Although hospice care was
introduced in the 4th century AD, the modern hospice movement
started in the United Kingdom in the late sixties and quickly spread globally
(Milicevic, 2002). The first documented hospice was opened in Rome in 400 AD by
a wealthy Christian woman of noble birth named Fabiola, who opened her home to
the sick and dying. Like Mother Teresa of Calcutta, no service was too lowly.
She dressed wounds and sores that others would not touch (T.E.C., 1987). Hospices
were opened for pilgrims on the routes of the Crusaders (Milicevic, 2002). In Disbodenburg,
Germany, a 12th century nun named Hildegard of Bingen opened an
infirmary and hospice (Sweet, 1999). The picture I downloaded from TripAdvisor
is what remains of Hildegard’s hospice facility. Today, the hospices of the UK
are considered the best in the world.
Hospices are not the same worldwide, and therefore, the resources below are
divided into three sections: the United States, the UK, and global hospice.
United States:
According to the Hospice
Foundation of America (2021), their mission is threefold:
1.
Increased quality of life for someone with
a terminal illness
2.
Delivery of holistic care by an
interdisciplinary team of professionals
3.
Focus on symptom management, decision
making, and clarification of goals
One of the misconceptions
about hospice is that the person is actively dying of cancer. In most cases,
this is not true. According to the HFA (2021), over half of patients do not
have cancer. The medical team writes the hospice request when the patient
agrees to it and these criteria are met:
1.
The patient has six months or less to live
2.
The patient is rapidly declining
3.
The patient wishes to forego curative treatment
and instead, receive comfort care (HFA, 2021).
UK:
National Health Service
[NHS] Hospice Care https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/end-of-life-care/hospice-care/
·
What is end of life care?
·
Planning ahead
·
Your wellbeing
·
Where is hospice care provided?
·
What does hospice cover?
·
When does hospice start?
·
How can I find a local hospice?
Hospice UK Homepage https://www.hospiceuk.org
· Click
on the box, Hospice Care Finder
· Enter
the Place, Postcode, or Organization + Care for Adults or Care for Children>
Search
· I
searched “Care for Adults” and “Liverpool.” I found McMillan Care and others
nearby.
Hospice Care Outside the
USA:
https://www.uptodate.com/contents/palliative-care-and-hospice-outside-of-the-united-states
International Association
for Hospice & Palliative Care https://hospicecare.com/what-we-do/resources/global-data-platform-to-calculate-shs-and-palliative-care-need/
Other References:
Hospice Foundation of
America (2021). What is Hospice? Retrieved from https://hospicefoundation.org/Hospice-Care/Hospice-Services
Medicare.gov. (2022).
Hospice Care. Retrieved from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/hospice-care
National Institute on
Aging (2021). What are Palliative Care and Hospice Care? Retrieved from https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-are-palliative-care-and-hospice-care
Sweet, K. (1999).
Hildegard of Bingen and the Greening of Medieval Medicine. Bulletin of the History
of Medicine, 73. 381-403.
T.E.C. (1987) Fabiola, a
Fourth Century Roman Lady, and the Origin of the First Public Hospital. Journal
of Pediatrics, 79(4), 528. Doi 10.1542/peds.79.4.528.
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