Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 216 / Tuesday, November 9, 2004 / Presidential Documents 65051

Proclamation 7843 of November 4, 2004

National Hospice Month, 2004

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation

Hospice programs are a vital part of our Nation’s health care system. They 

provide comfort, peace, and dignity for individuals in the final stage of 

life and their families. During National Hospice Month, we recognize the 

dedicated professionals and volunteers who provide hospice care, and we 

emphasize the importance of respecting and honoring life in all of its seasons. 

For many terminally ill patients, hospice care is a compassionate alternative 

to traditional care at a hospital or nursing home. Hospice physicians, nurses, 

counselors, and volunteers focus on making patients as comfortable as possible, while allowing patients to remain at home and close to their families. 

With comprehensive assistance, these caregivers help control pain and other 

symptoms and provide emotional and spiritual support to both patient and 

family. In 2002, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, an estimated 885,000 individuals were admitted to one of the over 

3,000 hospice programs in the United States. 

My Administration has acted to strengthen and modernize Medicare for 

our seniors, and we remain committed to providing a health care system 

that meets the needs of every patient. Hospice services are covered by 

Medicare, and many States offer hospice care under their Medicaid programs. 

The Medicare legislation that I signed into law last December provides 

that Medicare will, for the first time, cover hospice consultation services 

so that terminally ill patients and their families will better understand 

end-of-life issues and care options. The legislation also makes the program 

more flexible and responsive to the needs of patients, allows patients to 

designate a nurse practitioner to coordinate their hospice care, and directs 

the Secretary of Health and Human Services to explore ways to make hospice 

care more widely available to beneficiaries who live in rural areas. 

Americans believe in the worth and dignity of every person, and we are 

promoting a culture of life in our Nation. By caring for life at every stage, 

we can create a more compassionate and merciful world. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States 

of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution 

and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2004 as National 

Hospice Month. I encourage all our citizens to observe this month with 

appropriate programs and activities. I also ask Americans to recognize our 

health care professionals and volunteers for their contributions to helping 

those facing terminal illness receive quality care. 

65052 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 216 / Tuesday, November 9, 2004 / Presidential Documents 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day 

of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand four, and of the IndependBilling code 3195

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ence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-ninth.

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