Palliative care, associated with the hospice movement, has achieved wide acceptance in many countries. Its focus has been care of cancer patients and more recently, those with AIDS. Most acute hospitals do not have avenues to care for these patients or others in the end of life stages. One method of providing care and comfort in an acute hospital setting for those who have chosen to discontinue treatment or whom aggressive treatment is no longer beneficial is the palliative care team. This team was developed to ensure that specialized services would be offered to the dying patient in the acute setting.