Proclamation 5272—National Hospice Month, 1984

Hospice care is a humanitarian way for terminally ill patients to approach the end of their lives in relative comfort and dignity. Increasing numbers of patients have chosen to enter hospice programs in recent years because of the competent and compassionate care they provide outside of the hospital environment.

Hospices care for both patients and their families by attending to their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. A team of physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, counselors, and community volunteers work together to meet the needs of the terminally ill.

The importance of hospices as an integral part of our Nation's health care system is increasingly recognized. The growth of hospices was encouraged in November 1983 when the Federal government added hospice care to the benefits available to people under Medicare.

In order to encourage greater public recognition of hospice care, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 334, has designated November 1984 as "National Hospice Month" and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this month.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim November 1984 as National Hospice Month, and I call upon appropriate government officials, all citizens, and interested organizations and associations to observe this month with activities that recognize this important event.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and ninth.

RONALD REAGAN