Death looks different for everyone. Some deaths are quick or sudden and some are slow and gradual. For some, the mind stays sharp while the body gradually weakens. For others, the mind loses cognitive abilities while the body stays strong. While one may not have a choice in how the death process effect the body and mind, there is one thing that is for certain, each individual has a choice in the type of care received at the end of lives cycle. The term medical professionals use to describe the type of events surrounding death is called end of life care. A person is given a choice to receive care in a hospital setting or in the privacy of their own home using a service called hospice. This paper will explore the benefits and drawbacks of hospital vs. hospice for end-of-life care, the current resources that are available for patients and their families, and the reasons that people choose one over the other. …show more content…
Most often, the reason for a hospital death is because it provides a wide verity of medical specialist who are able to accommodate the needs of the dying person. For a family perspective, the hospital setting may be convenient if the care that is needed is more intensive. Other reasons according to Slayter (2015) may include lack of time to set up hospice services or when extenuating circumstances required hospitalization: “...when plans have not worked; things have gone bad in a hurry. The rapid clinical deterioration of such patients meant that the delicate work of end-of-life care had to be performed under pressure" (cited in Slatyer, Pienaar, Williams, Proctor, & Hewitt, 2015, p. 2168). In these situations, the direction the family may have originally planned had to make way for the unexpected