Hospice care addresses the physical, emotional and spiritual pain of terminally ill persons and their family members. A key focus in Hospice care is to keep the patient in familiar and comfortable surroundings. Hospice incorporates the patient's family into the unit of care. Their psychosocial needs, as well as those of the patient's are addressed by social workers.
Hospice chaplains are also available to address spiritual issues or concerns.
Bereavement professionals have contact with the family to guide them through the difficult transition that accompanies the death of the loved one. Volunteers expand Hospice services in a variety of ways, such as providing respite to patient family members or running errands for the family. In addition, the presence of volunteers is a mandated Medicare standard wherein five percent of the total annual patient care hours are volunteer hours. But, there are more differences than similarities. The primary difference is that home health care is largely focused on rehabilitative care, while Hospice is appropriate only for those with limited life expectancies.