Hospice
organization that cares for the dying or the incurably ill / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A hospice is a type of medical treatment that helps take care of people who are very sick and have an illness that they will not be able to heal from.[1] People who stay in hospices are expected to die soon, but sometimes they get better. Hospices are different from other medicinal treatments because they mostly try to make people feel better instead of trying to cure them. Hospice tries to allow people to die with as little pain as possible. A member of the hospice team visits regularly, and someone is usually always available by phone — 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Hospice may be covered by Medicare.[2]
Most hospice care is provided at home — with a family member typically serving as the primary caregiver. However, hospice care is also available at hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and dedicated hospice facilities.
Hospices have doctors, nurses, and other people who go to patients houses, nursing homes and hospitals to talk to people who want to use hospice medicine.
In the United States hospice treatment is a benefit provided by the federal government since 1982. Under the Medicare Hospice Benefit, a person certified by two physicians to have less than six months to live can get specialized hospice services through various insurance programs.[3]