Many types of medical and social home health care services are available: nursing care, physical therapy, pharmacy services, transportation, and home-delivered meals.

Medical conditions that most frequently require home health care include diabetes, heart failure, chronic ulcer of the skin, osteoarthritis, and hypertension.

The range of home health care services a patient can receive at home is limitless. Care can range from nursing care to specialized medical services such as laboratory work-ups.

Hospice care usually involves relieving symptoms and providing psychological and social support for the patient and family. The goal of hospice care is to provide the terminally ill patient peace, comfort, and dignity.

Less than half of hospice recipients are cancer patients. The five leading non-cancer conditions admitted to hospice are end-stage heart disease, dementia, feebleness, lung disease, and end-stage renal disease.

The goal of hospice is to provide comfort and care, not "cure" the illness or disease. Types of hospice care services provided depend on the patient's needs and preferences.

Home health and hospice care can be provided by many different types of organizations, agencies, companies, and individuals. Choosing the service that is right for your family requires some research.

Home health care services may be paid for directly by the patient, through insurance coverage, or through other public or private sources. Most hospice care programs are provided to the patient regardless of the patient's ability to pay.

You need to understand your options and take time to consider what will help you reach the end of your life with dignity, comfort and a sense of control.

As medical progress prolongs our lives, the end can linger. So, more and more people are turning to hospice care.

When looking for a home health and hospice care provider, consider quality of care, availability of services, personnel training and expertise, and payer coverage.

If you are unhappy with the home health or hospice care you are receiving, you should notify the provider's administrator, your state health department, and the Better Business Bureau.

Grief moves in and out of stages from disbelief and denial, to anger and guilt, to finding a source of comfort, to eventually adjusting to the loss.