A type of medical facility which provides care and comfort for people as they approach death is called hospice. Nowadays, hospices became a quite popular and demanded alternative for old or terminally sick people to spending their last days at home, in a hospital, a nursing-home or in other places. At the same time, it became possible to receive some hospice care at the places of residence for those people, who prefer staying at home and being cared by their relatives or friends.
Principal difference of hospice care facilities from usual medical hospitals or clinics is the strategy of the doctors not to be concentrated on medical treatment or making attempts to cure the diseases of the patients. The main directions of hospice care include providing their clients with comfortable living conditions, emotional and spiritual support during their last days, creating proper environment for them to spend some quality time with their friends or family, as well as providing the patients with highly effective palliative care, etc.
Usually, the administrations of hospices set up very high requirements and demands for their medical personnel due to specifics of the work. As a rule, professional medical teams of hospice care services include such specialists as qualified primary care doctors, nurses and home care aides, social workers, psychologists, consultants, volunteers, as well as spiritual and bereavement counselors. In our country the majority of hospice care facilities are sponsored by non-profit organizations, but some belong to health care agencies or are affiliated with nursing homes or hospitals.
