By Thomas J. Simms, RN, CHPN
Director of Education and Quality at Lighthouse Hospice Inc.

Rarely, if ever, in the course of an individual’s serious illness and treatment is there one, single, readily-apparent moment when the focus of care clearly shifts away from being curative and becomes palliative or, hospice care. Just as treating the disease is a process, so is preparing ourselves for end of life when cure is no longer possible.

The preparation begins with an honest discussion about the disease and its outcomes. Hospice specialists are experts at this and are adept at working closely with physicians and other providers in developing and implementing an appropriate hospice plan of care which meets the individual’s needs and wishes.

Hospice is a specialized approach to caring for people who are dealing with end-of-life issues as a result of being terminally ill. Hospice care stresses relief of symptoms as opposed to curative interventions. Hospice focuses on quality of life by offering physical, psycho-social, and spiritual care in addition to the medical oversight necessary to meet the patient’s unique needs.

The professionals who comprise the hospice “team” are trained in providing support and care for not only the individual patient but, the entire family as they take on the challenges of care-giving and grieving. The team helps patients, their partners, and their loved ones focus on setting and achieving realistic end-of-life goals for whatever time remains.

Current standards for hospices are set out by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Those standards, in part, include the following:

“Hospice provides support and care for persons in the last phases of incurable diseases so that they may live as fully and comfortably as possible. Hospice recognizes dying as part of the normal process of living and focuses on maintaining the quality of remaining life. Hospice affirms life and neither hastens nor postpones death. Hospice exists in the hope and belief that through appropriate care and the promotion of a caring community sensitive to their needs, patients and families may be free to attain a degree of mental and spiritual preparation for death that is satisfactory to them.”
For most of us, it is far easier to contemplate our own death than to accept that a loved one has entered into the final season of life. There is no welcome time for this realization. However, when a cure is not available, comfort is. Lighthouse Hospice specializes in providing comfort and care.

Each year, the month of November is nationally recognized as “Hospice and Palliative Care Month”. Hospice organizations such as Lighthouse Hospice, the New Jersey Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, and the Hospice Foundation of America host events to increase awareness of palliative and hospice care. Many of these organizations “celebrate” their employees, volunteers, and caregivers who bring quality to the lives of patients throughout our country. As an individual, you can help celebrate hospice by supporting your local hospice, state and/or national hospice organizations.

Lighthouse Hospice would especially like to thank its employees, volunteers and its many friends in the community such as the staff at Burlington County Woman and Camden County Woman magazines for their dedication to and continuing support of Lighthouse Hospice.

If you would like more information about hospice and palliative care, please contact Lighthouse Hospice at
1-800-HOSPICE or, www.lighthousehospice.net.