Abstract
When I give lectures, I always ask the audience three questions: “where, how, and from whom do you want to receive end-of-life care?” Eighty percent of them replied, “I'd rather be at home. I'd like my family to look after me at the end of my life. But I know that's probably impossible.”
It is estimated that the annual number of deaths in Japan will grow by about 400,000 to 1.6 million in 2025, when the baby boomers reach the age of 75. Medical advancement has brought long life expectancy in which people spend quite a long period of time receiving some kind of daily living support till the end of their life. Furthermore, caring capacities of the communities and of the families are getting weaker through structural changes of the society. “Where, how, and by whom long term-care will be provided” is a major issue to everyone.
Kasan-no-Ie [Mom's House] was opened in 2006 as an answer to the above question. It is an initiative to relocate people to a home-like environment in their neighborhood. They live in a group of five people when they are no longer able to live alone independently. Medical and nursing care services are outsourced to visiting practitioners, who form a multidisciplinary team to offer personalized care. Living assistance is provided in form of informal support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The support complements formal public services. A network of citizens in Miyazaki is utilized, providing integrated community care. They provide close complementary support to enable those living in Kasan-no-Ie to continue living in their familiar neighborhood surrounded by familiar people till the last moment of their lives. Families will have no regrets on their beloved one's end of life care.
Home hospice care is a movement that restores the culture of end-of-life care to communities and to families.
