
What was the first hospice in the US?
- 1969: Elisabeth Kubler-Ross published On Death and Dying. ...
- 1971: Hospice Inc. ...
- 1974: The first modern hospice, the Connecticut Hospice, opened in the United States. ...
- 1979: The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) launched 26 hospice programs around the country to help learn more about hospice and what it should provide patients.
Who provides hospice and who pays for it?
Patients are then placed in either palliative care or hospice care, and the costs are paid by Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, charities, the individual or other payment programs.
Who would benefit from hospice care?
The benefits of hospice care extend to family members and caregivers as well. Hospice provides education, guidance and a listening ear to help loved ones with the difficult work of caregiving. Volunteers may lend a hand so the caregiver can focus on caregiving. Hospice aides help with bathing, dressing and other everyday tasks.
Who was the founder of the hospice movement?
They help ease the pain of death and allow families to come to terms with the death of their loved one. Dame Cicely Saunders, the Christian founder of the voluntary hospice movement, believed that a person’s dying months or years should be made as positive as possible and not cut off by euthanasia.

Who started hospice in the US?
Florence WaldFlorence Wald, whose vision of bringing the terminally ill peace of mind and, to whatever extent possible, freedom from pain led to the opening of the first U.S. palliative-care hospice, died Nov. 8 at her Branford, Conn., home. She was 91.
When was the first hospice created?
1974. Florence Wald, along with two pediatricians and a chaplain, founds Connecticut Hospice in Branford, Connecticut. The first hospice legislation is introduced by Senators Frank Church and Frank E.
Who founded palliative care?
Dame Cicely SaundersPalliative care got its start as hospice care, often delivered by caregivers at religious institutions. Dame Cicely Saunders, a British physician, founded the first formal hospice in 1948 specifically to care for patients with terminal illnesses.
Where was the first hospice founded 1967?
LONDONHow, when and where did hospice health care begin? British physician and humanitarian Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of St. Christopher's Hospice in London in 1967, is considered the founder of the modern hospice movement.
Why is it called hospice?
Early development. The word "hospice" derives from Latin hospitum, meaning hospitality or place of rest and protection for the ill and weary. Historians believe the first hospices originated in Malta around 1065, dedicated to caring for the ill and dying en route to and from the Holy Land.
What hospice does not tell you?
Hospice does not expedite death and does not help patients die. In fact, we sometimes find that patients live longer than expected when they choose to receive the support of hospice services. Hospice is about ensuring the patient is no longer suffering from the symptoms of their terminal illness.
Who opened the first hospice?
In the mid-1960's, a British physician named Dame Cicely Saunders who had been exploring ways to improve the dying process and bring awareness to the importance of patients as individuals founded St. Christopher's Hospice in London, England, considered today as the first modern hospice.
How did hospice care start?
The concept of providing specialized care for dying patients, linking pain and symptom control with compassionate care, began in England in the 1950's, when a pioneering physician named Dame Cicely Saunders created the first modern hospice there in 1967.
When did hospice begin in the US?
These symptoms can be physical, emotional, spiritual or social in nature. The concept of hospice as a place to treat the incurably ill has been evolving since the 11th century. Hospice care was introduced to the United States in the 1970s in response to the work of Cicely Saunders in the United Kingdom.
What is the difference between hospice and palliative care?
Hospice is comfort care without curative intent; the patient no longer has curative options or has chosen not to pursue treatment because the side effects outweigh the benefits. Palliative care is comfort care with or without curative intent.
What are the 3 forms of palliative care?
Areas where palliative care can help. Palliative treatments vary widely and often include: ... Social. You might find it hard to talk with your loved ones or caregivers about how you feel or what you are going through. ... Emotional. ... Spiritual. ... Mental. ... Financial. ... Physical. ... Palliative care after cancer treatment.More items...
When did hospice start in the United States?
These symptoms can be physical, emotional, spiritual or social in nature. The concept of hospice as a place to treat the incurably ill has been evolving since the 11th century. Hospice care was introduced to the United States in the 1970s in response to the work of Cicely Saunders in the United Kingdom.
Who set up the first hospice in London England in 1967?
Dame Cicely Saunders died peacefully on Thursday 14 July 2005 at St Christopher's Hospice in south London, the world-famous hospice that she founded in the 1960s, and the birthplace of the modern hospice movement.
What is hospice vs palliative care?
Palliative Care vs Hospice Care Hospice is comfort care without curative intent; the patient no longer has curative options or has chosen not to pursue treatment because the side effects outweigh the benefits. Palliative care is comfort care with or without curative intent.
Does hospice mean death?
Hospice is a form of care specifically for patients that doctors have indicated may die in six months or less if there is no change to their condition. Being in hospice does not mean actively dying, or even necessarily that the patient will definitely pass away within the next six months.
Who was the first person to use hospice?
The modern usage of hospice as a place for and philosophy of end-of-life care began with the work of a British physician named Dame Cicely Saunders. Dr.
When was the first hospice in the US?
In 1974 , Florence Wald, two pediatricians, and a chaplain founded the first hospice in the US Connecticut Hospice in Branford, CT. That same year, Senators Frank Church and Frank E. Moss introduced legislation to provide federal funds for hospice programs. The legislation didn’t pass. It wasn’t until 1982 that Congress included a provision to create a Medicare hospice benefit as part of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, but it contained a sundown provision for 1986.
What is the name of the hospice organization in Connecticut?
In 2014, 40 years after the opening of Connecticut Hospice, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and its affiliates celebrated four decades of providing hospice care in the US.
Where does the word "hospice" come from?
The word ?hospice? derives from the Latin word hospes, which means both ?guest? and ?host.? Since the 11th century, the concept of hospice was adopted by the Roman Catholic tradition to refer to a place of hospitality for the sick and dying as well as for travelers and pilgrims.
Who introduced the idea of specialized care for the dying?
In 1963, during a talk at Yale University in the US, Dr. Saunders introduced the idea of specialized care for the dying, which centered on palliative care rather than treatments to cure. In the audience were doctors, nurses, chaplains, and medical students.
Who was Florence Wald?
Florence Wald, Dean of the Yale School of Nursing, took a sabbatical in 1968 to work at St. Christopher?s to experience hospice first hand. In 1969, Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross published her groundbreaking book, On Death and Dying, which contains more than 500 interviews with dying patients.
Who was the first hospice in the world?
We knew that Florence Wald met Dame Cicely Saunders, the founder of Saint Christopher’s in London, the world’s first hospice, at a talk at Yale Medical School in the early 1970s. She stepped down as Dean of the Yale School of Nursing to spend time in England, learning about hospice care, with the goal of bringing it back to Connecticut.
Who was the founder of the Connecticut Hospice?
Denis Rezendes. When she did, she assembled a group of doctors, including Morris Wessel and Ira Goldenberg, nurses, nuns, and ministers, including Ed Dobihal. They formed the core of what became The Connecticut Hospice.
Who was the first governor of Connecticut to support hospice?
Rezendes worked with many of the State’s political leaders in order to secure the legislation and the funds to move forward. He was close to Governor Ella Grasso, who championed hospice care from the beginning. She helped obtain funds for building and even budget money for what became the J.D. Thompson Institute, which still is the parent corporation over Connecticut Hospice, and which brought hospice training to Connecticut and the country. Sadly, she died of cancer shortly after stepping down as Governor due to her illness, and without hospice care herself.
Who was the first paid administer of Connecticut Hospice?
Florence Wald, our founder, wrote notes and articles that teach us a great deal about what the attitudes and practices in medicine were that led to the need for changes in end-of-life care. Dennis Rezendes, the first paid Administer of Connecticut Hospice, also founded the first national hospice organization, which evolved into today’s National ...
Does Medicare cover hospice care?
On the national level, there are wonderful stories of the various connections made and used to pass national legislation allowing Medicare to cover hospice care . The bill was signed in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan, but the groundwork began much earlier, and involved both Congressman Robert Giaimo of Connecticut’s Third Congressional District and many others, including Senators Ted Kennedy and Bob Dole. Connecticut Hospice was the first of the many hospices to be paid by the Center for Medicare Services, and today accounts for 87% of its budget. Originally, insurance companies were approached one by one, especially since Connecticut had so many headquartered here; today, the benefits are broader and more common.
Did You Know?
More recently, they became known as places providing care for the terminally ill and their families.
What are the principles of care?
*10 Principles of Care 1 The patient and family are regarded as the unit of care. 2 Services are physician directed and nurse coordinated. 3 Emphasis is on control of symptoms (physical, sociological, spiritual, and psychogenic). 4 An interdisciplinary team provides care. 5 Trained volunteers are an integral part of the team. 6 Trained volunteers are an integral part of the team. 7 Services are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on call, with emphasis on availability of medical and nursing skills. 8 Family members receive bereavement follow-up. 9 Home care and inpatient care are coordinated. 10 Patients are accepted on the basis of health needs, not on ability to pay. 11 There are structured systems for staff support and communication.
What is a trained volunteer?
Trained volunteers are an integral part of the team. Trained volunteers are an integral part of the team. Services are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on call, with emphasis on availability of medical and nursing skills. Family members receive bereavement follow-up.
Who was Florence Wald?
Florence Wald, the Founder of Connecticut Hospice, the first Hospice in The United States . Dr. Cicely Saunders, the founder of St. Christopher’s Hospice, the first hospice in the world.
Who started the first hospice?
The first physical hospice was run by the Knight Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem. At some point, the practice died off with many of the religious orders. But the concept was resurrected in the 17th century by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. By 1900, France had eight hospices.
When did the first hospice start?
Her work with the terminally ill began in 1948 , and she opened the first hospice service, called St. Christopher’s Hospice, in London.
What Is the History of Hospice Care?
While most historians consider the mid-1800s to be the beginning stages of hospice care, you can trace the roots of the word back to medieval times. In those days, hospice referred to a place that would give tired travelers shelter. Even then, hospice meant providing care and support.
How many people were in hospice care in 2016?
There is no doubt that hospice care provides an invaluable service, one that helped 1.43 million Medicare recipients in 2016 alone. But when did hospice care first begin?
What does hospice mean?
Today, hospice means so much more. It’s about providing support and improving the quality of life for those who need it the most. Illness doesn’t have to mean suffering. It can mean caring and comfort—that is what hospice provides not just to those who are sick, but to family members and friends, too. So where did hospice care get its start, and how has it changed?
Who is the nurse who gave birth to hospice?
Many worked to make hospice what it is today, but few were as instrumental as Dame Cicely Saunders. Saunders was an English Anglican nurse, and later a physician, who worked with international universities. Dame Saunders is known for giving birth to modern hospice.
Who wrote the book Death and Dying?
In 1969, Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross wrote On Death and Dying, a book which identified and described the five stages that a person who is terminally ill goes through after the diagnosis. Dr. Kubler-Ross wrote enthusiastically about providing home care to the terminally ill instead of putting them in institutions.
When was hospice first created?
The modern hospice concept includes palliative care for the incurably ill in institutions as hospitals and nursing homes, along with at-home care. The first modern hospice care was created by Dame Cicely Saunders in 1967. Saunders was a British registered nurse whose chronic health problems forced her to pursue a career in medical social work. The relationship she developed with a dying Polish refugee helped solidify her ideas that terminally ill patients needed compassionate care to help address their fears and concerns as well as palliative comfort for physical symptoms. After the refugee's death, Saunders began volunteering at St Luke's Home for the Dying Poor, where a physician told her that she could best influence the treatment of the terminally ill as a physician. Saunders entered medical school while continuing her volunteer work at St. Joseph's. When she completed her degree in 1957, she took a position there.
Who is the founder of the International Hospice Institute?
In 1984, Dr. Josefina Magno, who had been instrumental in forming the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and sat as first executive director of the US National Hospice Organization, founded the International Hospice Institute, which in 1996 became the International Hospice Institute and College and later the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC). The IAHPC follows the philosophy that each country should develop a palliative care model based on its own resources and conditions. IAHPC founding member Dr. Derek Doyle told the British Medical Journal in 2003 that Magno had seen "more than 8000 hospice and palliative services established in more than 100 countries." Standards for Palliative and Hospice Care have been developed in countries including Australia, Canada, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
How many people received hospice care in 2010?
Hospice in the United States has grown from a volunteer-led movement to improve care for people dying alone, isolated, or in hospitals, to a significant part of the health care system. In 2010, an estimated 1.581 million patients received hospice services.
What is hospice resistance?
Hospice faced resistance from professional or cultural taboos against open communication about death among physicians or the wider population, discomfort with unfamiliar medical techniques and professional callousness towards the terminally ill. Nevertheless, the movement has spread throughout the world.
How is comfort defined in hospice?
This can include addressing physical, emotional, spiritual and/or social needs. In hospice care, patient-directed goals are integral and interwoven throughout the care.
How long does hospice care last?
Hospice care in the United States is largely defined by the practices of the Medicare system and other health insurance providers, which cover inpatient or at home hospice care for patients with terminal diseases who are estimated to live six months or less.
What is hospice care?
Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by reducing pain and suffering.
When did hospice become a federal health care program?
1983: President Reagan signs Medicare Hospice Benefit into law, covering care for 80%-85% of hospice beneficiaries. 1993: Hospice is included as a nationally guaranteed benefit under President Clinton’s health care reform proposal. Hospice is now an accepted part of the U.S. health care continuum.
Where is the Connecticut Hospice located?
1974 : Connecticut Hospice in Branford, Connecticut is founded in the U.S.
When did the HCFA start?
As such, it is the proper subject of federal support.”. 1979: The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) initiates demonstration programs at 26 hospices across the U.S. to assess the cost effectiveness of hospice care and to help determine what a hospice is and what it should provide.
Is hospice a federal or state benefit?
1993: Hospice is included as a nationally guaranteed benefit under President Clinton’s health care reform proposal. Hospice is now an accepted part of the U.S. health care continuum.
Is hospice part of the continuum?
Hospice is now an accepted part of the U.S. health care continuum. 1997: The growing end-of-life movement focuses national attention on quality of life at the end of life, need for increased public awareness and physician education. 2006: Inaugural World Day is held on October 1 to focus global attention on hospice and palliative care;
Who founded the hospice?
Founded by Vincent de Paul, the company’s mission was to care for the poor, the sick, and the dying as part of a holy mission to lessen the suffering of the poor. Their work over the following century redeveloped the concept of hospice insofar as their focus eventually became caring for the sick and dying exclusively with the goal of making patients as comfortable as possible until their last breath. The centers founded by the company were initially called hospitals, and as medicine improved over the following centuries, many of these centers became modern hospitals with the goal of treating disease. Others, however, continued to care for the terminally ill, and by 1900 there were six major hospice centers in France.
What is hospice in history?
History of Hospice: The concept of hospice – the treatment of the terminally ill – has had a long existence in Western culture. Early hospices should not be confused with their modern versions, however, as the concept of taking in and caring for the dying was not the original intent. The word hospice is derived from the latin hospes (also shared by the word hospital), which was put into use at the end of the 11th century A.D. to describe a specific kind of lodgment for traveling pilgrims. The word hospes meant, at the time, hosts (as in, hospitality).
What was the original purpose of the Hospes?
The original purpose of a hospes was more akin to a hotel than a modern hospice center. The journey to the holy land killed many who attempted it. Over time, the focus of the hospes turned from not only offering lodgment to pilgrims, but to care for the sick and dying.
How does hospice save money?
Hospice is credited with saving medicare money. Around one third of medicare costs are spent on end-of-life care. Hospice reduces those costs by eliminating needless, costly and curative treatments, and by limiting costly emergency room visits.
How many hospices were there in France in 1900?
Others, however, continued to care for the terminally ill, and by 1900 there were six major hospice centers in France.
Where did the word "hospes" come from?
The word hospice is derived from the latin hospes (also shared by the word hospital), which was put into use at the end of the 11th century A.D. to describe a specific kind of lodgment for traveling pilgrims. The word hospes meant, at the time, hosts (as in, hospitality).
What is the purpose of hospice?
For those with a terminal illness, or as it is referred to in hospice, a life-limiting illness, the purpose of hospice is to alleviate the suffering associated with such an illness. The goal is not to treat the underlying disease, but to manage the symptoms of said disease to improve the quality of life of patients.

1965
- Florence Wald, Dean of the Yale School of Nursing, invites Dame Cicely Saunders to become a visiting faculty member.
1969
- On Death and Dying, written by Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, identifies the five stages through which many terminally ill patients progress.
1972
- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross testifies at the first national hearings on the subject of death with dignity, conducted by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging.
1974
- Florence Wald, along with two pediatricians and a chaplain, founds Connecticut Hospice in Branford, Connecticut.
- The first hospice legislation is introduced by Senators Frank Church and Frank E. Moss to provide federal funds for hospice programs. The legislation is not enacted.
- Florence Wald, along with two pediatricians and a chaplain, founds Connecticut Hospice in Branford, Connecticut.
- The first hospice legislation is introduced by Senators Frank Church and Frank E. Moss to provide federal funds for hospice programs. The legislation is not enacted.
1977
- The second National Symposium on Hospice Care is convened in Boonton, New Jersey.
- The third Symposium on Hospice Care is convened in Marin County, California.
1978
- National Hospice Organization (NHO) is established to promote the concept of hospice care.
- The first national NHO conference with 1000 participants is held in Washington, DC in October.
- A U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare task force reports that “the hospice movement …… is a viable concept and one which holds out a means of providing more humane care for Americans...
1979
- The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) initiates demonstration programs at 26 hospices in 16 states to assess the cost effectiveness of hospice care and to help determine what a hospice is...
- NHO issues the first “Standards of a Hospice Program of Care,” adopted by the NHO Board of Directors in February.
- The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) initiates demonstration programs at 26 hospices in 16 states to assess the cost effectiveness of hospice care and to help determine what a hospice is...
- NHO issues the first “Standards of a Hospice Program of Care,” adopted by the NHO Board of Directors in February.
- Cicely Saunders is made a Dame of the British Empire.
- First hospice program established in Africa: Island Hospice, Harare, Zimbabwe.
1980
- Josefina Magno, MD, serves as the first full-time Executive Director/President of NHO. (1980 – 1982)
- The W.K. Kellogg Foundation awards a grant to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAHO) to investigate the status of hospice and to develop standards for accreditation.
1981
- Logo is officially registered as the property of the National Hospice Organization.
- The National Hospice Education Project is set up for the sole purpose of passing Medicare hospice legislation.
- First AIDS case is defined.