Many families or their loved ones’ doctors often wait too long to order hospice.

 Hospice is a very valuable service and should be ordered at an earlier stage of illness. Many do not consider hospice for Alzheimer’s, degenerative old age or other debilitating illnesses where a person is going downhill fast. They should.

It is unfortunate that many people who died in a hospital emergency room or who received heroic treatments to prolong life in a hospital may have had the alternative of dying at home in familiar surroundings, with family or other loved ones at their side.

When someone is in crisis or appears to be going downhill fast but there really is no hope for recovery, family often call 911 and start a process which can result in great stress and great emotional discomfort. The loved one who is dying ends up in a hospital and may die there or be transferred to a nursing home where death eventually occurs.

When there is no longer hope for prolonging life, especially when this decision is made months in advance, hospice is usually a better alternative to other medical intervention states the  National Care Planning Council.