Do hospices in any way try to hasten death?
No. They do all that they can to ease symptoms such as pain, nausea, delirium, but they never intentionally seek to hasten the process of death. Indeed, most hospice workers that I know would be very uncomfortable with the idea. The point of hospice care is to ease symptoms so patients can live out whatever time they have symptom-free, and be able to enjoy their lives as much as possible, and accomplish whatever tasks they feel are undone in their lives. It is contradictory to the values of hospice to function in any other way. Having said that, hospice care also does not try to delay the dying process. Truly, hospice sees death as part of the continuum of life, as much as birth. The dying process has the potential for much growth and emotional healing as we pass through it. Q: Specifically, what qualifies a person for hospice care? A: As I mentioned earlier, the patient’s doctor has to certify that he believes the patient has less than six months to live. Of course, that doesn’t mean
