| Hospice is a Business - Who Works for the Hospice? |
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SUMMARY ARTICLE Taking my order at a fast food restaurant in Utah, the woman looked at my shirt and noticed by company name. “Oh” she said, “you work for hospice - you took care my dying grandmother just down the street”. While I was glad to hear she was familiar with hospice care, neither me, nor my company, have ever cared for anyone in the state of Utah. Not wanting to make her uncomfortable, I asked her if it was a good experience, and she said “yes it was, hospice is such a wonderful thing” 4,000 separate hospice companies, for profit and non-profit, currently care for patients in the United States today. Who works for a hospice company?
Most patients, family and friends are so thankful of the care, encouragement and love that they have received through hospice care. Hospice is a business - who works for the hospice? FULL ARTICLE Taking my order at a fast food restaurant in Utah, the woman looked at my shirt and noticed by company name. “Oh” she said, “you work for hospice - you took care my dying grandmother just down the street”. While I was glad to hear she was familiar with hospice care, neither me, nor my company, have ever cared for anyone in the state of Utah. Not wanting to make her uncomfortable, I asked her if it was a good experience, and she said “yes it was, hospice is such a wonderful thing” 4,000 separate hospice companies, for profit and non-profit, currently care for patients in the United States today. Most cities and rural areas will have more than one hospice company for patients to choose from. However, five states including Kentucky Tennessee, Florida have Certificate of Need laws (CON) which prohibit competition. Staffing at a local hospice agency should include round-the-clock 7 days a week registered nurses, home health aides, chaplains and social workers. Typically there is a support team in a hospice office consisting of business people, medical records and others, all working to make the patient experience as good as possible. “How could you work for hospice - that must be so depressing seeing so much death” is a question I hear from many people. Actually the opposite is true, and in fact hospice is very rewarding. It is a great honor for hospice providers to be welcomed into a home of a dying person and be there for them at the end of their life. The support we give to patients and families pales in significance to the appreciation that we receive back. The patient, family and friends are so thankful of the care, encouragement and love that we have given them. This thanksgiving is what feed us, what drives us, and what keeps us going as we face the next family needing our care. When you bond with your loved one, and when a staff member bonds with their patient, is then that true healing of the patient can occur and whether or not they recover from their illness. It is then your loved one’s hospice experience will become more meaningful and comfortable. |