Hospice Importance

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The Importance of Hospice Care Death is a universal truth. Hospice reduces the suffering associated with death. Hospice is considered the philosophy and model for quality, compassionate care to terminally ill patients. Patients accepted into a hospice program usually have a prognosis of less than six months to live (Potter, Perry, Stockert & Hall, 2017, p. 761). Hospice provides skilled medical care, pain management, emotional, and spiritual support tailored to the patient’s needs and wishes. The goal of hospice is to focus on the quality of life during the end of life. It gives patients a sense of dignity, provides patients and families with support, and it is cost effective. Today, seven out of ten Americans die from chronic disease. By 2020, the number of people living with a chronic illness will increase to 157 million (Hogan 2012). As the elderly population in the U.S. continues to increase, the importance of hospice will only continue to grow. Role of Hospice “The hospice philosophy accepts death as the final stage of life: it affirms life and neither hastens nor postpones death. Hospice care treats the person rather than the …show more content…

(2016, May 16). What is hospice care? Retrieved from https://www.cancer.org/treatment/finding-and-paying-for-treatment/choosing-your-treatment-team/hospice-care/what-is-hospice-care.html Hogan, D. (2012). Why Hospice is More Important Today than Ever Before. Retrieved from http://www.nahc.org/mobile/news/why-hospice-is-more-important-today-than-ever-before/ Hospice care saves money for Medicare Dollars. (2013). National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Miller, S. C., Lima, J., Gozalo, P. L., & Mor, V. (2010). The Growth of Hospice Care in U.S. Nursing Homes. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 58(8), 1481-1488. doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.02968.x Potter, P.A., Perry, A.G., Stocker, P.A., & Hall. (2017). Fundamentals of Nursing (9th ed.). St. Louis, MO:

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