Facts About Hospice Care

We need help when we enter this world, and when we depart it. Compassionate end-of-life care is vital. Fortunately, assistance is this field has grown.

According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, 25,000 Americans received hospice care in 1982. By 2008, the number skyrocketed to 1.45 million.

The increase is partly a result of Congress making hospice care a Medicare benefit in 1983. It also is due to increased understanding.

Many people think hospice is a place; in some cases, that is true.

Hospice actually is a philosophy of comfort care. Hospice generally enables people to die peacefully at wherever they call home, with comfort and dignity. It helps people come to terms with their life and approaching death. It allows people to live their final days as they wish, and as fully as they can.

We Walk with You So You Don’t Walk Alone

For me and for the HNC board, staff and volunteers at our community-based non-profit, hospice is not merely a job, but a passion; a calling. Respecting our clients’ wishes is paramount to us – whether someone hopes to enjoy a family visit to Disneyland, a motorcycle ride in the desert or a quiet time sharing their life’s memories with someone who cares.

The best time to learn about end-of-life care is before someone needs it. That way, we can offer clients the full range of psychosocial, medical and spiritual support that can make their final months more comfortable.

We are here to help make the sunset of a life as rich in meaning as the sunrise.