Wuesthoff Hospice & Palliative Care

Hospice began from the European tradition of monks caring for travelers who became ill along their journey. They were kept at monasteries until they recovered or succumbed to their illness. The medical care of the time was very limited and these illnesses often became life limiting. It is here that the roots of palliative (comfort) and hospice (end of life) care got its earliest beginnings.

1960's Dame Cicely Saunders founded the first modern day hospice in London, England. She was a physician with training as a social worker and nurse. Two major discoveries emerged from her program. One was Brompton's Cocktail, a mixture of several medicines that was given as an elixir for the relief of pain. The second came as a result of working in collaboration with psychologist Stanislaus Graf – the discovery of the importance of the holistic/psychological approach to the relief of emotional and spiritual suffering.

1970's The hospice movement made its way to America as an all volunteer service that provided care to people in the end stages of cancer who no longer responded to traditional treatments.

Late 70's to early 80's. The hospice movement had made its way to Florida. State Legislator Carrie Meeks, an African American, introduced legislation creating the first hospice services in the state of Florida. This bill would later serve as the model for the Medicare and Medicaid Hospice Benefits.

1984. The monumental Hospice Medicare Benefit and its mirror in Medicaid were passed. This same year, Wuesthoff Hospice established the first licensed hospice in Brevard County.

1990's. Operation Restore Trust scrutinized the administration of the Medicare and Medicaid Hospice benefits. Flaws were found in the way the benefit periods were arranged and revisions were made. As a result, the concept of palliative care was added to the hospice program. Adding palliative care to hospice became a national movement that originated with the National Hospice Organization. The idea was to introduce the philosophy of hospice care earlier on in the life-limiting illness and to extend this standard of care to the acute setting where recovery seemed a slim possibility and holistic support for the patient and family would be beneficial.

TODAY. The Medicare and Medicaid Hospice Benefits consist of two ninety-day periods followed by an unlimited number of renewable sixty-day periods. We offer care to those suffering from a number of end-stage diseases such as congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, renal failure, Parkinson's disease, late stage Alzheimer's disease and other illnesses deemed life-limiting so long as a documentation of steady decline can be presented.

Hospice uses a team approach to care for people with life-limiting illnesses. The Hospice team includes professional staff, trained volunteers and the patient's family and friends. Staff will include a medical director (physician), nurse, social services specialist, home health aide, chaplain, volunteer, grief support specialist and children's specialist, as needed. The patient's family and/or friends give most of the daily care to the patient. Hospice staff regularly visit to train the family on how to care for the patient, provide medical care, monitor medications to ensure pain and symptom control, assist with physical care as needed and offer emotional and spiritual support to the patient and family. Hospice nurses are on call 24 hours per day to assist patients and their families.