Monterey, CA Palliative Care, Often Known As Hospice, Can Extend Life For Many SIck Patients

Seniors are living longer and longer but many develop serious illnesses as they get older.  There are not only better medical treatment options for many chronic conditions but palliative care (often known as hospice) is getting better.  Although many people fear hospice, feeling that this is an admission that they are at the end of their lives.  However, we have seen many of our clients go on hospice and live many years (despite the criteria for Medicare paying for Hospice being that your doctor write a note saying you have less than six months to live).  Life is unpredictable, and so is disease.  Even if things look bleak, there is still hope.  “Many people who need palliative care are in fact not dying but have one or more chronic diseases which they may live with for many years,” Diane Meier, director of the nonprofit Center to Advance Palliative Care, told The Wall Street Journal.  Studies have shown that not only can palliative care improve the quality of life for those using it, but it can also extend life for some patients.  Hopefully, the attitudes of people towards hospital will change over time to be more positive.