Hospice is rooted in the centuries-old idea of offering hospitality to those on a long journey. Today the hospice movement continues to represent a supportive philosophy and concept of care available to those whose life expectancy is measured in weeks or months. Hospice recognizes death as the final stage of life and serves to enable hospice patients and families to live their final days to the fullest in the comfort of home, surrounded by their loved ones.
Today hospice care is comprehensive palliative medical care (treatment to provide for the reduction or abatement of pain and other troubling symptoms, rather than treatment aimed at cure) and supportive social, emotional, and spiritual services to the terminally ill and their families, primarily in the patient's home. The hospice interdisciplinary team, composed of professionals and volunteers, coordinates an individualized plan of care for each patient and family. Hospice reaffirms the right of every person and family to participate fully in this final stage of life's journey.
There is no age limit for hospice care. Children as well as adults can receive the support of a hospice program during their final stages of life.