Hospice Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hospice Care - Essay Example Although the modern hospice care started in the 17th century, it was Dame Cicely Saunders who pioneered the foundational principles of the modern hospices in the 1950s. The movement of hospice care, which has met with several types of criticisms through its development, has enjoyed a rapid expansion in the UK, the US and several other nations. "Pioneered in England, hospice took root in the United States during the 1970s and was added as a benefit to the Medicare program in the early 1980s. Its origins lie in a grassroots movement that lay outside the medical mainstream and was informed by an ethic of compassion, dignity, and service. More or less self-consciously, hospice care was initially designed for people who were dying of cancer, and who had a functional family support system and a home where they could be cared for away from the high-tech hospital environment. Over time, the vision and the values of the hospice movement have developed and matured." (What Is Hospice Care 2003, p 6). The movement of hospice care has undergone development through various stages in the history of nursing and it is essential to compare and contrast nursing role, processes, etc during the twentieth century and early twenty first century. The various stages of the development of the hospice care include the periods 1920-1929, 1930-1945, 1946-1959, 1960-1975, and 1976 to present, and the nursing role, processes, etc in the hospice care has improved through these stages. In the health care industry, hospice has been a considerably newcomer, although the origins of hospice are in antiquity. The modern hospice care program has its origin in the mid-1960s in the founding of St Christopher's Hospice in England. The hospice movement has been significant development in health care industry as it has provided several strategies for the treatment of people who are no longer candidates for curative or rehabilitation services. "Traditions of kindness for sick and dying patients are to be found in all societies from antiquity. The beginning of the modern hospice movement is usually attributed to Dame Cicely Saunders, who founded St Christopher's Hospice in London in 1967. Two years later Elizabeth Kubbler Ross published her book, On Death and Dying, based on her experiences talking with dying patients in a Chicago hospital In 1953 the first advanced mammal, a dog named Knowsy (because he knew what was on the 'other side') was successfully resuscitated. Further advances in resuscitation and advanced life-support led to the propagation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and intensive care units during the early 1960s." (Hallenbeck, 2003, p 3). Therefore, the modern hospice movement has undergone vital improvements since its founding and the role of the nurses as well as the process of the care has gone through various stages. In a reflective analysis of the history of hospice care in the twentieth century, one realizes that there have been several developments in this nursing care with regard to the role of the nurses and the process of the care. Significantly, hospice can be comprehended as a philosophy of caring which respects and values the dignity and worth of every human being. Therefore, a good hospice care may be understood as the practical expression of the personal and professional commitment in the nursing care. Hospice care, which is meant for people approaching