Notable Sites on Hospice & Palliative Care
Caring for people in pain, or people who are approaching the ends of their lives, is a rewarding calling that man and patients of old age. Palliative care providers also aim to give comfort and ease pain, but palliative care is often provided to patients who are likely to recover their health.
There are many organizations that provide hospice and palliative care services, either in clinical settings or through home visitation. Nurses working in hospice and palliative care must collaborate with physicians to provide pain management and symptom relief to patients while remaining compassionate and patient.
Coping with illness and death isn’t easy, and nurses who choose to work in hospice and palliative care have the opportunity to provide great comfort to patients, and especially to the families of patients, during one of the most difficult periods of their lives. The order of these sites is not a ranking, as each site offers useful, specialized information.
This collection of sites offers the most up-to-date information on hospice and palliative care, from national associations down to small hospice clinics, for anyone who is interested in learning more and potentially getting involved with hospice and palliative care as a professional or even as a volunteer.
National & Regional Organizations
Hospice and palliative care are nationally recognized and regulated branches of medicine with their own professional associations, regional providers, research journals, and more.
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
NHPCO is a comprehensive website dedicated to providing information for end of life care. Whether users need to find hospice care, find recent legislation regarding hospice, or even see statistics on cost, this site is a great resource.
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Center to Advance Palliative Care
CAPC works with hospitals and other medical organizations to start and sustain quality palliative care programs. With the leadership and expertise, hospitals and palliative workers can be confident offering services.
- Suggested Post: CAPC Resources
International Association for Hospice & Palliative Care
This site works towards helping people find palliative care and programs around the world. Their programs help to support and care for people in countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America.
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American Hospice Foundation
American Hospice Foundation is a great resource for someone looking for hospice care for a loved one. Their resources include information about hospice, ways to find hospice care, and articles and support resources for dealing with grief.
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American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine is the professional organization for physicians specializing in hospice and palliative medicine. Members can mentoring, career development, clinical training programs, and many other invaluable resources.
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National End of Life Care Programme
This UK based site offers support and advice for those looking for information about hospice care. There is also a section for those looking to work in hospice, with information about the education and skills needed.
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Miller Center National Discussion and Debate Series: End-of-Life Care
The University of Virginia – through the Miller Center – offers online discussion and debate series, and their series on end of life care focused on the idea of rationing health care in the US for those needing end of life care. The discussion includes a number of journals cited, as well as ethical papers, and the opinions of several medical professors.
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Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association
HPNA works with professional hospice and palliative nurses. Their organization focuses on training, preparing, and education nurses and healthcare providers to be competent, compassionate, leaders in palliative care.
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Children’s Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition
This palliative care site focuses on providing resources, support, and help for those families who have children with serious, complex needs. They help families find a place to share their story, find research about palliative care for children, and help parents and caregivers through their care journey.
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Palliative Care Australia
This palliative care website shares new and relevant policy and news regarding palliative care in Australia, as well as offers resources like how to deal with grief or illness in children, spiritual care, and advance care planning. Their publications and news articles can benefit families, healthcare workers, and the whole of Australia affected by healthcare.
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African Palliative Care Association
The African Palliative Care Association works throughout Africa to ensure that quality palliative care is available and integrated into national healthcare systems. With a focus on relieving pain and suffering, their mission is to improve the quality of life for patients through awareness, research, and communication.
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Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association
FHPCA is a nonprofit member organization established in 1982 to become a unified voice for hospice programs located throughout Florida. Their site offers information on their services to members and to consumers, including information about Florida’s hospice and palliative care, education, and support.
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European Association for Palliative Care
The European Association for Palliative Care uses their online resources to promote palliative care through all medical professions. Their resources are fairly inclusive, ranging from hospice ethics, to patient assessment and care to educational materials for palliative care across the professions of nursing, social work, and other healthcare sectors.
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Missouri Hospice and Palliative Care Association
MHPCA provides statewide dedication for supporting and strengthening coordinated care for terminally ill Missourians and their loved ones through hospice and palliative care advancement. Their site offers information on resources such as a Veterans Program and information for consumers and for health care professionals.
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Foundation for End of Life Care
The Foundation for End-of-Life Care works tirelessly to make sure that those individuals and families who need and could benefit from hospice care have access to it. They also award grants and research money to foundations who work to improve hospice care and best practices.
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Ohio–Midwest Care Alliance
MCA in a nonprofit organization that promotes hospice care throughout Ohio and supports hospice and palliative care facilities — including home care — with help in ensuring quality services to patients. The MCA site is a wonderful resource for education, advocacy, and news.
- Suggested Post: Public Information
Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State
HPCANYS is a nonprofit organization that represents hospice and palliative care programs throughout New York State, offering education and support for facilities that provide quality end-of-life services. Consumers also can find information on this site, including end-of-life programs in New York, volunteer opportunities, and consumer resources.
- Suggested Post: Membership Benefits
Coalition for Compassionate Care of California
CCC has a lot of great information about health care and planning for later in life. There are resources for those looking for a nursing home, those who want to have a discussion with a loved one about end of life care, as well as current public policy articles about health care.
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UW Medicine: End of Life Research Program
The UW School of Medicine has an entire research department dedicated to the study of end of life care. Through their research and publications, they are able to work towards making quality and care much better in the hospice area of health care.
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Metta Institute End-of-Life Practitioner Program
The Metta Institute focuses on educating practitioners who will go on to work in an end of life care environment. Their education and classes are tailored to the unique needs and challenges of hospice care.
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Montgomery County Coalition for Care at the End-of-Life
Focusing on the county of Montgomery, this end of life site offers families many resources for their area. They also offer events that include topics such as grief, ethical issues, and family relationships, which are great tools for medical workers.
- Suggested Post: Resources
Connecticut Coalition to Improve End-of Life Care
The Connecticut Coalition to Improve End-of-Life Care was founded to help better end of life care across the state and give families peace of mind and options in treatment. Their mission is to make sure that every individual has information about and access to compassionate, quality end-of-life care.
- Suggested Post: Resources
Public Health England: End of Life Care Profiles
This organization is a part of England’s Health Care system and works to support individuals and families going through end of life care. Part of their organization is also dedicated to research and policy, helping to create an environment of wellbeing across the country.
- Suggested Post: Advice and Information
Music-Thanatology Association International
Music Thanatology is a specialty sect of palliative care. They offer personalized music during the last moments of life, helping the family deal with difficult emotions and providing the patient with dignity and care.
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National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care
This organization works to advocate for quality hospice care on behalf of patients and families. They understand that each hospice has its own goals and care practices, but works to unite these groups under a highs standard of care and enhance communication practices.
- Suggested Post: Advocacy
Caring Foundations
The goal of Caring Foundations is to help keep community-based, not-for-profit hospice care centers open. They work with hospices to develop sustainable business plans and work with creating innovative, evolving models of care.
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Caring Connections
Caring Connections is a great resource for those with questions about hospice. They can help families find a hospice, write up an advance direction, and plan for all end of life care needs.
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Kokua Mau – Hawaii Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
K?kua Mau, comprised of individual and organizational champions and supporters from health care facilities across the islands, offers caregiving and support to Hawaiian residents who need attention at the end of their lives. The site offers resources for patients and for volunteers and health care professionals.
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Oregon Hospice Association
The Oregon Hospice Association is a public nonprofit membership organization that advocates for high-quality hospice and palliative care for dying Oregonians and their loved ones. The site provides resources for non-members, too, such as research reports, memorials, and end-of-life advice.
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Kansas Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
KHPCO works so every Kansas citizen has access to quality end-of-life care, and it is a member organization that consists of hospices from across the state. The site offers information about services in Kansas, including answers to questions about insurance, Medicare, and hospice.
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The Hospice Organization and Palliative Experts of Wisconsin (HOPE)
HOPE is a membership organization for Wisconsin’s hospice and palliative care programs, offering advocacy, legislative help, education, and resources. Visitors to the site can learn about HOPE, its members, meetings, and hospices throughout the state.
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California Hospice and Palliative Care Association
CHAPCA is California’s membership organization that helps and advocates for individuals who face life-threatening illnesses. Members receive technical resources, and family members receive help in finding resources to help them through end-of-life decisions and care.
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Hospice and Palliative Care Association of Michigan
Hospice & Palliative Care Association of Michigan is this state’s only trade organization that represents hospice, palliative care, and advance care planning interests. This organization, founded long before Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement mechanisms were in place, is dedicated to the growth of quality services to Michigan’s terminally ill citizens.
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New Jersey Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
NJHPCO is New Jersey’s ultimate resource on education, opportunities, and support for hospice and palliative care throughout the state. This membership organization is comprised of about 90 percent of all licensed hospices in New Jersey, which offer end-of-life care and support to almost every community within the state.
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Oklahoma Hospice & Palliative Care Association
The Oklahoma Hospice and Palliative Care Association is a nonprofit member organization that advocates for quality end-of-life care throughout the State of Oklahoma. They provide a unified voice for professional and general public education and plentiful resources for informational advice, assistance, and training programs for member hospices.
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Texas & New Mexico Hospice Organization
The Texas & New Mexico Hospice Organization is grounded in hospice philosophy and standards, and this membership organization advocates excellence in services, promotes ethical practices, and fosters education and research. Consumers who visit this site also can find resources for end-of-life planning, caregiving, and grief.
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Washington State Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
WSHPCO provides a valuable resource for health care professionals and consumers who want to know more about hospice and palliative care in Washington State. This membership organization honors Veterans, offers volunteer information, and a job bank for individuals who want to work in this profession.
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Arizona Hospice and Palliative Care Association
AHPCO is Arizona’s go-to resource for consumers who need information about end-of-life care. This nonprofit member organization also provides resources for health care professionals with career help, education, event discounts, trends and updates, and advocacy.
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Hospice Foundation of America
The Hospice Foundation of America offers leadership in developing and applying hospice philosophy of care with the mission of enhancing hospice’s role in the U.S. health care system. The site offers a vast amount of information about hospice care, end-of-life services, and the grief process.
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Palliative Care Association of Uganda
PCAU was formed to support and promote the development of palliative care and palliative care professionals in Uganda. Association members, who include professionals and volunteers, share palliative care experiences and knowledge, offering a combined effort to increase the quality of palliative care throughout the country.
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Life Quality Institute
LQI provides education about the understanding and quality of palliative care to health care professionals and the general public through a partnership with the University of Colorado-Denver School of Medicine. Their education programs are designed to build the knowledge base and skill set required to improve patient and family experiences at the end of life.
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National Consensus Project
NCP’s mission is to create clinical practice guidelines that improve the quality of palliative care throughout the United States with an emphasis on collaborative partnerships among facilities that help patients and their loved ones with end-of-life decisions. The site contains information for institutions and for individuals interested in topics concerned with access to quality palliative care.
- Suggested Post: NCP Articles
National Association for Home Care & Hospice
NAHC is a nonprofit organization that represents over 33,000 home care and hospice organizations across the country. This organization also advocates for and provides information to nurses, therapists, aides, and other caregivers employed by hospice and palliative care facilities.
- Suggested Post: Education Opportunities
National Hospice Foundation
NHF, in partnership with National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), is committed to compassionate care at the end of life. NHF funds the development of resources, tools, and information to educate and empower individuals to access advance care planning, caregiving, hospice and grief services and information through their support of the NHPCO program, Caring Connections.
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Colorado Center for Hospice and Palliative Care
The Colorado Center for Hospice & Palliative Care offers high-quality care for patients and family caregivers struggling with issues centered in serious and life-limiting illnesses. Their blog offers hospice news and information that answers many questions regarding hospice and palliative care, especially for members.
Center for Hospice
The Center for Hospice Care, established in 1978, offers residents in northern Indiana a way to improve the quality of life through dealing with issues surrounding death. This independent nonprofit organization offers information about their work on their website, including ways for providers and volunteers to contribute to their mission.
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Chicago End-of-Life Care Coalition
The Chicago End-of-Life Care Coalition dedicates its efforts to improve dying patient care through education and outreach resources. One of the amazing projects created by this coalition was partnering with a story-sharing group to present performances of stories related to death and dying.
- Suggested Post: Chicago End-of-Life Care Coalition Blog
End of Life Care Coalition
The End of Life Care Coalition is a community of compassionate care created through education, networking, and support for all aspects of end-of-life support. Although located in North Carolina, this coalition offers free downloads, links, and information for consumers across the globe on this site.
- Suggested Post: Free Downloads
National Alliance for Hospice Access (NAHA)
NAHA is a nonprofit coalition consisting of over 500 independent hospices in 32 states as well as individual hospice advocates who work toward one goal — sensible hospice reform. Their site contains information about legal concerns, financial information, news and trends in the hospice industry, and legislation that impacts health care professionals in this field.
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Institute to Enhance Palliative Care
Many medical professionals are ill prepared to meet a critically ill or dying patient, because education in palliative care often is tangential to curricula taught in health sciences. The Institute to Enhance Palliative Care fills the need for this lack of education, working with the University of Pittsburgh to encourage students to learn more about this field.
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The Oncology Nurse Community: Palliative Care
This division of the Oncology Community deals with issues in palliative care. There are message boards and blogs, as well as videos and articles about care, grief and more.
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Hospice Buffalo
The blog of Hospice Buffalo offers research findings, grief & wellness posts, and other hospice information. The blog entries help answer patient’s concerns and questions, as well as offer counsel and help to families and caregivers.
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Research & Education
A great deal of research has gone into establishing the most effective hospice and palliative treatment methods, and for anyone hoping to learn from the best, there are educational materials and research publications available online.
Education, courses and training and research at St Christopher’s
St. Christopher’s Hospice is a leader in hospice education and training. Because of the complex nature of end of life care, it takes a lot of experience and education in palliative programs and St. Christopher’s offers courses in every area, including spiritual care and cognitive therapy.
- Suggested Post: Course and Subjects
Life and Death Matters
Life and Death Matters offers an online education in hospice care for HCW, nurses, counselors, and volunteers. Classes and workshops in things like grief, communication, and psychology help educate students on the complex ideas and concepts of end of life care.
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The Telehospice Project
The Telehospice Project works to improve the quality of life by offering support for end of life workers through technology. Their goal is to use telecommunications and other technologies to support hospice workers and bridge geographical gaps, where the absent of support can be especially difficult.
- Suggested Post: Publications
End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC)
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing is involved in the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium, which helps raise standards of hospice care. The project provides undergraduate and graduate nursing faculty training in palliative care to help train future nurses in best practices of end of life care.
- Suggested Post: ELNEC Curricula
Hospice Education Network
The Hospice Education Network provides online training and learning resources for people interested in working in a hospice or palliative care facility. In addition to their paid courses, HEN has great free resources, including a regularly updated blog and free sample courses
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EOL/Palliative Care Educational Resources
The Medical College of Wisconsin has a comprehensive training program for those who are looking to work in hospice. They offer clinical training, mentoring, and conferences to help create compassionate experts in end of life care.
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PCC4U Project
This site promotes the inclusion of palliative care curriculum in all nursing and allied health degrees. Their project team works to build curriculum that works in the classroom and offers real life skills.
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Yale School of Medicine
The Yale school of medicine offers a compressive and multidisciplinary education program in palliative care education. Graduates are equipped to prevent and relieve suffering, working one on one with patients in end of life care.
Palliative Care Education
Palliative Care Education offers nurses working on their continuing education an education in end of life care. The program equips nurses with skills to provide quality care and use their knowledge to provide dignity and compassion.
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Ian Anderson Continuing Education Program in End-of-Life Care
University of Toronto offers free resources for those looking for materials and information for hospice care education. Materials included are introductions to ethics in dying and care, symptom management, and other topics perfect for reviewing in a group setting of hospice care workers.
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EPEC™-O Self-Study
Education in Palliative and End-of-Life Care for Oncology curriculum is training for health professionals caring for people with cancer. The comprehensive preparation includes spirituality, culture concerns, communication modules and more.
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Hospice Analytics, Inc.
Hospice Analytics is a research and information sharing organization, working towards improving hospital care through the dissemination of information. Their research publications and studies help both doctors and families make informed decision during end of life care.
- Suggested Post: Patient and Family Info
Hospice Patients Alliance: Consumer Advocacy
The Hospice Patients Alliance works to deliver information to important questions to patients and families. A huge list of references and materials help to answer questions about finances, standards of care, state laws, and more.
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National Palliative Care Research Center
This national research center is committed to funding research that will improve care for seriously ill patients and their families. Their research has helped develop resources and solutions for palliative health care and improve communication, access, and care.
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Center For Thanatology Research & Education, Inc.
Thanatology is the study of everything that has to do with dying, death, and grief. This site offers a wealth of information – in the form of online articles, print journals, books and more – for those looking for information on death, dying, gravestones, and more.
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Hospice Care Research
This blog is dedicated to updates and news in hospice research. These articles talk about what’s current in research and how that research is being implemented in hospice care.
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University of Washington’s Center for Palliative Care Education
The University of Washington offers a Center for Palliative Care Education that serves as an excellent resource for education and training in the palliative care arts. The focus is on individuals who suffer with HIV/AIDS, and the effort is to decrease or prevent the symptoms of a disease without affecting a cure.
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The Population-based Palliative Care Research Network
PoPCRN, formed in 1998 at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, offers a means for conducting on-going studies of care at the end of life. Their aim is to facilitate structured and rigorous exploration of issues of importance to patients, families, caregivers, and providers in palliative care and hospice settings.
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Association for Death Education and Counseling
ADEC is one of the oldest interdisciplinary organizations within the field of dying, death, and bereavement. Nearly 2,000 members, including a wide array of mental and medical health personnel, educators, clergy, funeral directors, and volunteers, off their insights and receive numerous opportunities for education from this organization.
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Palliative Care Research Society
The Palliative Care Research Society website offers information about research into all aspects of palliative care for its members. Membership is open to any individual or organization interested in furthering the aims of understanding end-of-life care and support for dying patients and their loved ones.
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National Caregivers Library
This invaluable resource is one of the largest single sources of free information and tools for caregivers and seniors in the country. Users can spend weeks studying the articles, forms, checklists, and links to topic-specific external resources in categories that range from caregiving basics to real estate and transportation issues.
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Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care
The Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care offers a relevant resource for health care professionals as well as for consumers. This center is a focus for attention to palliative care, and aims to aims to ease suffering and enhance the quality of care for patients and their families dealing with life-threatening and/or serious illness.
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The Hospice Institute for Education, Training and Research, Inc.
Incorporated in 1978, the Hospice Institute began as a vehicle to share the hospice philosophy, experience, and skills with students, caregivers, administrators, and the lay community. The Institute fulfills these objectives through educational programs that include courses, seminars, publications, and training programs.
- Suggested Post: Current Research
Blogs
Some people find writing to be the easiest way to cope with going through hospice care or seeing a loved one dying. Sharing the end-of-life experience through a blog has proven to be a great comfort for many in a difficult time of life.
Confessions of a Funeral Director
This blog offers the unique perspective of someone who works with families after death has touched them, as well as worked to honor the memory of those who have died. His blog offers humor, insight, and compassion, particularly for those who work in end of life care or are dealing with grief.
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GeriPal
A geriatric and palliative care blog, GeriPal has articles for every facet of palliative care. This includes patient decisions at diagnosis, advance health directives, technology, and healthcare policies.
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Changing Aging
Changing Aging is a blog about the aging process. Dr. Bill Thomas presents information that attempts to understand “life beyond adulthood”, including age, disease, and death.
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Bereavement Center Blog
This blog focuses on the grief that accompanies the hospice journey. With a multitude of resources for coping with grief, including creating memorials, getting tattoos, writing poetry, having conversations, and dealing with what-ifs, this blog has a healing resource for everyone.
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Living Life, Dying Death
This blog serves as both a place to have and a way to start conversations about death and dying. The blog includes a little bit of everything, including poems, book links, news and advice.
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The Elizabeth Hospice Caregiver’s Blog
The blogs written for Elizabeth Hospice are comforting and practical resources for caregivers. With advice and stories, this blog can help caregivers and families cope and heal.
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Passages Hospice Blog
The blog at Passages Hospice has useful information for families, physicians, and nursing staff. While Passages mainly works to provide hospice care, their blog is informative for those looking for hospice and current health care news and perspectives.
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Casa de la Luz Hospice Blog
Casa de la Luz Hospice offers timely news and information in a blog that reflects on their level of care for hospice patients and their loved ones during the end of life. Casa de la Luz is the recipient of a number of awards for their level of service, their work environment, and for their vision of offering the best life has to offer to terminally ill patients.
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Music-Thanatology
Jennifer Hollis is a writer, harpist, and part-time music-thanatologist based in Massachusetts. Hollis shares her insights on the benefit of music in palliative care on her blog, and has written a book called Music at the End of Life: Easing the Pain and Preparing the Passage.
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Halcyon Hospice Blog
Halycon Hospice offers great articles, answers, and services for those with hospice needs. They offer in-home and facility-based care, as well as a wealth of resources for those with hospice questions.
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Hospice of Southern Maine Blog
Hospice of Southern Maine became the first freestanding nonprofit inpatient hospice facility in that state in 2007. With a commitment to leading in end-of-life improvements through advocacy, education, and outreach, this organization offers their expertise through an updated and relevant blog.
Monarcares Blog
This blog covers topics like caregiving, medications, respite, and other issues that those who help with end of life care face. Their blog articles offer compassionate, real life advice.
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Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog
This blog offers a lot of information for nurses, caregivers, family members and patients in the area of palliative care and nursing homes. Topics include news, practices, research, poems, stories, and interviews.
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Medical Futility Blog
This professor-run blog focuses on judicial, legislative, policy, and academic developments concerning end of life care.
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AseraCare Hospice: Hospice Blog
This is a great collection of hospice related blog entries. From resources for social workers, find a hospice to work at, volunteer at, or utilize for care, or blogs about dealing with loss, this is a comprehensive resource for end of life care information.
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SevenPonds Blog
The SevenPonds Blog is a community-centered blog that encourages open conversation about death and provides a space for healing connections among those grieving the death of loved ones.
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Palliative Care Blog
This blog offers moving stories, resourceful advice, news, and quick facts about palliative care. Additionally, the Get Palliative Care site provides a directory of facilities that individuals and their loved ones can use to provide services for end-of-life care.
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Hospice Law Blog
The Hospice Law Blog provides timely news, insights, legal analysis, and resources for families and for professionals on hospice reimbursement issues. The blog’s primary editor, Brian Daucher, has counseled clients on all aspects of hospice law, setting standards on fair treatment and payment for facilities and for patients alike.
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Old Colony Hospice Blog
What better way to learn about hospice care than from a blog written by professionals who work at a hospice center? Old Colony Hospice Blog offers various stories, advice, information, and news all centered on hospice services and palliative care.
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Hospice Care Blog
HEALTHCAREfirst is an industry leader on all information relative to the home care and hospice, and they offer a blog that focuses solely on hospice care. The blog provides great materials that advocate for hospice systems within health care, providing support for patients and their loved ones during the end-of-life journey.
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Hospice Physician’s Blog
A fellowship-trained and board certified hospice and palliative medicine physician offers insights into life as a hospice medical director. Learn about patient experiences and the emotional stress involved in this career through entries that can appeal to both health care professionals and families of loved ones who are facing end-of-life situations.
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Alive Hospice Blog
Alive Hospice, located in Middle Tennessee, provides a blog that can help any reader learn more about hospice care and the challenges that terminal illness presents to patients and their families. Their mission is to make sure that no one, regardless of illness, age, or ability to pay, should die alone or in pain.
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Death Care Compliance Law Blog
The author of this blog, William Stalter, is the founder of Stalter Legal Services and the Preneed Resource Company. With a focus on preneed and death care compliance, readers can learn a great deal of information about those topics and other legal matters from Stalter’s writings.
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General End-of-Life Resources
End-of-life care involves a great deal more than just medicine. There are legal matters to be taken care of, and of course personal and emotional ones, and there are many supportive resources available online to make these issues as easy to cope with as possible.
Help the Hospices
Help the Hospices champions hospice care in the UK. In an effort to help those patients and families who need end of life care, they coordinate national campaigns, and host fundraisers to help hospitals keep their hospice services.
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Outcome Resources
This organization works to provide resources and support to hospices. They offer clinical services, educational services for nurses and health professionals, and other resources to help hospices succeed.
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A Good Dying
With quotes, prayers, and information about dying, this site seeks to bring comfort for those dealing with death and the complicated emotions of losing a loved one.
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Resources for Grief™
This business helps to supply resources to organizations and individuals. They grief support mailings and information, group support resources, books for grieving children, and other helpful products to encourage healing, emotional support and guidance for those grieving
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SacredFlight
SacredFlight serves people who are terminally ill or dying, providing live music prescriptively with harp and voice in hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, and private residences. This aspect of end of life care is certainly a spiritual one, and SacredFlight helps to meet an important need.
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mumms®Software by Secure Computing Systems
Developed by Secure Computing Systems, Inc., this software provides a multi-use medical management system for hospice-specific businesses. Look for relevant training, comprehensive customer service, and software built by people who are hospice focused and who want palliative care communities to offer quality services.
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Hospice Volunteer
Hospice Volunteer is an excellent resource for those who volunteer with the dying. Written by a volunteer, resources include articles about care, emotional health and other volunteer centered information and help.
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Hospice Volunteer Association
For those who are dedicated hospice volunteers, this site serves an excellent volunteer community. Members can find hospice news, a wealth of healthcare resources and articles, and a supportive group of volunteers online.
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MedlinePlus: Hospice Care
This site gives a brief overview and explanation of end of life care. Their information on hospice care includes links for information to end of life issues, home care services, and other related issues.
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Perspectives on Hospice Palliative Care: Nursing [PDF]
A resource directed at nurses, this article describes how hospice care can affect nurses and how nurses can prepare to take part in it. It also describes a hospice for a nurse who might have no experience in end of life care.
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Next Step in Care
Next Step in Care helps caregivers, family members, and health care professionals work together to create end of life plans for sick or dying patients. These plans are helpful in healthcare transitions and patients transiting to hospice care.
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Eco-Thanatology
This site focuses on the relationship between death and dying and the earth. Their materials seek to help readers understand the rhythms of nature and sound, life and death, and movement, all to help bring peace to the idea of death.
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CarePathways
CarePathways is a great resource for nurses working on end of life care, as well as families beginning that journey with a loved one. They have information for those seeking long term care, for those serving as family caregivers, and for health care professionals.
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Hospice.net
This hospice site offers information and answers for families going through the process of dealing with the end of life care, dying and death. They have information for patients, children, and caregivers and others involved.
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Zen Hospice Project
The Zen Hospice Project is a special effort that provides care for the dying, their caregivers, and the bereaved in the San Francisco area. Their projects include a guest house for individuals who cannot die in their own homes, volunteer training programs, and education workshops for health care providers and for consumers.
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ehospice
eHospice offers a global perspective on information about the world of hospice and palliative care. This online publication is aimed at professionals and individuals with interests in issues surrounding end-of-life decisions, providing expertise and experience from a wide-ranging palliative care community as well as information about jobs, events, and a directory.
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CareSearch
This palliative care knowledge network provides information about hospice and palliative care for professionals and community members seeking answer for questions about end-of-life decisions. This site also provides ideas on how to deal with palliative care through services and resources geared toward finding individualized and creative options.
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Growth House
Growth House, Inc. is an ever-growing and already massive educational resource about life-threatening illnesses and end-of-life care. Their mission is to provide the tools that caregivers and patients need to learn more about hospice care, palliative medicine, and information about the dying process.
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Death With Dignity National Center
The Death with Dignity National Center provides a massive amount of resources about “death with dignity” laws for patients, families, activists and advocates, and health care professionals. The mission of this nonprofit organization is to promote those laws based on model legislation, the Oregon Death with Dignity Act.
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Hospice & Palliative CareCenter Blog
North Carolina’s Hospice & Palliative Care Center offers a blog that provides information and news about their services and palliative care situations. Their programs, which include grief counseling and advance care planning, are part of what readers can learn about in these writings.
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Hospice Action Network
Learn more about HAN’s mission to advocate for policies that ensure the best care for patients and their families who face end-of-life decisions. HAN’s mission extends to all of the services and issue areas involved in hospice and palliative care and end of life services.
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Journal of Palliative Medicine Blog
The Journal of Palliative Medicine is a refreshing look at advance care for seriously ill patients and their families. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., in collaboration with Stanford University, offers the innovative content that readers can find in this journal’s blog.
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The Legacy Project
The Legacy Project offers lessons for the living from elders in American society. These lessons were culled by a Cornell University research team from nearly 1,500 responses to the question, “What are the most important lessons you have learned over the course of your life?”
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Pallimed
This site offers a way to keep track of interesting and thought-provoking articles from a variety of journals relevant to palliative care. Since its inception in 2005, the site has grown to include media coverage, blogs, and information about hospices and palliative care for health care professionals and for the general public.
Hospice Volunteer Training Institute (HVTI)
HVTI is part of the HEAL project, or Hospice Educators Affirming Life. This hospice volunteer program can be a life-changing and life-fulfilling experience through an e-Learning portal that gives prospective volunteers an opportunity to learn the basic and advanced skills necessary to serve the dying in a most loving and compassionate way.
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Hospice Choices
Hospice Choices is an ideal resource for health care professionals who seek jobs in hospice and palliative care careers. This site contains the largest hospice-specific job seeker database online, offering a unique forum to solve the hospice community’s hiring needs.
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Hospice Journey
Hospice Journey is a creative and cathartic tool that patients and family can use to share the end of life journey. This free personal website offers the ability to keep the site private or to share it publicly, and offers resources that can help families face death with less fear and with more openness.
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