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La Caja De Pandora: Improving Access To Hospice Care Among Hispanic And African-American Patients, Kathy L. Cerminara, Alina M. Perez

Faculty Scholarship

Many patients clinging to hope in the form of potentially curative treatment could benefit from hospice services, but, for the most part, it is not until the patient accepts the finality of his or her condition that the physical, psychological and social benefits of hospice care become accessible to the patient and his or her family. Under current Medicare regulations and other health care payers’ policies, patients must abandon the hope of curative treatment before opting for hospice services. As a result, many terminally ill patients access the services late, sometimes a few hours before death. Scholars have proposed that …