A specialized hospice for dementia patients and their families

This article reports the development of a small pilot program and briefly describes its activities.

The growing number of dementia patients in American communities indicates a need to extend hospice services to these patients and their families. It is difficult to determine at present whether this need could be met more effectively by encouraging existing hospices to accept these patients or by establishing specialized programs such as this one. Research in this area is indicated, as well as the sharing of information among hospices providing care to other specialized groups — people with AIDS or terminally ill children for example.

The Alzheimer's Family Care Hospice has provided services to eight terminally ill dementia patients and their families in a pilot project sponsored jointly by the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center and the Chicago Area Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. Another six patients did not meet admission criteria.