In celebrating the 40th anniversary of hospice care in the United States, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization is excited to introduce a new national campaign, “Moments of Life: Made Possible by Hospice,” that will show all Americans that hospice focuses on living and enables special moments and memories at the end of a life for patients and loved ones.
A father’s final wedding dance with his daughter; a Veteran’s visit to the WWII Memorial; the opportunity to bring an infant daughter home; an afternoon tea party with grandchildren… these are only some of the moments made possible by hospice.
The Moments of Life awareness campaign will feature stories gathered by hospices across the country of patients and families experiencing hospice care first hand. The stories will take the form of videos, photos, audio recordings and text and will offer a vibrant cross-section of different perspectives of hospice.
“In this campaign, we are looking for real stories that show patients’ abilities to ‘do more’ as a result of their experience on hospice,” said Anita Brikman, senior vice president of communications for NHPCO. “No matter what format is used, these stories should show America that even when you’re dying, there is still a lot of living to do.”
For many who have not seen hospice in action, it has become a common misconception that hospice patients are merely lying in bed, waiting for their end to come. For families who have experienced hospice, they see the focus is not on dying—it is about living as fully as possible. Hospice not only provides the highest quality care, it affords more moments, memories and opportunities.
“With the Moments of Life campaign, NHPCO is working with the entire hospice community to show that hospice helps patients obtain the end-of-life care they prefer at home, free of pain, surrounded by loved ones,” said J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president and CEO.
For more information visit the new Moments of Life microsite at MomentsOfLife.org.
Watch the national Public Service Announcement for the Moments of Life initiative.
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