I am referring to hospice. As a visiting nurse, I see a variety of patients in different stages of their disease processes. Most patients get better and do not require further care, some need on-going help, and some need other services like hospice care. Hospice is a philosophy of care aimed at terminal patients. It allows patient's to make their own choices about health care in their final days.
Hospice care is holistic in nature.
It may include the patient, the patient's family,the patient's doctor, registered nurses, home health aides, social workers, therapists, dieticians, clergy, bereavement counselors, and volunteers. Generally patients have been given a prognosis of weeks to months to live. The goal of hospice care is to make a patient and the patient's family as comfortable as possible with the dying process. This is accomplished by the different hospice team members. Pain management is a key component to the patient's comfort and to the mission of hospice.