Final answer:
Hospice care provides support and dignity for imminently dying patients, focusing on comfort rather than cures, and helps the patient's family cope with the situation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Care of the patient who is imminently dying consists of providing support and comfort in their final days, often in the form of hospice care. Hospice care prioritizes the quality of life for patients who are at the end of life's journey, shifting the focus from cure-oriented treatments to ensuring a peaceful and dignified death, sometimes in the patient's home, surrounded by loved ones. The process of grieving for these patients can involve Kübler-Ross's five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, although not every patient experiences all stages or in the same order. Hospice care has shown to benefit both the patient by allowing them to remain in a comfortable environment and the family by providing them with support and reducing the burden of care.