by Susan Silver

In the nearly fifty years since hospice emerged in the United States, it has evolved from a consumer-driven concept of humane care for the dying to a mega-dollar industry. In the process, the priority has changed from the intimacies of caregiving to profits for stockholders. Hospice Manifesto: Reclaiming the People’s Mandate traces that progression, compares the development to other political movements in the healthcare arena, and recommends actions for hospice activists to reclaim the spirit of hospice.