Abstract
ABSTRACT: When hospice care began in the United States in the mid-1970s, the program at St. Luke's Hospital in New York City stood apart. Its proponents sought a unique initiative-to provide patient-centered care for the dying within the acute care setting. St. Luke's Hospital hospice changed the experience of dying for its patients using a "scatterbed" model and holistic care replicating that of St. Christopher's Hospice in London.