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Publication #FAR5003

 

Hospice Care1

Suzanna Smith2

Figure 1. 
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Recently a friend's mother, Alice, was diagnosed with lung cancer, and even though she received all the possible treatments, the cancer was incurable. She went into hospice care so that she could get professional help in preparing herself and her family for her death.

Hospice programs are available in communities around the country "to help terminally ill individuals live their remaining days with dignity" (Administration on Aging, 2003, p. 1) while "surrounded by their loved ones" (Hospice Association of America, 1994, ¶ 1). Usually, hospice patients "are in their last six months of life" and the majority (about two-thirds) are over the age of 65 (Hospice Foundation of America, 2006, ¶ 2).

A hospice team "works with the patient and his or her family to develop a personalized care plan" (Hospice Foundation of America, 2006, ¶ 9) that will make "the patient as comfortable as possible" (Association on Aging, 2003, p. 1). Hospice care is usually provided in the patient's home with a family member giving most of the care, but hospice can also be at a special hospice residence, a nursing home, hospital, or long-term care facility (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization).

Talking about death may be painful and difficult under any circumstances. "Counseling services for the patient and loved ones are an important part of hospice care" and can include visits, phone calls, support groups, and bereavement counseling and information after the patient's death (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization).The hospice team is specially trained to provide not only medical assistance but also to help the patient and the family deal with the loneliness and fears that come as they face the end of life (Hospice Foundation of America, 2006).

Listening, learning, and living together: it's the science of life. "Family Album" is a co-production of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, and of WUFT-FM. If you'd like to learn more, please visit our website at http://www.familyalbumradio.org.

To listen to the radio broadcast:

http://www.radiosource.net/radio_stories/409.mp3

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References

Administration on Aging. (2003). Hospice care: A guide for families. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services.

Hospice Association of America. (1994). All about hospice: A consumer's guide. Retrieved March 28, 2006, from http://www.nahc.org/HAA/guide.html [9 September 2012].

Hospice Foundation of America. (2006). Hospice patients and staff. Retrieved March 28, 2006, from http://www.hospicefoundaiton.org/hospiceInfo/patients.asp [9 September 2012].

National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (n.d.). Caring connections. Retrieved March 28, 2006, from http://www.caringinfo.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3466.

Footnotes

1.

This document is FAR5003, one of a series of the Family Youth and Community Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Broadcast as program 409 in January 2007. Published on EDIS August 2012. In the interest of time and/or clarity, the broadcast version of this script may have been modified. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Suzanna Smith, associate professor, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.