Does Hospice Care Mean Death?

Hospice is not a death sentence. Unfortunately, there’s an association in our society between hospice care and death. But, this is not reality. Hospice care helps patients live their lives to the fullest — in the most comfort and peace — no matter how long they are in hospice care for.

In fact, hospice care patients actually live longer than those who do not enter care! One study found that hospice patients live an average of 29 days longer than those people who don’t enter hospice care. This is likely due to the high level of care in hospice, including pain and symptom management, spiritual care, dietitians, physical and occupational therapists, medication management, and counseling — just to name a few!

What’s more, some patients may even get better in hospice care and have the chance to go home. A 2018 study found that 6.3% of hospice patients recovered or graduated from hospice care, resulting in a diagnosis of no longer terminally ill. Although the percentage may seem small, this translates to about 104,000 patients per year! In order to be diagnosed as no longer terminally ill, a hospice doctor will make sure the patient’s illness has gone into remission and that their life expectancy has increased beyond six months.

Hospice is not a death sentence. The object is to provide a high quality of care that helps patients maintain an optimal comfort level. Once you learn the truth about hospice, it’s easy to see it’s a service that provides much needed support to people dealing with terminal illnesses and their families. 

Correlating hospice to death simply does not make sense, given that hospice patients live longer than those who don’t seek hospice care. If you’d like to learn more about hospice care and how it can help you or a loved one, contact us today.

Need help? Contact us at Independence, MO (816) 401-9836 or Northwest (816) 505-5934.

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