Northern Israel Hospice - Founded in 1994, the Nancy Caroline Hospice of the Upper Galilee treats terminal cancer patients. It is a nonprofit organization that is located in the Galilee panhandle of northern Israel.
Currently, there are around 20 hospice and palliative care services that exist in Israel.
Hospices use palliative care to help treat their patients. Palliative care is a method of improving the quality of life for the patient and the patient's family by facing the problems associated with terminal illnesses. It is through the prevention and relief of suffers, through early identification and treatment of pain and other physical, psychosocial, and spiritual problems. Palliative care is different for adults and children.
Palliative care for adults:
• Provides relief for patients from pain and any other distressing symptoms
that they may be experiencing.
• Affirms qualities of life with dying seen as a nomal process.
• Does not try to change the time of death, either through hastening or
postponing.
• Psychological and spiritual aspects of care are integrated.
• Offers a support system to patients that allows them to live as actively
as possible until they die.
• Offers a support system for the family to cope during the illness and
afterwards.
• Uses a team approach to help address all needs of the patient and family.
• Enhances the quality of life of the patient, sometimes even having a
positive influence over the illness.
• Is able to be started early on in the illnesses course. Hospices can
be used in conjuction with other therapies that are intended as a means to prolong
life.
Palliative care for children is a little different. In these cases, it is an active and total approach to caring for the patient. It embraces physical, emotional, social, and spiritual elements as well as focusing on ways to enhance the quality of life for the child at the same time as support for the family. It includes the management of distressing symptoms, the provision of respite, as well as care through death and bereavement.
Palliative care is also called comfort care since it is primarily aimed towards providing relief to patients that are terminally ill through symptom and pain management. The goal for hospice care is not to cure, but rather to provide comfort to the patient as well as attempting to maintain as high a quality of life as possible. Programs can also addresws mental and spiritual needs. The focus of a hospice is not on death, but on compassionate living. It provides support for the patient as well as the loved ones of the patient.
One can receive palliative care in a home care setting, as with a hospice, or in other settings such as hospitals and nursing homes. Medical needs for each patient will differ; therefore, the care given to each patient is specialized to meet his or her needs and is continually monitored and, when neccessary, changed in order to consitently meet the patient's needs.