Contact: Maria Patino 832.408.7999 maria@accreditedhospicesofamerica.com Initiating the conversation about hospice is the fist step in helping a patient have a comfortable transition from curative to comfort care. As the patient’s physician,and as someone he or she trusts, you can play an integral role in helping your patient develop a plan for end-of-life discussions, patients are...

Hospice care in the United States is a type and philosophy of end-of-life care which focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient’s symptoms. These symptoms can be physical, emotional, spiritual or social in nature. Since its first establishment, the industry has rapidly expanded. In the United States, it is distinguished by more extensive...

Palliative care, and the medical sub-specialty of palliative medicine, is specialized medical care for people living with serious illness. It focuses on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness—whatever the diagnosis. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family. Palliative care is provided by...

Comfort care is an essential part of medical care at the end of life. It is care that helps or soothes a person who is dying. The goal is to prevent or relieve suffering as much as possible while respecting the dying person’s wishes. You are probably reading this because someone close to you is...

Contact: Debbie Mosbacher 832.410.3192 As the demand for care and services in assisted living and residential care increases, so too does the use of home care, home health, and hospice. But it can be confusing to understand the difference between these providers and the services they offer. Fortunately, the Accredited Hospices of America services provides...

When death comes suddenly, there is little time to prepare. On the other hand, watching an older person become increasingly frail may mean that it’s hard to know when the end of life begins because changes can happen so slowly. But if you do know death is approaching and understand what will happen, then you...

Decades ago, most people died at home, but medical advances have changed that. Today, most Americans are in hospitals or nursing homes at the end of their lives. Some people enter the hospital to get treated for an illness. Some may already be living in a nursing home. Increasingly, people are choosing hospice care at...

Immediately following death, nothing has to be done. Take the time you need to start the grieving process. Some people want to stay in the room with the body; others prefer to leave. You might want to have someone make sure the body is lying flat before the joints become stiff and cannot be moved....

As they reach the end of life, people suffering from conditions like Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or Parkinson’s disease can present special problems for caregivers. People live with these diseases for years, becoming increasingly disabled. Because they do not die soon after they are diagnosed, it can be hard to think of these as terminal diseases....

Because of advances in medicine, each of us, as well as our families and friends, may face many decisions about the dying process. As hard as it might be to face the idea of your own death, you might take time to consider how your individual values relate to your idea of a good death....