Palliative Care and Hospice

Americans for Better Care of the Dying goals are to: build momentum for reform; explore new methods and systems for delivering care; and shape public policy through evidence-based understanding.

Every dying person needs to be able to count on excellent care. Americans for Better Care of the Dying (ABCD) aims to improve end-of-life care by learning which social and political changes will lead to enduring, efficient, and effective programs. ABCD works with the public, clinicians, policymakers, and other end-of-life organizations to make change happen.

ABCD President Joanne Lynn, MD is one of the foremost national leaders in this movement and the author of Handbook for Mortals: Guidance for People Facing Serious Illness; and Improving Care for the End of Life.

This important study and related reports released by the California Healthcare Foundation in March 16, 2007 reports that: In California, the most populous and diverse state in the country, significant racial and ethnic differences exist at the end of life. These reports – the first in a new series of CHCF-supported projects focusing on end-of-life issues - found significant variations in the expectations, experiences, and decisions of patients and their families in the months preceding death.

“As California’s diverse population grows older, ensuring quality care at the end of life for everyone takes on even greater significance,” Mark D. Smith, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of CHCF, said Thursday at the Association of Health Care Journalists conference in Los Angeles. “By supporting research and projects to improve the quality of end-of-life care, CHCF sees an opportunity to help make California a national example of best medical practices and culturally appropriate care.”

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

Caring Connections
-Provides free resources, information and motivation for actively learning about end-of-life resources.
-Promotes awareness of and engagement in efforts to increase access to quality end-of-life care.
-Helps people connect with the resources they need, when they need them.
-Brings together community, state and national partners working to improve end-of-life care.

The Center for Practical Bioethics offers a variety of publications, video and audiotapes designed to enhance ethics education and promote discussion of ethics issues. Links are provided for free material and for items to purchase via their online store.

The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) is a national initiative supported by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, with direction and technical assistance provided by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (NY). CAPC provides health care professionals with the tools and training necessary to start and sustain successful palliative care programs.

CAPC publishes The Case for Hospital-Based Palliative Care-Why leading hospitals are starting palliative care programs to provide high-quality, effective management of advanced illness. Other publications include The Guide to Building A Hospital-Based Palliative Care Program, a how-to handbook with step-by-step guidance.

Christel Lukoff, MSW, Ph.D.
707- 763-3504
Petaluma, CA

Psychotherapist and hospice social worker Christel Lukoff
shares traditional folktales that metaphorically express
many of the feelings and issues encountered in grief. The
stories remind us of the healing power of memories and of
ways to find an ongoing relationship with a loved one who
has died. Christel’s commentaries deepen and transform our
understanding of grief and remind us how love and loss are
interwoven. To order CDs from Christel or to schedule a
storytelling presentation, contact Christel.