While most people have heard the term hospice before, there can be confusion about what hospice care really is and what it isn’t. Suzanne Karefa-Johnson, MD, a hospice physician at Florida Hospital, provides information and insight about what hospice can do for patients at the end of their lives.
What is hospice? What isn't hospice?
Hospice isn’t a place, but rather is a way of caring that brings comfort to people with a life-limiting illness. The focus is on enhancing a patient’s quality of life. Each patient and his or her caregivers receive individualized care that meets their unique physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Hospice care focuses on caring, not curing, and neither hastens nor prolongs the dying process.