November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. This year’s theme is “It’s About How You Live.”
Hospice and palliative care programs across the country are reaching out to raise awareness about hospice and palliative care. Hospice is not a place but high-quality care that enables patients and families to focus on living as fully as possible despite a life-limiting illness. Palliative care brings this holistic model of care to people earlier in the course of a serious illness.
“Every year, nearly 1.4 million people living with a life limiting illness receive care from hospices in this c country,” said Edo Banach, president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. “These highly trained professionals ensure that patients and families find dignity, respect and love during life’s most difficult journey.”
Hospice and palliative care programs provide pain management, symptom control, psychosocial support and spiritual care to patients and their families when a cure is not possible. These programs combine the highest level of quality medical care with the emotional and spiritual support that families need most when facing a serious illness or the end of life.
Throughout the month of November, Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE®) will join organizations across the nation in hosting activities that help their community understand how important hospice and palliative care can be.
For more information about hospice, palliative care and advance care planning, visit the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) website at www.nhpco.org.