He concept from hospice comes from hospitium, a Latin word that refers to a "hostel" or at “Act of welcoming” . The notion usually refers to a charitable institution which is dedicated to the care for orphaned children or in situations of extreme poverty .
A hospice, in this framework, is a public entity that collects underprivileged individuals and is responsible for their maintenance thanks to the charity or making them work according to their abilities and possibilities. Hospices of this type emerged in the XVII century .
The term, however, has different meanings. In ancient times, the building that received the foreign when they arrived at a new country . It can also be a hospital : a place where people with health problems are treated and health services are provided.
In some regions, hospice is called a asylum for the elderly or individuals with psychiatric disorders. For example: “My grandfather lives in a hospice for four years, when he was widowed”, "The suspect spent five years in a hospice", "The judge determined that the murderer is serving his sentence in a hospice because he considers it appropriate given his mental state".
The dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE ) even mentions hospice as the house of a religious community , the establishment that receives and houses pilgrims or a lodging usually.
The hospice care Finally, they are those that are given to a patient in a terminal state. It is a combination of spiritual, psychological and medical support so that the dying person transits the last stage of his life in peace .
Hospice care is carried out by different groups of professionals in the Health or volunteers, and consists of a series of different treatments that are achieved with the fusion of several fields. To cite some examples, medical but also psychological and, in some cases, spiritual support are necessary.
Precisely, the goal of this care is to ensure that patients in a terminal state can feel comfortable again, in peace and do not come to believe that they are not worthy because they cannot take care of their personal hygiene or have lost their mobility, two of the many traits of diseases that require this type of Attention .
People in charge of hospice care should try to establish a hierarchy with symptom that he must fight, so that he can attend to the simplest in the first place and leave for the end those who are not very likely to be resolved. Pain, for example, is one of the first points to treat, since it can be the greatest source of discomfort for the patient.
As mentioned above, the spiritual plane is very important for many people, especially those who practice some religion. Feel that the body and the soul is in balance is also a way to achieve inner peace, and this can have a very positive impact on well-being. In other words, hospice care must focus on the needs of each individual, and for this they must contemplate them in all their aspects.
The families of the patients terminals also need support, especially of a psychological nature, since they are generally not prepared to face a situation like this. One of the most common mistakes is to leave one's life aside to devote almost completely to the care of the family member; This leads to extreme wear, which leaves the person without energy and, in the event of the death of their loved one, destroys them emotionally.
