ABSTRACT
The hospice concept arrived in America with the incorporation of Hospice, Connecticut in 1971 and the rendering of service to patients and families in 1974. The work of Henry J. Wald, A Hospice for Terminally III Patients, speaks to the issue of environment and the dying person: “The quality of the dying process is affected to a large extent by the physical surrounding in which the process occurs. Although hospice exists as a concept of care, it is apparent that a distinction must be made between a hospice home care program and a hospice inpatient facility. Hospice is significantly broadening the scope of reimbursed “skilled nursing services.” Hospice has also affected government policies in the area of drug control. As hospice workers need replenishment, so do family members. Hospice staff members must be ready to provide the needed support before, during and after the patient’s death.”.
