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Record number of dying Americans received Hospice Care
last year...November
is National Hospice Month -
a time to increase awareness
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 3-- November is National Hospice Month and the
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization marks the 26th
anniversary of National Hospice Month by reporting that more than
950,000 dying Americans received care from the nation's 3,300 hospice
providers last year.
This represents an increase of 22 percent since
2001. The median length of service for a hospice patient has risen from
20.5 days to 22 days over the same two year period.
"Patients and families are becoming better
advocates for their own health care and the medical community
increasingly is recognizing the value of hospice when dealing with a
life-limiting illness," remarked J. Donald Schumacher, president and
CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. "It
gratifying to see more and more people understand what hospice providers
have known for many years -- that compassionate, high quality care for
the dying and their families is available."
"Most people think hospice is what you do when
there's nothing left to do," Schumacher continued. "That couldn't be
farther from the truth. Hospice provides a wide range of services to the
family and patient that maximize quality of life and help people live as
fully as possible, on their terms."
Hospice uses an interdisciplinary team of
health care professionals and trained volunteers to provide
pain-management, symptom control, psychosocial support, and spiritual
care to patients, and their families. While a patient must have an
expected prognosis of six months or less, hospice care can be provided
for six months or longer, depending on the course of the illness. Many
Americans do not understand this and often wait unnecessarily before
seeking care.
Hospice is a covered benefit under Medicare,
Medicaid in most states, and most private insurance plans and HMOs.
For additional information about hospice and
palliative care, including downloadable brochures for consumers, visit
http://www.hospiceinfo.org, or call the NHPCO HelpLine at
1-800-658-8898.
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