AURORA, CO - FEBRUARY 7: Grace Brown holds the hand of student Dillyn Harris at Chelsea Place, a residence for seniors, on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Students from Regis Jesuit High School did makeup and hair for seniors before giving them a red car …
According to a new report, more Americans say they would rather die a peaceful death at home than inside of a hospital room.
This represents the first time since the early 20th century where the home has surpassed the hospital as the most common place to die in the U.S., part of a growing trend seen among those studying end-of-life care.
The report published in the New England Journal of Medicine says that in 2017, 31 percent of people died at home, compared to 30 percent who died in a hospital. 21 percent spent their final days in a nursing home and eight percent in a hospice facility.
It’s a shift, health experts say, showing that a majority of people, regardless of economic status of culture prefer to die at home in the presence of their loved ones.
Experts say that choosing to spend their final days at home is generally less expensive, but may come at an emotional price to the family and friends of the dying patients who are left with the burden of caring for them. They also caution that some illnesses require continued hospitalization.