National Focus

Before hospice care first came to the United States in the 1970s, the experience of dying in America was often a cold and lonely one.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter proclaimed November as National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. A brief window of time meant to spotlight the importance of hospice and palliative care, helping the public understand the benefit of this type of serious-illness care and the importance of advance care planning.

On February 18, after a series of hospital stays, Former President Jimmy Carter made the courageous choice to elect hospice care for his end-of-life journey in the comfort of his home. This week marks a huge milestone for the Carter family as he has now been on hospice for six months.

This Saturday we celebrate National Nurses Day, a day to recognize the dedication and compassion of nurses. Nurses Day is always celebrated on May 6 and kicks off National Nurses Week, which ends on May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday.

We are told by our patients and families how thankful they are for their volunteer and what their presence has meant to them on the end-of-life journey.

There has been a lot of attention in the news over the past several days to President Jimmy Carter’s decision to forego ‘medical interventions’ and to start receiving hospice care.

A recent investigation jointly published by The New Yorker and ProPublica highlighted fraud and abuse by a select group of publicly traded and private equity-owned hospice agencies.