National Hospice Month
November is National Hospice Month, and HFA encourages everyone to join us in honoring and celebrating this unique system of medical care, caregiving and support. End-of-life issues are receiving more attention in the news, and more families are faced every day with making difficult choices around illness and loss. Whether you are a health care professional or an individual who has utilized hospice care, National Hospice Month provides a great opportunity to talk about its benefits and dispel some common misconceptions.
Hospice care addresses all symptoms of a disease, with a special emphasis on controlling a patient's pain and discomfort; hospice also deals with the emotional, social and spiritual impact of the disease on the patient and the patient's family and friends. The publications and programs developed by HFA can help you educate your community about the broad range of services that hospice can offer. The suggestions below offer some easy ways to reach out to your community:
- Dispel some common myths about hospice: Send HFA’s “Myths and Facts about Hospice”, along with information about your organization, as a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.
- Educate professionals and consumers about hospice’s important role in pain management: Host a Site for HFA’s 2006 Teleconference on “Pain Management at the End of Life: Bridging the Gap Between Knowledge and Practice.”
- Increase outreach to communities that may not have easy access to health care information: Make HFA’s “Choosing Hospice” brochure, now written in Spanish, available to Hispanic organizations in your area.
- Encourage involvement in hospice care through volunteering: Share HFA’s “Hospice Volunteers” brochure with faith communities, universities, and senior centers.
- Support those who are grieving: Send a copy of HFA’s bereavement newsletter Journeys to someone dealing with loss.
