by Marea E. Johnson

Created on: January 06, 2009   Last Updated: February 09, 2012

When people hear the word "hospice", they automatically associate it with the loving care given by selfless volunteers to dying cancer patients. They are partially correct in this view. There are some hospices that have wonderful volunteers, who do in fact provide selfless care to patients with cancer, and many other terminal illnesses. But this is the "pretty and idealized" version of hospice, the hospice that was originally created over two decades ago.

Hospice care is a FOR-profit enterprise. It is completely paid for by Medicare, and paid quite well at that. Some of the highest paid doctors and nurses are employed by hospice. The only people who are not paid, are its volunteers, who unfortunately, are exploited just as much as the patients.

The last decade has seen an alarming amount of what are referred to as "rogue hospices" popping up all over the place. Rogue hospices can most simply be referred to as the "bad" hospices; engaging in immoral, unethical, inhumane, and often illegal activities, including everything from lying, to murdering patients. Yes, you read that correctly..............murder. Some of these hospices make Jack Kevorkian's deeds look like those of Mother Theresa; at least HIS patients asked to be killed! Many patients in hospice who not only never mention the subject of wanting to die, but actually vehemently oppose it, are being killed against their will each and everyday in this country! My own mother was.

I know you're probably thinking that something this horrific could not possibly be happening in America, but believe me, it is. Simply google "mercy killing" on your computer and up will pop hundreds of cases of the deliberate killing of patients in hospice. It has remained very "hush hush" over the last decade, but more and more victims' families are banning together to warn others about hospice, file criminal charges, and seek civil damages in an attempt to hold them responsible for their actions. They are working hard to create new laws that will require higher standards of behavior and accountability.

You might be disbelieving, wondering why a hospice would do such a thing. Well, as stated earlier, hospice is a for-profit business. They, like any other business, gets paid every time a new customer signs on. In this case, that "customer" is the patient. Once the patient is deemed "terminal", (which is incorrectly diagnosed in 40% of cases!) the hospital social worker will talk to the family, advise that hospice be involved, to

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