For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 30, 2001
National Hospice Month Proclamation
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Each year, approximately 700,000 terminally ill patients and their
families rely on the invaluable end-of-life care provided by the 3,100
hospice programs located in the United States. Hospice care
allows a terminally ill individual to receive professional medical
services, pain management therapy, and emotional and spiritual support,
without having to enter a hospital. This focus on the
patient's quality of life during his or her last illness can make the
best of the most challenging of situations.
Hospices create a compassionate atmosphere where patients will be
able to die with dignity, preferably in their home environment,
surrounded and supported by loved ones, familiar friends, and committed
caregivers. Profes-sional and compassionate hospice staff and
volunteers, including physicians, nurses, social workers, therapists,
and clergy, provide compre-hensive care and attend to the particular
needs and wishes of each patient. Family members and friends
also receive counseling and bereavement care that help them cope with
the impending loss of their loved one.
Individuals and groups in the private and public sectors are
working together to strengthen and expand hospice programs and to
promote their services as a positive alternative for terminally ill
patients. Today, hospice care is a full partner in our
Nation's health care system, furthering our efforts to provide medical
services in more compassionate and cost-effective ways. More
important, providing high-quality hospice care reaffirms our belief in
the essential dignity of every person, regardless of age, health, or
social status, and that every stage of human life deserves to be
treated with the utmost respect and care. My Administration
remains committed to supporting health care programs like hospice that
encourage quality medical care and frequent doctor-patient
interaction.
With the observance of National Hospice Month, we recognize those
who serve in our Nation's hospices, often as caregivers in the homes of
hospice patients. Caring for a terminally ill patient can be
emotionally painful, physically exhausting, and financially
difficult. I call on all Americans to honor the
professionals and volunteers who dedicate their lives to aiding the
terminally ill through hospices. And we should use this
observance as an opportunity to encourage and help those who take on
the challenge of caring for a terminally ill patient in their home or
in a hospice facility.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States
of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution
and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2001 as National Hospice Month. I
encourage Americans to increase their awareness of the importance and
availability of hospice service and to observe this month with
appropriate activities and programs.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth
day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand one, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
twenty-sixth.
GEORGE W. BUSH
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