hospice

English edit

A hospice (facility offering palliative care for the terminally ill)

Etymology edit

Borrowed from French hospice, from Old French hospise, from Latin hospitium (“hospitality, an inn”). Doublet of hospitium.

Pronunciation edit

(US) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑspɪs/
(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhɒspɪs/
Rhymes: (US) -ɑspɪs

Noun edit

hospice (countable and uncountable, plural hospices)

(countable, dated) A lodging for pilgrims or the destitute, normally provided by a monastic order.
(uncountable) The provision of palliative care for terminally ill patients, either at a specialized facility or at a residence, and support for the family, typically refraining from taking extraordinary measures to prolong life.
- 2002, Statement on the Scope and Standards of Hospice and Palliative Nursing Assistant Practice, Hospice & Palliative Nurses Association, page 2:
  The modern concept of hospice and palliative nursing has its roots in the hospice movement. Introduced to the United States in the early 1960s, hospice has grown from one organization in 1971 to more than 3500 organizations in 2001.
- 2007, Iraida V. Carrion, End of Life Issues among Hispanics/Latinos, page 52:
  Thus, the introduction of hospice services marked a new beginning, not only for the care of the dying, but also for the practice of medicine as a whole.
- 2013, Kathleen Garces-Foley, “Chapter 1: Hospice and the Politics of Spirituality”, in Paul Bramadat, Harold Coward, Kelli I. Stajduhar, editors, Spirituality in Hospice Palliative Care, page 13:
  With the emergence of the modern hospice movement and its institutionalization in the 1970s, however, the religious dimension of hospice moved considerably away from its Christian roots. While it is widely agreed that hospice ought to be concerned with the spiritual needs of the dying, how to do this in a pluralistic society is far from clear.
- 2023 February 18, Peter Baker, “Jimmy Carter, 98, Opts for Hospice Care”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:
  Former President Jimmy Carter, who at 98 is the longest living president in American history, has decided to forgo further medical treatment and will enter hospice care at his home in Georgia, the Carter Center announced on Saturday.
(countable) A specialized facility or organization offering palliative care for the terminally ill.
- 2001, Robert J. Buchanan, James D. Minor, Legal Aspects of Health Care Reimbursement, page 97:
  Medicare reimbursement of hospice care is likely to be affected by the apparent reluctance of hospices to participate in the Medicare program.
- 2009, Andrea Fontana, Jennifer Reid Keene, Death and Dying in America, page 36:
  A small number of hospices were opened in the US in the 1890s, but these institutions differed from the hospices that came into being in the second part of the twentieth century in the following ways.
- 2009, June L. Leishman, “Chapter 6: Developments in end-of-life care”, in June Leishman, editor, Perspectives on Death and Dying, page 87:
  St Joseph's Hospice Association in Liverpool supports hospices in Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador and Peru, as well as having links with hospices in India, Pakistan and Mexico that bear the same name.