Hospice care became a recognized benefit under Medicare in 1983, and approximately 90% of all hospice programs are Medicare certified. As 28% of all Medicare costs go to persons in their last year of life, and 50% of such costs are expended during the last 2 months of life, (more…)

When we have a very ill loved one, it occupies our thoughts constantly. Our mind has a way of sifting through the information that we hear from their medical providers, rejecting the negative and holding tight to the positive. Even when confronted with the information that our loved one’s situation is dire, we may continue to refuse to see death as a possibility. (more…)

Lifestyle and behavioral factors are responsible for a multiple chronic aging diseases and associated to morbidity and mortality tendencies. In the U.S., nearly 50 million adults are smoking. Annually, smoking alone is responsibility for about 400,000 deaths.

As you probably know, anyone who ever try to give up smoking is facing some difficulties most of the time. (more…)

Hospice is a philosophy of caring for dying patients and their families while emphasizing quality of life. Care is provided by an interdisciplinary team to meet the patient’s and family’s needs throughout the dying process as well as after death. Bereavement care is a key component of hospice, setting it apart from other forms of institutional care provided to dying persons. (more…)