physically, mentally and emotionally.