Segment 20: Hospice and MD Anderson

Abstract

In this segment, Dr. Hill focuses on his work with the Hospice Movement. He describes the beginning of the Hospice movement in the U.S. (Dr. Hill attended the movement’s first meetings; he serves on the Board of Houston Hospice.) He explains why Dr. Clark was anti-Hospice at the time. He describes some basic beliefs of the group he worked with, primary psychologists, and shares a number of stories that show how he helped shape how Hospice in Houston functioned and evolved into a centralized institution. He again notes that Dr. Clark was against Hospice and such efforts as “Reach to Recovery.” He contextualizes Dr. Clark’s attitude in the anti-MD Anderson movement in Texas (fueled by MD Anderson’s fee-for-service policy) and explains why his attitude eventually shifted, though he stresses that MD Anderson “does not exist to preside over anyone’s death.”