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Hospice Care - Place of Death

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Hospice Care
When a loved one dies, the place of death may have important implications for families’ experience of death and subsequent bereavement, although it may not be the sole factor impacting this experience. (Siden, 2008) Home hospice helps the entire family and family members are encouraged to take an active role in providing supportive care to the patient. In doing so, the family experiences fewer feelings of helplessness and the patient is not relying solely on strangers for all of his/her care. The goal of hospice care is to achieve the best quality of life not only for patients, but also for their families. Enabling death at home, if this is the patient's choice, is often seen as part of ensuring the best possible quality of life. There are hospitals which have a hospice program to give terminally ill patients access to support services and other health care professionals. Many hospitals have a special hospice unit. These units provide intensive medical and psychological support to patients who need aggressive symptom management. Home hospice provides end-of-life care in a setting which is familiar to the patient and their family therefore making their final days more comfortable and beneficial to all. Excellent end-of-life support, in the location of choice, is in itself, an essential aim but my goal is to determine which choice provides the best care for the patient and the family.
Palliative care
It has been noted that the most common answer to the question "How would you like to die?" is "Asleep in my own bed." A home death is considered the ideal when defining a good death. Interest in the development of home-based palliative care and the concept of a home death has recently gained momentum. This interest has grown because home-based palliative care may improve quality of life for some patients and their families and may also be a cost-effective

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