Most people have heard of the organization hospice, but many know little about what hospice does or what it has to offer to patients and their families. People often are frightened to think that they or a loved one “qualify” for Hospice. Sometimes it seems as if not thinking or talking about death can keep it at bay.

The term hospice is not new. In medieval Europe, a hospice was a place of refuge for a weary traveler. Today, hospice is a program of care for patients who are near death that allows them to be in their familiar surroundings and maintain the best quality of life possible.

Hospice is not a program of euthanasia. It has nothing to do with physician assisted suicide. The goal of hospice is to provide care for patients in the last stages of life and also to support their families. This means that all aspects of care #(physical, social, emotional and spiritual) must be addressed in an integrated fashion.

I first began to learn about hospice when my own father reached the terminal stages of multiple myeloma, a devastating cancer of the bones and bone marrow. His kidneys were failing; he broke ribs when he sneezed, and he had experienced devastating complications from chemotherapy.

As a family, we had made a decision not to pursue any further chemotherapy, but we then began to consider how best to care for my dad. My brother and I worried whether my mom could care for my dad at home. We knew that was where he wanted to be, but it seemed like an overwhelming responsibility for my mom.

Hospice provided the support our family needed to get through an extremely difficult time. The hands-on patient care provided by hospice was only a part of what was offered. The emotional support of helping our family to know that we were doing the right thing, to understand what was happening and to trust there was always someone there when you needed them made hospice an organization we truly respected. The care did not end when my dad died, for the special hospice nurses and volunteers who had cared for him continued to follow up with my mom offering bereavement service and support.

A patient is considered for hospice if it is felt they have less than six months to live. A full assessment is made, not just of the physical condition of the patient, but of the psychological, social, spiritual and economic issues experienced by the patient and their family during the final stages of illness. Hospice works with a patient's own primary care physician as well as having its own medical director.

Our local hospice organization, Hospice of the Finger Lakes, is a group of professional and volunteer staff. The team is composed of people taking charge of patient care, finances, quality improvement and education, pastoral care social services and administration.

Additionally, hospice has contracts with professionals who provide support services as needed, such as physical therapy, speech therapy and nutritional counseling. There are also many volunteers in many capacities who make the organization run smoothly and efficiently. Hospice care is covered by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance. Services are never denied because of inability to pay.

In 2008, Hospice of the Finger Lakes will celebrate its 20th anniversary of service to this community. To date, it has served more than 2,100 patients and their families.

Last year, care was given to 135 patients, about two-thirds of whom had cancer. Although Hospice is traditionally thought of as care in the home of the patient, services in our area also include care for dying patients at Auburn Memorial Hospital, Cayuga County Nursing Home, Matthew House and Mercy Health & Rehabilitation Center.

If you would like to learn more about Hospice of the Finger Lakes, visit www.hospiceofthefingerlakes.org or call 255-2733. Hospice always needs volunteers in its many programs and activities. Donations are also vital to the ongoing strength of the organization.

From both a professional and a personal association with hospice, I know of its dedication to care for people in the last stages of life. The National Hospice Organization mission statement says it best: “Hospice provides support and care for persons in the last phases of an incurable disease so that they may live as fully and comfortably as possible. Hospice recognizes dying as a part of the normal process of living and focuses on maintaining the quality of remaining life. Hospice affirms life and neither hastens nor postpones death. Hospice exists in the hope and belief that through appropriate care, and the promotion of a caring community sensitive to their needs, patients and their families may be free to attain a degree of mental and spiritual preparation for death that is satisfactory to them.”

Dr. Deborah Geer serves on the board of Hospice of the Finger Lakes.