| hospice | An institution that provides a centralised program of palliative and supportive services to dying persons and their families, in the form of physical, psychological, social, and spiritual care; such services are provided by an interdisciplinary team of professionals and volunteers who are available at home and in specialised inpatient settings. Origin: L. Hospitium, hospitality, lodging, fr. Hospes, guest (05 Mar 2000) |
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| hospice care | Specialised health care, supportive in nature, provided to a dying person. A holistic approach is often taken, providing the patient and his or her family with legal, financial, emotional, or spiritual counseling in addition to meeting the patient's immediate physical needs. Care may be provided in the home, in the hospital, in specialised facilities (hospices), or in specially designated areas of long-term care facilities. The concept also includes bereavement care for the family. (12 Dec 1998) |
| hospices | Facilities or services which are especially devoted to providing palliative and supportive care to the patient with a terminal illness and to the patient's family. (12 Dec 1998) |
| hospital | 1. A place for shelter or entertainment; an inn. 2. A building in which the sick, injured, or infirm are received and treated; a public or private institution founded for reception and cure, or for the refuge, of persons diseased in body or mind, or disabled, infirm, or dependent, and in which they are treated either at their own expense, or more often by charity in whole or in part; a tent, building, or other place where the sick or wounded of an army cared for. Hospital ship, a vessel fitted up for a floating hospital. Hospital Sunday, a Sunday set apart for simultaneous contribution in churches to hospitals; as, the London Hospital Sunday. Origin: OF. Hospital, ospital, F. Hopital, LL. Hospitale (or perh. E. Hospital is directly from the Late Latin), from L. Hospitalis relating to a guest, hospitalia apartments for guests, fr. Hospes guest. See Host a landlord, and cf. Hostel, Hotel, Spital. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| hospital acquired pneumonia | A type of pneumonia that is caused by bacteria contracted during a hospitalisation. These hospital-acquired infections tend to be more difficult to treat due to the bacteria's relative resistance to common forms of antibiotic therapy. Risk of nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infection is a major determinant when a physician decides whether or not the risks outweigh the benefits concerning necessity for hospitalisation. (27 Sep 1997) |
| hospital administration | Management of the internal organization of the hospital. (12 Dec 1998) |
| hospital administrators | Managerial personnel responsible for implementing policy and directing the activities of hospitals. (12 Dec 1998) |
| hospital auxiliaries | Volunteer organizations whose members perform work for the hospital without compensation. (12 Dec 1998) |
| hospital bed capacity | The number of beds which a hospital has been designed and constructed to contain. It may also refer to the number of beds set up and staffed for use. (12 Dec 1998) |
| hospital charges | The prices a hospital sets for its services. Hospital costs (the direct and indirect expenses incurred by the hospital in providing the services) are one factor in the determination of hospital charges. Other factors may include, for example, profits, competition, and the necessity of recouping the costs of uncompensated care. (12 Dec 1998) |
| hospital communication systems | The transmission of messages to staff and patients within a hospital. (12 Dec 1998) |
| hospital costs | The expenses incurred by a hospital in providing care. The hospital costs attributed to a particular patient care episode include the direct costs plus an appropriate proportion of the overhead for administration, personnel, building maintenance, equipment, etc. Hospital costs are one of the factors which determine hospital charges (the price the hospital sets for its services). (12 Dec 1998) |
| hospital departments | Major administrative divisions of the hospital. (12 Dec 1998) |
| hospital design and construction | The architecture, functional design, and construction of hospitals. (12 Dec 1998) |
| hospital distribution systems | Systems for delivering hospital supplies, food, laundry, etc., to patient care areas. (12 Dec 1998) |