The five stages of palliative care refer to a framework for providing supportive care to individuals with serious or life-limiting illnesses.
For some families, having a loved one enter palliative care is the point where the hopes and dreams of recovery begin to make way for the grim reality of impending death. Palliative care is a family-centered model of care that is focused on a patient’s level of comfort and overall quality of life, and one...
by: Alex Smith @alexsmithMD Advanced dementia is a terminal illness needing palliative care. Unfortunately, there is a great divide between this statement of the world as it should be, and the current reality of the world as it is. Rates of pain and shortness of breath are high for patients with advance dementia. Patients with advanced dementia often…
Just as birth doulas help mothers bring their newborns into the world, end-of-life doulas can bring comfort and support to those who are dying.
Palliative care can complement treatment for cancer, but some men may view it as "giving up."
Hospice care focuses on providing relief to patients with a terminal or serious illness. Read on for information about costs and finding hospice services.
Massage Today
By Alex Smith @AlexSmithMD and Sarah Stranberg, Speech Pathologist, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Consider the following vignettes, common in both geriatrics and palliative care: 1. A 93 year old woman with advanced dementia is admitted to the hospital for the third time in the past 6 months for an aspiration pneumonia. The admitting team…
Leukaemia patient Zakwan Anuar (pictured with Kate) was so determined to meet the Duchess that he postponed a badly-needed blood transfusion.
After Rob Stengel went into palliative care, he and his partner Ashley Reese decided to throw the last-minute wedding of a lifetime.
Through thick and thin, dogs really are our best friends.
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark attended the 14th World Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care on May 8, 2015 at Bella Ce...
Being a first-time traveler can be hard. We have put together some great tips to help you get started on your gypsy nurse adventures!
This Palliative Care Center in Montreal was a Wish of the Parish's Last Priest
Want to learn more about caring for someone at end of life? 💛 Discover the End of Life Guideline Series by Barbara Karnes The End of Life Guideline Series prepares its readers for the natural, normal process of dying and grief. It is a compilation of five of our most popular hospice and palliative care books. These resources meet Medicare requirements for consistent family education and have been shown to significantly improve CAHPS scores and family survey results. The series includes the following books. 1. A Time to Live: Living with a Life Threatening Illness For the newly diagnosed facing a life limiting illness, this booklet addresses issues of comfort, nutrition, and sleep as they relate to the palliative care patient. It provides guidance to help them live the best life they can within the confines of their body and disease. 2. Gone From My Sight: The Dying Experience With over 30 million copies sold, the "Hospice Blue Book" is the most beloved and widely used resource of its kind. This educational booklet guides the family through the stages of the dying process over months, weeks, days, and hours. Agencies nationwide use this booklet as part of their end of life care plan. 3. The Eleventh Hour: A Caring Guideline For the Hours to Minutes Before Death Companion booklet to Gone From My Sight, The Eleventh Hour explains what to do and how to care for your loved one during the end of life process. Agencies nationwide use this booklet as part of their end of life care plan. 4. Pain at End of Life: What You Need to Know About End of Life Comfort and Pain Management Intended for families and professionals dealing with narcotics and pain management as end of life approaches. Addresses fear of overdosing and addiction, around the clock administration, standardized dosages, uses of morphine, and more. 5. My Friend, I Care: The Grief Experience Addresses the normal process of grief while offering suggestions for moving forward into living. Often used as a sympathy card by professional agencies, religious organizations and individuals. Like all of Barbara's booklets, this series is written in large print and the information is conveyed in a simple, direct yet gentle manner. You can find comfort in these books on end of life even years after the death of a loved one, as we often have unresolved questions and concerns. Join countless agencies nationwide in utilizing the End of Life Guideline Series to provide compassionate and comprehensive care. Order your copies today and make a positive impact on end-of-life experiences.
Need a little pick-me-up? Let these encouraging quotes help you get up, get dressed, and be ready to face anything today. Get inspired by these encouraging
By Dr Mark Taubert, Palliative Care Consultant at Velindre NHS Trust, Cardiff, UK @DrMarkTaubert Dear David, Oh no, don’t say it’s true – whilst realization of your death was sinking in during those grey, cold January days of 2016, many of us went on with our day jobs. At the beginning of [...]Read More...