Sharing the legacy. Hospice care principles for terminally ill elders

Hospice care is usually chosen as the preferred mode of care when the patient and family judge that the burdens of aggressive treatment are greater than the benefits that can be expected. Hospice treatment is directed at controlling pain, relieving other symptoms, and focusing on the special needs of the hospice patient and the patient's family. The objective of hospice care is to prevent breakthrough pain while maintaining an acceptable level of consciousness. Family teaching in hospices is centered around appropriate responses to physical and emotional/spiritual/mental signs and symptoms of approaching death.