Celebrating National Hospice and Palliative Care Month

Hospice is not a place, but is high-quality care that enables patients and families to focus on living as fully as possible despite a life-limiting illness. Palliative care brings this holistic model of care to people earlier in the course of a serious illness. November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month and hospice and palliative care programs across the country are reaching out to help people understand all that hospice and palliative care offer. Hospice Home Care is also putting action behind words to assist an especially vulnerable type of hospice patient

who are without resources or family support.

In recent months, a number of notable Americans have died. They include Sen. John McCain, the queen of soul Aretha Franklin, and former first lady Barbara Bush. In many media reports, they were described as having “given up” on curative care late in their lives. Ms. Franklin opted for hospice care; Mrs. Bush received what was described as “comfort care.”

It is essential that people understand that hospice and palliative care is not giving up, it is not the abandonment of care, it is not reserved for the imminently dying,” said Edo Banach, president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

“Hospice is a successful model of person-centered care that brings hope, dignity and compassion when they are most needed.” This is one reason that Hospice Home Care is making an extra effort in the New Year to utilize their facilities and professional staff to address the issue of the homeless hospice patient.

Every year, nearly 1.5 million Medicare beneficiaries receive care from hospices in this country, reports NHPCO. Hospice and palliative care programs provide pain management, symptom control, emotional support, and spiritual care to patients and their family caregivers when a cure is not possible. However, there are many people who are not able to access this benefit and pass away without comfort or anyone to care at the end of their life.

Hospice Home Care is dedicating room at the Comfort Care Center, located at 2200 Bowman Road in Little Rock, to care for hospice patients who have no resources or family support; they are essentially alone in the world and at the end of life. Funding for this special program called, “No One is Alone,” is provided by the Tribute of Life Foundation. To join this effort and contribute to the “No One is Alone” initiative go to http://www.tributeoflifefoundation.org.

More information about hospice care and advance care planning is available from Hospice Home Care http://www.hospicehomecare.com.