(hos'pĭs )

[Fr. hospice, fr L. hospitium, entertainment, place of entertainment]

An interdisciplinary program of palliative care and supportive services that addresses the physical, spiritual, social, and economic needs of terminally ill patients and their families. This care may be provided in the home or a hospice center. To obtain information about locating a hospice program, contact the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) (www.nhpco.org/), telephone 800-658-8898; Hospice Foundation of America (www.hospicefoundation.org), telephone 202-638-5419; or the Hospice Association of America (www.hospice-america.org). In the U.S. 25% of Medicare recipients use hospice care in their last year of life.

Patient Care: Health care providers who care for the terminally ill should focus first and foremost on the comfort of the patient. They may provide counselling services, help patients with physical needs (such as bathing, dressing, or toileting), support fatigued loved ones, and assist with the devices and medications for breathlessness, insomnia, pain, or suffering. The care is usually provided in the patient's home, but the patient may periodically require hospitalization or skilled care, which is insured by many health care payers, such as Medicaid, Medicare, or commercial insurers. As death approaches, nurses, physicians, social workers, and /or volunteers combine to support the patient and significant others. The care team provides personal, practical, and spiritual assistance to prepare for the patient’s death and the patient’s wishes for a religious service, a memorial service, disposition of the body, and /or burial arrangements. Follow-up visits after death with the family and loved ones may help ease their loss and help them get on with their lives.