Colton, June and Carson Meyerhoffer A Winning Combination November 25, 2003 November is National Hospice Month than 40 million age of 65; in the Today, there are more Americans over the next 30 years that number is expected to double. People over the age of 85 are the fastest growing segment of our population. It is estimated that there are more than 72,000 people who have reached 100 years of age. In the next 50 years that number is expected to reach 834,000. "National Hospice Month is designed to educate people of every age that hospice is not a place but a concept of care that is recognized as the model of quality, compassionate health care delivery for people facing life-limiting illness," explained Kit Jackson, founder of Hospice for Utah. "There are 3,200 hospice providers in the United States that provide care to more than 885,000 terminally ill Americans." Photographer, Jacob Rosenweig. Jacob Rosenweig is a student at West High School in Salt Lake City. Photographed is his grandma, Evelyn Ciccarello playing Chinese Checkers. Photographer, Colton Meyerhoffer. Colton is 15 years old, and a 10th grader at Fremont High School. The people in the photo are Colton's grandma, June Meyerhoffer and his little brother, Carson Meyerhoffer. "We use an interdisciplinary team of health care professionals and trained volunteers that address symptom control, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support expressly tailored to the patient's needs and wishes," said Jackson. "While hospice services are usually provided in the home, care is also available in skilled nursing facilities and residential care settings." Hospice is covered under Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurance plans, HMOs, and other managed care organizations. While many insurance companies, as well as the Medicare Hospice Benefit, require that a terminally ill patient have a prognosis of six months or less, there is not a six-month limit to hospice care services. A patient in the final phase of life may receive hospice care for as long as necessary when a physician certifies that he or she continues to meet eligibility requirements. "A lack of awareness of hospice means that too many Americans still die alone or in pain," said Jackson. Hospice for Utah has been celebrating National Hospice Month with a variety of events open to the public throughout the month. Winning entries from Hospice for Utah's photography contest are on display at both offices; Ogden and Draper and at the Mayors' offices in Ogden and in Salt Lake County. The four winners of the photo contest for high school students are: Colton Meyerhoffer - Fremont High Jacob Rosenweig - West High Lexi Dowdall - East High Kristine Russell - Timpanogos High School The Proclamation from the Governor proclaiming November as "Hospice Month" in Utah is also on display at Hospice for Utah's Ogden office. For more information call 621-6642 or go to www. hospice4utah. com. -Hospice for Utah