The concept of hospice care emerges from the principle of holism - the understanding that anything that deeply affects one aspect of a person's being has an effect on all other parts of that person's being.  As we learn more about the complex interconnections that make up our lives, we develop greater appreciation for how our physical, emotional, social, and spiritual lives are interwoven.  We begin to understand we must take into account a planned therapeutic intervention's effects on the entire person.

In order to help us understand the concept of caring for the whole person, hospice philosophy classifies the needs of the dying patient and his/her family into physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs.  While the categories help us assess and discuss the patient/family care issues, they can't be separated from one another; the boundaries always blur.  We need to remain focused on understanding the entire person.

When, as caregivers, we have integrated the concept of holistic care on both a personal and professional level, we no longer respond to a patient as the "breast cancer in Room 314 who grips and complains a lot."  Instead we see Mrs. Bailey, a person who taught school and raised four children and is now dying and in great physical and spiritual pain.  we are sensitive to her physical pain as well as to her fear and loneliness.  We recognize that her body is translating the emotional pain of fear and loneliness into additional physical pain, for which she may be more comfortable asking for help.  Asking for more medication is sometimes easier than acknowledging our own sense of helplessness and fear.  Which of us, in the midst of the frantic pace of an intensive care unit, can say, "I'm lonely and afraid.  Please stay with me."

Responding to a patient holistically also means responding to that person's need for quality of life.  Quality of life can mean, among other things, freedom from pain and other