Hospice is the art and science of palliative care—physical, emotional and spiritual—at the end of life. The goal of hospice is to create a caring community to support individuals and families in the midst of life-limiting illness. Death is not denied, but life is affirmed and lived fully until death comes. Hospice also provides support for bereaved families.

The term hospice comes from the Latin word hospes,
which means to host a guest or stranger. Hospices were
places of rest for travelers in the 14th century. In the 19th century,
the sick and dying were taken into monasteries and cared for by monks and wealthy widows. The modern hospice movement originated in the United Kingdom with the founding of St. Christopher’s Hospice in 1967, by Dame Cicely Saunders. Hospice in the United States began as an all-volunteer service; it was not until 1984 that Medicare established a hospice benefit that provided for a broader array of palliative treatments.