ORIGINS OF HOSPICE

The first hospice facility was founded by Dame Cicely Saunders in 1967, just outside of London, England.  It was distinctive in providing care for patients with a limited life expectancy, allowing them to be in charge of the treatment methods. Patients could eat and sleep when they wished, and were treated with respect and dignity. This was quite different from the care provided in hospitals at the time, where patients often felt isolated and their emotional and spiritual needs were ignored.

In the United States, the first freestanding hospice facility, Connecticut Hospice, was opened in 1971 in New Haven. From the beginning, U.S. hospice facilities placed greater emphasis on providing care in home settings, which allowed relatively few hospice professionals to meet the needs of many terminally ill patients.

In 1977, the National Hospice Organization (NHO) was formed to support the hospice philosophy of care, educate the public, and to serve as an information provider among a growing number of hospices.



 

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