...Hospice Care: Culture Blind and Patient Centered Put into place more than seven decades ago by a physician named Dame Cicely Saunders in London, England as a way to provide quality care centered around the terminally ill, hospice care was introduced in the United Stated in 1963 with a visit from Saunders to Yale University (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, 2016). This patient centered method of care was put into place as a means of allowing terminally ill patients dignity, comfort, and support during the final days of their lives. It is the intention of this paper to provide an overview of hospice care in America, and how patient care can be provided in such a manner as to provide care to all cultures and religious beliefs...
Words: 1896 - Pages: 8
...Hospice care The term was from the medieval times when it referred to a place of shelter and rest for weary or ill travelers on a long journey. The name was first applied to specialized care for dying patients by physician Dame Cicely Saunders, who began her work with the terminally ill in 1948 and eventually went on to create the first modern hospice—St. Christopher’s Hospice—in a residential suburb of London. Sanders idea of specialized care for the dying to the United States during a 1963 visit with Yale University brought on the thought of helping the ones that couldn’t help them self and more and day were limited. To help them go in peace. It been an ongoing thing since the 1963 and still used to day Hospice is a type of care and a philosophy of care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill or seriously ill patient's symptoms. These symptoms can be physical, emotional, or psychosocial in nature. Hospice care focuses on bringing comfort, self-respect, and tranquility to people in the final years of life. Patients’ symptoms and pain are controlled, goals of care are discussed and emotional needs are supported. Hospice believes that the end of life is not a medical experience, it is a human experience that benefits from expert medical and holistic support that hospice offers. The concept of hospice has been evolving since the 11th century. Then, and for centuries thereafter, hospices were places of hospitality for the sick, wounded, or dying, as well as those...
Words: 1059 - Pages: 5
...Hospice Care Hannae Warren HCS/212 Kristie Racca October 24, 2011 Hospice is a term that is traced back to medieval times; it was a place where tired or sick travelers could find a place of shelter, rest, and care (“History of Hospice Care,” 2010). Since the medieval times hospice care has evolved into a contemporary program that offers patients facing terminal illnesses medical, spiritual, and psychological care. A physician named Dame Cicely Saunders first proposed the thought of specialized care for the terminally ill in 1963, and in 1967 she founded the first modern hospice in a residential suburb of London (“History of Hospice Care,” 2010). This was the beginning of modern day hospice care which provides patients the humane and compassionate care that is beneficial to people that are in their last phases of incurable diseases, so that they may live as much as possible and as comfortably before they pass away (“Hospice Care,” 2011). The Hospice viewpoint is that death is the final stage of life, they support life, and neither rush nor delay death (“Hospice Care, 2011). The ultimate goal of any hospice is to assist patients live their last days on earth as a alert and as pain-free as possible (“Hospice Care,” 2011). Hospice care is helpful when...
Words: 1280 - Pages: 6
...Hospice Care LaToya L. Howard HCS/212 January 1, 2013 Denise Brown I first heard about hospice from a co-worker a few years ago when that co-worker was preparing to check her mother in hospice and she was in her forties. As she discussed with me her mother had a drug addiction problem her entire life. At that time I had never heard about hospice and I became interested in learning more about it. “Hospice is a special concept of care designed to provide comfort and support to patients and their families. Patients are referred to hospice when life expectancy is approximately six months or less. Hospice care can continue longer than six months if needed but requires physician certification” (Kinzbrunner, BM, 2002, p. 29-45). As I researched on the internet I found out during the 1960’s, Dr. Cicely Saunders began the modern hospice movement by establishing St. Christopher’s Hospice near London Street. According to Saunders (1975), the word “hospice” originated from the Latin word “hospitium” which means guesthouse. It was originally used to describe a place of shelter for sick travelers returning from religious pilgrimages. In addition to this information there have been more than 4,700 hospice programs in the United States. As I learned from my previous co-worker hospice care is there to make the patient’s life more comfortable as they prepare for their end of life and to provide support...
Words: 1164 - Pages: 5
...Hospice care The goal of hospice is to help patients live their last days as alert and pain-free as possible. Hospice care tries to manage symptoms so that a person's last days may be spent with dignity and quality. Hospice care treats the person rather than the disease; it focuses on quality rather than length of life. Hospice care is family-centered -- it includes the patient and the family in making decisions. This care is planned to cover 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Hospice care can be given in the patient's home, a hospital, nursing home, or private hospice facility. Hospice care is used when you can no longer be helped by curative treatment, and you are expected to live about 6 months or less if the illness runs its usual course. Hospice gives you palliative care, which is treatment to help relieve disease-related symptoms, but not cure the disease; its main purpose is to improve your quality of life. You, your family, and your doctor decide together when hospice care should begin. A team of professionals In most cases, an interdisciplinary health care team manages hospice care. This means that many interacting disciplines work together. Doctors, nurses, social workers, counselors, home health aides, clergy, therapists, and trained volunteers care for you and your family. Each of these people offers support based on their special areas of expertise. Together, they give you and your loved ones complete palliative care aimed at relieving symptoms and giving...
Words: 449 - Pages: 2
...Hospice Care Hospice Care Hospice is a medical organization that helps care for patients who are near the end of life from a terminal illness. This is a group of professional health care workers that are there to take care of the patient and the patient’s family. They work as a team to make sure these patients have as less pain and problems dealing with the end of life as possible. They provide the family of the patient with the knowledge of how the dying process works. They will inform the patient and family stage by stage of what is happening. They will let the family members know the details of the sounds a person may make when the process begins so the family is well aware of what is going to happen. Although hospice helps the family deal with the loose of the patient, hospice caregiver’s main focus is to make the patient feel comfortable, by easing any discomfort possible during the process of dying. They also help the patient pass with as much dignity as possible. Hospice can start caring for a patient as early as six months, the physician of the patient has to recommend for services to be start. A patient may be on hospice for as little as a few days, no matter the length the services and care given is always important for the patient and family. Most of the patients on hospice are older, however hospice services will be provided to any patient in their final stages of life young, middle age or old. Many patients dealing with the final stages of their illness receive...
Words: 927 - Pages: 4
...Hospice Care How much do people know about hospice care and what is involved in it? We research just about every big decision that affects our lives right now. For example we may research what career is best for us and our family, what kind of car best fits our financial needs, what kind of mortgage can we afford over a long period, and more important how is the neighborhood. Research is even conducted on something as small as what is the latest and greatest phone on the market. We spend hours or some times days researching these decisions, but how much time do we spend looking into the last days of our lives? If the average American is like me, they have not done any research about hospice care. My knowledge of hospice care was very limited by personal experience with both of my grandparents. Several years ago both of my grandparents were suffering from terminal illnesses and were placed in a hospice in Los Angeles with only a few months to live. I recall going to visit both of them and remember how poor the facility was. Just like with almost anything involving medical care, you get what you pay for. Neither one of my grandparents were financially at the top of the health care ladder and were both on Medicare like most Americans in their demographic. Hospice care was first established in the United States in 1970 and has become a growing industry since. (Hospice care in the United States, 2011) By 1995, hospices were a $2.8 billion industry with $1...
Words: 1121 - Pages: 5
...simulation exercise I had little to no idea how home care health and hospice care was regulated by health insurance companies and Medicare. They both have different goals. Home health care aids at improving the patient’s condition through administration of treatment and other services, which must be covered by Medicare. According to Stanhope & Lancaster (2014), Hospice care can be either “home-based and/or in-patient…focus on comfort, pain relief, and mitigation of other distressing symptoms.” The simulation was focused on three different scenarios; home health care, transition to hospice and hospice care. This paper will discuss my experience with each scenario, the debriefing process and how the experience changed my nursing practice....
Words: 499 - Pages: 2
...Palliative care has a board definition that includes caring for patients with life-threatening illnesses by relieving pain and other distressing symptoms that focuses on using an interdisciplinary approach that also addresses psychosocial and spiritual guidance. Most importantly it promotes a team involvement in caring for a person with chronic health illnesses. It is important to stress that palliative care is not intended to hasten or postpone death (WHO, 2017). As the disease process progresses, hospice care becomes an easier option for patients and family members to accept. Hospice care includes palliative care because it is focused on keeping the patient’s life as comfortable as possible. It is designed to provide care for the last six...
Words: 350 - Pages: 2
...Franciscan Hospice and Palliative Care Cindra Jones BSHS301 September 29, 2012 Christopher Bingham FRANCISCAN HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE I chose Franciscan Hospice and Palliative Care because I am interested in the valuable service they provide to the community. I wanted to know exactly what they do and how it is paid for so I made an appointment to talk to someone at the Franciscan Hospice and Palliative Care facility. Hospice is care designed to give supportive care to people in the final phase of a terminal illness and focus on comfort and quality of life, rather than a cure. The word “hospice” comes from the Latin “hospitum” meaning guesthouse. It was originally a place of shelter for sick and weary travelers. Palliative care is the treatment and relief of mental and physical pain for those with a life threatening illness. This treatment uses several types of therapy to make a person comfortable and free of pain. I was very fortunate to meet Pam Ketzner, the hospice educator and registered nurse at the Franciscan Hospice and Palliative Care facility located in University Place, Washington. Pam is in charge of educating the hospice nursing staff. With new equipment and medications always becoming available, she instructs the nurses on their proper use. She has been a nurse for 35 years. She was a visiting nurse to begin with and then became the head of education so she spends most of her time at the facility. She feels very privileged to be a part of...
Words: 1862 - Pages: 8
...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...
Words: 1671 - Pages: 7
...rally to mark the occasion of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day. The rally consisted of the president of Ashic Foundation Salma Choudhury, AVC volunteers, who are students from various universities and schools, and the parents of the children present in the Foundation. The rally started from the Ashic Palliative Care Unit (PCU) in Dhanmondi 3/A and went up to City College. Again, the rally began from Dhaka National Museum and continued all the way across University of Dhaka to the Press Club where members from the Bangladesh Cancer Society joined in the event. AVC achieved its purposes of creating a human chain and rallying on the streets on that very day. AVC wanted to share its vision of increasing the availability of hospice and palliative care throughout Bangladesh by creating opportunities to speak out about the issues involved. The second aim was to raise awareness and understanding of the needs – medical, social, practical, spiritual – of disease-stricken people and their families. The third was to raise funds to support the cause. While the rally was on, many took interest and AVC volunteers exchanged meaning conversations with countless people – stating the dire importance of better hospice and palliative care in Bangladesh, demonstrating how every single person can be of great help by contributing even little, giving away informative leaflets, etc. This rally was a motif to celebrate and support hospice and palliative care in Bangladesh. For the AVC, although...
Words: 289 - Pages: 2
...Nurses are on the frontlines of health as care givers. They have been trained to know the various ways in which sickness or disease can manifest in people. Nurses are also trained to carry out a plan of care authorized by the patient’s physician. Statistically speaking, the average people know more nurses and are on a first name basis with a nurse as opposed to doctors. They feel nurses can empathize with them much better than a physician and feel much freer to discuss their condition with a nurse often before they do with a doctor. There are very, very many times that it is at the urging of a nurse who will send a patient to a doctor who may well fear what a doctor will tell them their symptoms actually mean, which is why nurses urge people to see a doctor if they are the first health provider people seek, as they assuage their fears and bolster the...
Words: 536 - Pages: 3
...giving to the fact that African Americans are less likely to pursue hospice care at the end of their lives. This paper will first examine the case for hospice and why it is a valuable resource and one that is consistent with Christian values. Then, I will survey the data regarding African Americans and hospice, particularly looking at considering what the main factors are for the racial disparity of hospice users. I conclude the main factor is distrust for the healthcare system as a result of centuries of medical abuse, experimentation and neglect. In light of this racist healthcare history, I will consider theologically what a Christian response to the racial disparity in hospice care is by using...
Words: 762 - Pages: 4
...Prison Hospice Care Program The “baby-boomer” generation is increasingly getting older as they reach their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, at a time when most will start experiencing more health problems that will require some kind of doctor’s care, hospitalization or possibly some kind of end-of-life care. Although this is a normal process that all people will eventually go through, it can be difficult and challenging for those who are in prison. Not all prisons are set up to care for inmates to receive palliative or hospice care, even those that are set up to do so, can face difficulties. Not only do these facilities face challenges; the inmates can also find themselves dealing with emotional and physical situations, but may be limited to what type of care they may receive. The number of people in prison has reached a population of approximately 7 million in 2014 (Bureau of Justice Statistics, n.d.). In federal prisons alone, there were 195,947 inmates as of May of 2016. In March of 2016, there was an estimated 4,609 inmates that were 65 years old or older (Federal Bureau of Prisons, n.d.). The need for hospice care for prisoners is increasing at an alarming rate as criminals are given 20 plus years or life sentences as most states have eliminated the death penalty. According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), approximately 3,000 inmates will die of natural causes each year ("End of Life," n.d., p. 1). Those numbers greatly increase when you add...
Words: 1634 - Pages: 7
