Proclamation 6630

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

As Americans work together to reform our Nation's health care system, I am pleased to proclaim November 1993 and 1994 as National Hospice Month.

Hospice is an eminently successful program, a vital health care service that allows the terminally ill to die with dignity. It addresses the importance of being in a warm, familiar, and comforting environment in our last days. This care helps not only in preserving and enhancing the patient's quality of life during an illness, but also in giving support to the family following the death of a loved one. This attention underscores the importance of the needs of the entire family and highlights the dedication of this supportive and knowledgeable interdisciplinary team.

The public and private sectors have forged a unique partnership in the development of high standards and new programs for hospice care. These and other changes to be brought about by health care reform hold the promise for even greater accomplishments as we try to improve the quality of life of those most in need. Thus, my Administration is deeply committed to maintaining and strengthening these efforts in our health care system.

In recognition of the importance of hospice programs and in honor of the many dedicated volunteers and professionals who care for the terminally ill and their families, the Congress, by House Joint Resolution 159, has designated November 1993 and 1994 as "National Hospice Month" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of these months.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim November 1993 and 1994 as National Hospice Month. I encourage all Americans to recognize the importance of hospice care and to observe these months with appropriate activities and programs.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighteenth.

William J. Clinton