Disease Management

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.

Circus of Cancer-Breast Cancer Support
A how-to site to help you step right up when a friend has breast cancer. From the heart info includes: Upon first hearing the news; boosting her spirits, helping her family, supporting chemo treatments, talking to your friend, for her husband or other partner, great sites for small gifts, pink ribbons. Kelly Corrigan, initiator Circus of Cancer, first diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in August 2004, and Nan Davenport, designer who together with Kelly has made educational software for kids and teachers since 1999.

Franciscan’s Improving Care through the End of Life program helps people live the end of their lives as fully as possible. By integrating palliative care (pain and symptom management) with education, reliable support, and links to a broad range of community and health care resources, they reach out to make sure the needs and desires of patients and their loved ones are heard, supported, and met.

Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center provides this site to inform seniors and their caregivers about classes and resources of value. Programs are generally open to the community-at-large and include support groups for diabetes and classes concerning mental health, advance care planning, wellness through life’s end, managing ongoing conditions and many others. A link to the Kaiser Santa Rosa education catalogue is also provided along with links to area hospices and senior resources.

The National Alliance for Caregiving was created to conduct research, do policy analysis, develop national programs and increase public awareness of family caregiving issues. The Alliance’s mission is to be the objective national resource on family caregiving with the goal of improving the quality of life for families and care recipients. Established in 1996, NCA is a non-profit coalition of national organizations focusing on issues of family caregiving. Alliance members include grassroots organizations, professional associations, service organizations, disease-specific organizations, a government agency, and corporations.