Hospice nurse Mary Taylor, RN, told the regular Kiwanis Club meeting Thursday that Hospice services are more about celebrating and embracing life, rather than focusing on death.
Hospice services are provided to those who have been diagnosed as having six months or less to live.
Hospice offers in-home, end-of-life services, providing comfort and succor for those who elect to use it. Services include grief counseling, estate planning, and acting as a liason to insurance companies and government agencies.
Ms. Taylor said that the first Hospice was established in the US in the 1960s. She said that the time she spent as a nurse in an ICU she actually was a Hospice nurse, learning how to help families deal with serious illnesses and death.
Jason Duff is scheduled to address the Kiwanis Club at their next regular meeting Thursday.