November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. ViaQuest recognizes hospice care as a service that provides comfort, dignity, and respect to those coping with a serious or life-limiting illness and their families. While we realize the subject of hospice is often fraught with both emotion and confusion, we feel that this often-misunderstood facet of care is a valuable option that many families don’t explore because of the misconceptions surrounding it. Hospice is about allowing patients with life-limiting illnesses to navigate their end-of-life journey with dignity and compassionate care and supporting their families and caregivers.

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization shares some history about hospice care, noting that the first modern hospice, St. Christopher’s Hospice, was created in suburban London by physician Dame Cicely Saunders. Saunders began working with terminally ill patients in 1948 and coined the term “hospice” to describe specialized care provided for dying patients. In 1963, while serving as a guest lecturer at Yale University, Dame Saunders introduced the concept of hospice care to medical students, nurses, social workers, and chaplains. Pointing to photographic evidence of terminal patients with their families, she showed the dramatic improvement brought about by providing symptom control care. Hospice care as we know it today is a direct result of this lecture.

Six important points to know about hospice from NHPCO:

1. Hospice care is usually provided in the home – wherever the patient calls home. This includes assisted living communities and other long-term-care settings.
2. Hospice cares for people with any kind of life-limiting illness. Patients of every age and religion can access hospice care.
3. Hospice is fully covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and most private health plans and HMOs.
4. Hospice is not limited to six months of care. Patients and families are encouraged to contact a hospice provider when they receive a terminal diagnosis instead of waiting until the “last days” to benefit from all that hospice care has to offer. Pain management and symptom control offer significant physical benefits for patients as well as increased quality of life.
5. Hospice is not “giving up”; rather the focus is on caring, not curing. Hospice organizations are also trained to help family members cope with the emotional aspects of caring for a terminally ill loved one, as well as the grieving process when that loved one passes.
6. Anyone can contact hospice – so call your local program to learn if hospice is right for you or your loved one. Each hospice provider in an area may do things slightly differently, so choose an organization based on your needs. Many hospitals and skilled care facilities can offer suggestions or information on hospice care.

Choosing hospice does not mean you’re giving up hope—it just means a different kind of hope. A hope that your loved one can choose how to spend their final months, a hope that they will live as well as they can for as long as they can, and be surrounded by people who love them. ViaQuest Hospice can provide you with tools and support to make the decision and transition simple, peaceful, and full of hope.

If you have questions about hospice care, need support dealing with an illness, or feel it is time to focus on quality of life, call us at (855) 289-1722. We have a team of caring professionals on-call, ready to help.