ABSTRACT
“The more complete one’s life is, the more one’s creative capacities are fulfilled, the less one fears death, People are not afraid of death per se, but of the incompleteness of their lives.” The National Hospice Organization (NHO) defines hospice as “a coordinated program providing palliative care to terminally ill patients and supportive services to patients, their families, and significant others 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The hospice movement’s roots are based on a belief in individual autonomy. Patients have a fundamental right to determine and participate in the course of their treatment. The hospice philosophy is to acknowledge death as a natural part of life. Hospices advocate neither hastening or postponing death. Patients are encouraged and supported in making end-of-life care decisions, issuing advance directives, and in participating in all decisions about their care.
