Published: November 07, 2009 07:15 pm      

WMHS home hospice team deserving of our gratitude

Decades ago, I was assigned a topic for my studies in the field of social science. The subject of my research project was: Hospice.

Internet information searches were but a figment of one’s imagination in that era, so my research was confined to books and journals in the college library. But it was in seeking to define the term, that I came to understand the concept.

The latin root word “hospitium” describes a place of rest and refuge for a weary traveler.” First practiced in medieval times, modern hospice programs were not established in England until the 1960’s and a decade later in the United States.

Today, recollections of my hospice research have come full-circle. Recently, my family and I became primary care-givers to a relative referred for hospice services. Indeed, we understand that hospice is more than a definition; it is not a specific place or program; it is a philosophy of care, compassion, and comfort for that “weary traveler.” Additionally, we all realize that true “healing” does not, necessarily, always involve a “cure.”

November is National Hospice Care month and we take this opportunity to recognize the devoted, diligent members of the Western Maryland Health System home hospice team. Their quiet efforts and dedication to the tenets of hospice-care are outstanding.

With sincere gratitude,

Victoria Vavases Thornton and family

Cumberland