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Hospice Services

Web Resources

Organizations/General Information

American Association for Death Education and Counseling - A professional organization dedicated to promoting excellence in death education, bereavement counseling and care of the dying.

Caring Connections - A program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), is a national consumer and community engagement initiative to improve care at the end of life, supported by a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Center to Advance Palliative Care - Search the latest resources in palliative care available to hospitals and health care systems.

Compassion & Choices - This advocacy group is working with the health care community for changes in medical care for the terminal ill. This group is involved in legalization of assisted dying, as well as judicial and legislative efforts to improve pain management and to sanction providers who fail to treat pain.

Growth House - This group is an international gateway to resources for life-threatening illness and end-of-life issues. The primary mission is to improve the quality of compassionate care for people who are dying through public education about hospice and home care, palliative care, pain management, death with dignity, bereavement, and related end of life topics.

Last Acts Archives - Sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, this organization was committed to raising awareness of the need to improve care of the dying and sharing issues and ideas at the national, state and local levels.

Missouri End-of-Life Coalition - Every Missourian deserves compassionate care and comfort at the end of their life. This is why the Missouri End-of-Life Coalition was formed — to ensure every Missourian has the resources they need to die with dignity.

National Family Caregivers Association - Offers practical information and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs), as well as “A Guide to Improving Doctor/Caregiver Communication.”

National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) - This is the largest nonprofit membership organization representing hospice and palliative care programs and professionals in the United States. The organization is committed to improving end of life care and expanding access to hospice care with the goal of profoundly enhancing quality of life for people dying in America and their loved ones.

National Public Radio’s Series “Exploring Death in America” - An exceptionally wide-ranging and well-balanced collection of “voices” and resources including bibliographies, interviews, sample chapters from important texts and personal stories.

"On Our Own Terms – Moyers on Dying” - This groundbreaking PBS series, first aired in the fall of 2000, spurred an ongoing program of community outreach.

"With Eyes Open" - This was produced by KQED television in San Francisco and aired throughout the country in September 2000 as a companion to "On Our Own Terms." The four programs discuss care giving, grief, difficult decisions and what may lie beyond death.

Physician/Pain Management

Americans for Better Care of the Dying - Founded in 1997, this is an organization dedicated to ensuring that all Americans can count on good end of life care. This group is committed to ensuring that every person experiences comfort, dignity and meaning at the end of life, and that every loved one knows that life came to a close in a dignified and meaningful way. By sharing expertise, building collaborative networks and public commitment, ABCD seeks to achieve substantive health care reform through improved policy, professional practice and care reimbursement.

American Medical Association, Institute for Ethics EPEC (Education for Physicians on End of Life Care Project) - offers information on end-of-life care education for professionals.

American Pain Foundation - Provides a survey to screen yourself for depression and access to on-line support.

Dale Larson's Web Page is an excellent site for hospice professionals. This site provides numerous tips from Dr. Larson's "Great Ideas" sessions given at national hospice management conferences. He provides practical ideas in clinical care, bereavement, volunteer management, marketing, fundraising, community education, and much more.

Education for Physicians on End-of-life Care (EPEC) project is designed to educate all physicians on the essential clinical competencies required to provide quality end-of-life care. A comprehensive set of training materials is available.

End of Life Physician Education Resource Center (EPERC) is a central repository for educational materials and information about end of life (EOL) issues designed for physicians and other educators. After registration one has full access to the "educational resources" link, including the invaluable series of one-page publications called "Fast Facts."

Missouri Pain Initiative improves the quality of life of people with pain by raising public awareness, promoting self-advocacy and provider practice improvement, and working to remove barriers and increase access to effective pain management.

Palliative Care Policy Center (PCPC) offers expert support to hospitals, nursing homes, health systems, hospices, and other organizations that serve individuals nearing the end of life.

Supportive Care Coalition - A non-profit coalition committed to bring about cultural change regarding pain and symptom management and relief of suffering for persons living with and affected by life- threatening illness.

Care Giving

Aging with Dignity - A privately-funded, non-profit organization that advocates for the needs of elders and their caregivers, with a particular emphasis on improving care for those at the end of life.

Caregiver Resource Directory - Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care New York Beth Israel Medical Center. New York Beth Israel Medical Center has created the resource directory to help family caregivers feel less alone and overwhelmed.

Empowering Caregivers - A comprehensive site offering information, emotional and spiritual support through featured expert columns, articles on care giving, journal exercises, a newsletter, forums, chats, healing circle, caregiver and care giving spotlights, inspiration, humor and more.

Family Caregiver Alliance (The) provides resources, including information about specific diseases and related public policy news.

Grief/Bereavement

AARP - Information for widows and widowers.

Bereavement - A magazine of hope and healing has been designed to be a "support group in print" - a friend who arrives in the mailbox six times each year.

Gilda's Club Worldwide - This site offers emotional and social support to those living with cancer and their families.

GriefNet - An Internet community of persons dealing with grief, death, and major loss.

PDQ-Supportive Care-Patients: Loss, Grief, and Bereavement - (National Cancer Institute)

Spirituality/Faith/Last Rites

American Association of Pastoral Counselors - This site provides information about pastoral counseling, resources and a searchable directory of pastoral counselors.

Ethical Wills - This site offers a way to leave your legacy by writing down your values and beliefs.

Funeral Consumers Alliance (The) - This site provides information for consumers about funeral ethics, affordability and legal issues.

National Funeral Directors Association (The) - Offers useful consumer guidelines, demographic information and helpful links to other national and international organizations.

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