The survey says - hospice is rarely negative

A recent survey showed that 49% of the population has had experience with hospice and that 98% of them had positive experiences (hat tip NHPCO). Now stop and think for just a moment about that number in light of what a hospice experience is. I’m going to generalize here and say that the definition of a hospice experience is that these people have had a loved one who was diagnosed with an incurable disease and has since died.

These are not the times in our lives where good experiences abound! Very few of us go through the death of a loved one and come out the other side without regrets. Many of us come out wondering if we made the right decisions, and some of us in hindsight wish we would have gone to another doctor/tried another treatment. . . With that in mind, it is amazing that 98% of people who have had a hospice experience believe the experience was positive. I’m not saying that I’m surprised, but I do find the number to be somewhat amazing.

Why am I not surprised? Because hospice is a great thing. (Did you think I’d say anything else?) When I first started doing hospice work I would take my ID tag off in the car after work before running errands because I didn’t want the person in the checkout line to think I was some sort of blood sucking ghoul. Now, I often take it off because I’m in a hurry to get home and know that there are decent odds that a stranger will notice my ID and stop me to tell me how wonderful hospice is and to thank me for doing what I do for a living.

I’m writing another post for another time on why I think hospice is so popular with those who have experienced it. Today, I just wanted to get your brain to chew on the fact that, against some serious odds, hospice is almost unanimously seen as a good thing by those who have experienced it first hand. How many other parts of the medical community can say that? Hospitals – few love their hospital experience. Doctors – Some are popular, but I doubt that 98% of patients would respond positively when asked about their doctor. Nursing Homes – nobody loves their nursing home. Why hospice is different is for another day. Today, I’ll bask in the warm light of all those people who are happy that I decided to become a blood sucking ghoul. I invite all of you who work in hospice or refer your patients to hospice to take a moment to feel good about what you’ve done. Odds are your patients feel good about it!