Many Americans are unfamiliar with the in\u2019s and out\u2019s of hospice care until they experience this unique approach to care with a close friend or family member.\u00a0 A quick glance at the graph below clearly shows that the amount of individuals receiving hospice care has consistently increased in the past few decades, and hospice care continues to change and evolve to care for the dying with the utmost dignity and respect.\u00a0 As home care providers who often complement the care that is given through hospice, we wanted to take this opportunity to bring you up to date on the latest statistics on hospice care, courtesy of the most recent annual report released by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.<\/p>\n
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In 2012*, Did you know?<\/p>\n
-An estimated 1.5-1.6 million individuals received services.<\/p>\n
-66% of individuals received hospice care in their place of residence, either a private residence, nursing home, or residential facility.<\/p>\n
-27.4% of individuals received hospice care in a hospice inpatient facility.<\/p>\n
-56.4% of hospice patients were women and 43.6% of hospice patients were men.<\/p>\n
-83.4% of hospice patients were 65 years of age or older.\u00a0 40.5% were 85 year of age or older.<\/p>\n
-36.9% of hospice patients had a primary diagnosis of cancer. 12.8% of hospice patients had a primary diagnosis of dementia. 11.2% of hospice patients had a primary diagnosis of heart disease.<\/p>\n
-While 96.5% of patient care days were classified as \u201croutine home care,\u201d only 0.5% of patient care days were \u201ccontinuous care\u201d and only 0.3% of patient care days were \u201crespite care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hospice care provides wonderful services with an emphasis on the dignity and respect of the patient.\u00a0 However, as you can see from the statistics, continuous care is only available during \u201cbrief periods of crisis\u201d and respite care for the family caregiver is only available under a small number of circumstances.<\/p>\n