Development of Hospices

WHEREAS, in the course of many illnesses when a person faces imminent death, a point is reached when medical science can offer no further treatment which can be expected to result in cure or remission of the disease, and the appropriate therapy becomes that which is designed to increase the comfort of that person by providing relief from the symptoms of the disease; and

WHEREAS, hospice is a concept of comprehensive team care for those who are terminally ill and their loved ones, combining the services of professionals and trained volunteers to provide care twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and continuing through the bereavement period; and

WHEREAS, there are at present over 130 groups throughout the United States and Canada that are working to develop humane, compassionate care programs which will cooperate closely with existing services to enable people to die where they choose;

BE IT RESOLVED: That the 1978 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association recognizes the importance of the addition of hospice care to the health care delivery systems in the United States and Canada; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That this Assembly urges the Unitarian Universalists to give all possible aid and support to the development of hospice care in their communities.