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HospiceCare Inc. <br /> Case for Support <br /> I. INTRODUCTION <br /> Hospice is a humane and compassionate way to deliver health care and supportive services to <br /> terminally ill patients and their families. In the final stages of life, hospice provides guidance and <br /> assistance to make the last months meaningful, rewarding and comforting. Hospice uses a team <br /> approach to support the patient and the patient's family, strengthening relationships <br /> and helping families stay together during and after the death of a loved one. <br /> The concept of hospice is an ancient one. Rooted in the Latin word "hospes," it carries with it the <br /> ideas of kindness and generosity to strangers, caring for our fellow human beings, and offering <br /> nourishment and refreshment. Ancient hospices provided sanctuary for the sick and the dying, <br /> the poor wayfarer, the needy and the religious pilgrim. All were considered to be on life's <br /> journey. <br /> The contemporary concept of hospice originated in England in the 1940s through the pioneering <br /> work of Dr. Cicely Saunders. She became friends with a man who was dying of cancer in a busy <br /> London hospital. From their conversations came the dream of a haven where he and others like <br /> him could die in peace and dignity. His bequest to Dr. Saunders enabled her to found the first <br /> modern hospice, St. Christopher's Hospice. It is from this model that other hospices have <br /> grown; first in England, then the United States in the early 1970s, and now throughout the <br /> world. <br /> Hospice is a compassionate service to patients and families emphasizing comprehensive clinical <br /> care while allowing patients and their families to remain together. It is also a comprehensive, <br /> cost effective form of health care in the final months of a person's life. A 1995 study by Lewin- <br /> VHI, Inc. noted strong evidence that hospice is a less costly approach to care for the terminally <br /> ill. Over the last year of life, Medicare beneficiaries with cancer who enrolled in a hospice <br /> program cost Medicare $2,737 less, on average, than non-hospice users. Cost savings are the <br /> greatest in the last months of life when hospice services to a patient increase. <br /> For nearly 20 years, HospiceCare Inc. has been caring for terminally ill patients and their <br /> families in Dane County. As the community has grown and changed, HospiceCare has adapted <br /> to serve this growing community, ensuring that as many people as possible receive the benefits <br /> of hospice services - life, and death, with dignity. <br />