After years in the medical profession caring for dying patients and doing everything possible to prevent death I found myself working with hospice patients, and much to my surprise this has given me the most satisfaction. In addressing hospice and its role in providing care and comfort to both patients and families alike, I would like to dispel many of the myths associated with hospice and the death process, as well as provide a format for you, the reader, to ask the hard questions. In this first article I will provide you with a brief history of hospice.

The hospice movement in the United States has its roots in the work of the British physicians Dame Cicely Saunders and Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross who brought the subject of dying into the open. They explored ways to improve the process and shed light on the needs of patients during this important passage – most importantly the awareness to the importance of patients as individuals deserving respect and comfort. Dr. Saunders taught,"We do not have to cure to heal, "and "You matter because you are."

Kubler-Ross is probably our best known authority from her best selling book “On Death and Dying,” based on interviews with dying patients. She identified the five stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance – that is taught in all of our medical schools today.
The first hospice in America opened in 1974 in Connecticut. Today there are more than 3200 hospices across the country. In the early 1980s, Congress created legislation establishing Medicare coverage for hospice care and today most states offer hospice coverage through their Medicaid programs.