What Is Hospice?

Hospice is a very old concept, meaning a place of sanctuary for religious pilgrims, travelers, the poor, the sick and the dying. Originally a hospice and a hospital were the same place for there was little that doctors could do for most of their patients except try to make them comfortable as disease ran its course. But with the rise of curative powers of medicine, the ideas of cure and care became separate. The idea of care for the dying was often lost. However, the idea of hospice has undergone a renaissance and today the modern hospice movement owes its rebirth to two women: Dr. Cicely Saunders in England and Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in the United States.

We now use the word hospice to refer not only to an organization of people devoted to care for the dying but also to the philosophy of care that values quality of life until death. It is a philosophy that intends physical care as well as emotional and spiritual support. It is a philosophy that puts the individual at the centre and in control of his or her own life and care.

In short, hospice is not a place, it is a concept of care. Hospice is about caring when curing is not possible. Hospice is about the quality of life at the last stages of life. Hospice is about helping to make a difficult life passage meaningful. In Ontario, the number of hospice programs has grown from eight in 1989 to 115 with 13,300 volunteers providing service in more than 400 communities.