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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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