Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 4 · column 3 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved
Hospice offers
different options
To the Editor:
This letter is prompted by the frenzy of recent suicide deaths in which the so-called Suicide Doctor, Jack Kevorkian, “assisted.” As I write this, Kevorkian has been involved in three such deaths in five days, and each death was accompanied by widespread coverage in all the media.
The greatest danger in this saturation of media attention is that it ■ may give terminally ill people the impression that Kevorkian’s way is the only alternative to futile, expensive and often painful medical care. This is not true.
For terminally ill patients and their families, there is another choice, and it is called Hospice ('are. It is a form of care for the terminally ill that enables them to live fully and as pain-free as possible before they die, allowing them to spend their last days in dignity, making peace with themselves and their loved ones.
Hospice treats all the needs of such patients through a team that includes physicians, nurses, nursing aides, counselors, therapists, clergy and volunteers. In most cases, the patient can be cared for in the home, with a relative or close friend serving as the “primary caregiver.” Hospice also tends to the needs of the patient’s family, advising them howbest to handle the many practical and emotional problems involved.
61.9%