Hospice care is not just about dying
(WorldNews Health)

A few weeks ago in the summer of 2017, Kathy Brandt´s 86-year-old mother was hospitalised in Florida, United States, after a fall. After rushing to her side, Brandt asked for a consult with a palliative care nurse. `I wanted someone to make sure my mother was on the right medications,` she said. For all her expertise - Brandt advises end-of-life organisations across the US - she was taken aback when the nurse suggested hospice care for her mother, who has advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, kidney disease and a rapid, irregular heartbeat. `I was like - really?` Brandt remembered saying, struggling with shock. It´s a common reaction. Although hospices now serve more than 1.4...