TL;DR
Get home office essentials delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
A Kiplinger commentary by a health company CEO and former nurse argues that choosing hospice or palliative care can mean prioritizing comfort, personal wishes and time with loved ones, not abandoning care. It urges families to discuss quality-of-life preferences and document them before a medical crisis; individual care decisions depend on a person’s condition and goals.
A Kiplinger commentary by a former nurse who now leads a health company serving older adults argues that hospice and palliative care can help people focus on comfort, personal wishes and meaningful time, rather than represent giving up. The piece urges families to discuss care preferences before a crisis, when relatives may otherwise have to make difficult decisions amid uncertainty and grief.
The author challenges what the piece describes as a common misconception: that end-of-life care offers only two options, pursuing every possible treatment or surrendering. The commentary presents comfort-focused care as another path, while stressing that each person’s choices are personal. It does not argue that curative treatment is always inappropriate.
The report distinguishes palliative care, which it describes as focused on relieving suffering, from curative care aimed at treating disease. It says hospice shifts the goal for people nearing the end of life toward making remaining time as comfortable and meaningful as possible. The author says these services can include pain management, emotional support, spiritual care if wanted, social workers and bereavement resources for families.
The commentary cites a report from the National Alliance for Care At Home stating that about 2 million Americans on Medicare opt for hospice and palliative care each year. That figure is presented by the source; the supplied material does not give a year, methodology or separate totals for hospice and palliative care.
How Care Goals Shape Family Decisions
End-of-life decisions can affect both the kind of treatment a person receives and how families spend time together. The author describes relatives facing pressure to choose another procedure or hospitalization while also trying to interpret what a loved one would have wanted. When preferences are unknown, medical uncertainty can become family conflict, particularly during an urgent decision.
Discussing goals in advance can give relatives a clearer basis for decisions and reduce the burden of guessing, the commentary argues. It also reframes hospice as a form of care that offers support rather than as an absence of care. The piece’s point is not that comfort should always take priority, but that the person’s wishes and likely benefits of treatment should be part of the decision.
That distinction matters because treatment can succeed medically without restoring a person’s broader well-being. The author uses the example of an older person with advanced dementia undergoing surgery after a hip fracture: a successful operation does not, by itself, establish whether the person has recovered in a way that matters to them. The example is an illustration from the author’s experience, not a clinical finding about all patients with dementia.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Hospice and Palliative Care Goals
The source is an opinion-style report based on the author’s experience as a nurse and health company CEO. It discusses choices made when serious illness, aging or the end of life prompts families to weigh treatment against comfort. Its central distinction is between treating a disease and relieving suffering; those aims may overlap, but they are not identical.
The author says decisions about curative treatment remain appropriate when treatment offers a realistic chance of restoring meaningful health or fits the patient’s goals. The proposed change is not to replace curative medicine with hospice, but to recognize when a person’s priorities or circumstances may call for a different focus. The report also says some people reach hospice only in their final days and may consequently receive less time with its support services.
“Choosing hospice or palliative care isn’t about giving up. Often, it’s about focusing on what matters most.”
— The Kiplinger report’s author, a former nurse and CEO of a health company serving older adults
palliative care pain management supplies
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
What Care Choices Depend On
The commentary offers a perspective, not a patient-specific medical recommendation or a comparison of clinical outcomes. It does not specify how hospice eligibility is determined, describe the rules governing particular services or provide evidence for how frequently families regret the timing of enrollment. Its statement that families often wish they had accepted support sooner is based on the author’s experience.
The supplied source also does not give the year or methodology behind the figure of about 2 million Medicare beneficiaries, or clarify whether that count combines hospice and palliative care. Whether a treatment is likely to restore meaningful health, and whether hospice or palliative services fit a particular person’s situation, cannot be determined from the article alone.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Discuss Wishes Before a Crisis
The author encourages older adults to explain what quality of life means to them, discuss where they draw the line between living longer and living well, and put their wishes in writing. Families can use those conversations to learn what the person values before illness or an emergency makes communication more difficult.
For someone facing serious illness, the next step is a conversation with their clinicians about the goals, expected benefits and burdens of available treatments, as well as whether palliative care or hospice services may be suitable. The source does not announce a new policy or clinical change; its recommendation is to make care goals and preferences part of planning well before decisions become urgent.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Key Questions
Does choosing hospice mean giving up on care?
The Kiplinger commentary argues that hospice is still care, with a focus on comfort and support when time is limited. It does not claim that hospice is the right choice for every person or circumstance.
How does the report distinguish palliative care from curative care?
It describes curative care as focused on treating disease and palliative care as focused on relieving suffering. The report does not provide a full clinical guide to either type of care.
Should families stop pursuing curative treatment?
No. The author says curative treatment can be the right choice when it offers a realistic chance to restore meaningful health or aligns with the person’s goals. Decisions should reflect the individual’s medical circumstances and wishes.
Why discuss end-of-life wishes in advance?
The author says advance conversations and written preferences can help families avoid guessing during a crisis. The commentary links clearer understanding of a loved one’s wishes with less conflict over difficult decisions.
What support does the report say hospice may provide?
The source lists pain management, emotional support, spiritual care if desired, social workers and bereavement resources among hospice services. Availability and eligibility for specific services are not detailed in the supplied material.
Source: rss
Halloween Picks
halloween
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
