Hospice care is a philosophy of caring that assists those nearing the end of life and in need of refuge. It is a system of caring designed to restore dignity and provide a sense of personal fulfillment to the dying.

The focus is on the patient and the family rather than the disease; the goal is to improve the quality of life that remains.

The modern hospice is not a place, a building, or an institution (a frequent misconception). Instead, it's a concept ~ a collection of ideas and attitudes ~ about an array of services based on a holistic philosophy of living and dying.

Hospice searches for meaningful treatment of terminally ill patients and their families by uniting contemporary science, belief, and caring.

Since its goal is to prolong meaningful living, not physiological dying, no active, curative therapies are undertaken.

In short, the goal of all hospice care is palliation, or making the patient comfortable. In doing so, the patient will continue to be as much like himself or herself as possible, without social isolation, drugs, treatments, equipment, or the environment dulling the patient's personality.