What is hospice?   It is not a place, but a philosophy of care. It provides pain and symptom management, emotional support, spiritual care, and bereavement counseling for the patient and the family. The Medicare hospice benefit was designed to bring the care to…

Grief is a natural reaction to loss — we must grieve to heal. The words “grief” and “mourning” are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same. Grief is one’s own private, inner response to a loss. Mourning is the outward expression…