The Community Hospice, one of the largest and most established hospice organizations in the nation, will premiere its online "Quality of Life, Not End of Life" program on December 10 at Noon ET. The goal is to raise awareness of the many benefits of hospice care for both patients and their family members.
The Community Hospice has set up a special social community site, http://qualityoflife.ascentemedia.com for this educational outreach.
The information presented in this program is critical. The number of senior citizens will double in just 30 years as baby boomers reach the age of 65. That's according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, which says the services provided by hospice care are what Americans want -- yet four out of five adults know nothing about hospice care.
National Hospice Foundation research shows the top four services Americans feel are the most important for a loved one who has less than six months to live are: someone to be sure that the patient's wishes are honored, choice among the types of services the patient can receive, pain control tailored to the patient's wishes, and emotional support for both patient and family. Caregivers from The Community Hospice will showcase the hospice services that are uniquely suited to address those most important concerns. Though 80 percent of Americans say their wish is to die at home, few do -- less than 25% according to the foundation.
The Community Hospice seeks to increase awareness of its services in an effort to enable people be with their loved ones in the comfort of their homes, not a hospital or nursing home.