In her May 8 column on end-of-life costs and caring, Ellen Goodman raises thoughtful questions about whether aggressive medical care for someone at the end of life is really in the best interest of the patient. Further, she wonders whether society should be obligated to pay for treatments that ultimately are of no real benefit to the dying patient.
Goodman asks, "Aren't there places at the end of life where ethics and economics, compassion and cost, dovetail rather than conflict?" The answer to this question is yes, and it is called hospice. As she addresses these issues, it is surprising that Goodman did not readily see hospice as the answer.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Hospice is the Answer
Samira Beckwith, President and CEO of Hope Hospice and Community Services and a panelist on HFA's 2009 Teleconference, writes an op-ed in The News-Press (FL) responding to a recent column on end-of-life care costs and caring.
