Characteristics of hospice programs, directors, and selected staff in one western state.

This article presents results from a study of all hospice programs in one western state conducted in 1992. Personal interviews and questionnaires were utilized to collect data about hospice programs, hospice directors, hospice nurses, social workers, and chaplains. Hospice programs were identified by type, affiliation, size, and Medicare certification status. Eighty-seven percent of hospice directors in the state were female, and nurses were the directors of 58 percent of the state's hospice programs. Approximately half of the hospice nurses, social workers, and chaplains, and 42 percent of the directors had no prior hospice experience before assuming their present positions.