Hospice Care 1967 – You Matter Because You Are You!

Hospice care refers to both a philosophy and an approach to caring for terminally ill patients, generally aimed at reducing suffering and addressing the psychological and spiritual needs of people who are dying. This care may take place in hospitals, nursing homes, or people's homes. 

In the 14th century, the Knights of the Order of Saint John, a Christian military order, opened a hospice-like facility on the Greek island of Rhodes to care for the sick and terminally ill. In 1842, Jeanne Garnier, a widowed and bereaved mother, helped establish L'Association des Dames du Calvaire hospice in Lyon, France.

One of the foremost founders of the modern hospice movement was British nurse, physician, and author Cicely Saunders, who described her mission by saying, "We do not have to cure to heal." In 1967, she opened St Christopher's Hospice in South London.

While Saunders promoted hospice care in the United States and Britain, advocating the idea that death need not be a painful, bleak experience, Swiss-born psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross was also investigating how hospitals and society responded to terminal illness. In 1972, Kübler-Ross told the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging: 

"We live in a very particular society that denies death. We isolate both the dying and the elderly, and this serves a purpose. They remind us of our own mortality. We should not institutionalize people. We can give families more help with home care and visiting nurses, and provide spiritual, emotional, and financial assistance to families and patients to make end-of-life care at home easier."

Saunders herself died at the age of 87 in the London hospice she had founded. Before her death, she wrote: 

 "You matter because you are you. You matter to the last moment of your life, and we will do all we can not only to help you die peacefully, but also to help you live until you die."

Historical Figures Mentioned in This Article: Jeanne Garnier (1811–1853), Cicely Mary Saunders (1918–2005), Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1926–2004)  

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