My companion was forced out of Medicare and into Hospice at the age of 67 without a terminal illness and without his permission just because he had suffered a stroke. He was involuntarily euthanized 49 days later with lethal doses of opioids. I've since discovered this is happening across the U.S. since doctors and hospitals are complaining that Medicare isn't paying them enough to cure old people's ailments. Hospice corporations are thriving from discarded old people and appear to be immune from prosecution of causing the deaths of old people without terminal illnesses.

Much like her previous book Soft Landing, the author invites you on a personal journey. When she was 8 years old, she experienced her first death and although not realizing it until much later, knew at a very young age how to provide compassionate care to someone who was dying. The first half of this book clearly indicates that she has been on the hospice path a very long time. The second half of the book contains her first blogs. She started writing a blog hoping to educate and inspire anyone who sits at the bedside caring for another as they near the end of their life. She shares her tools and lessons hoping to remove any fear you might have and inspire you to be fully present for someone else. Her heart is a kind and gentle heart and you will see this as you read her words.

Winner of the 2012 AJN (American Journal of Nursing) Book of the Year Award in the Hospice and Palliative Care category In the 1960s, English physician and committed Christian Cicely Saunders introduced a new way of treating the terminally ill that she called "hospice care." Emphasizing a holistic and compassionate approach, her model led to the rapid growth of a worldwide hospice movement. Aspects of the early hospice model that stressed attention to the religious dimensions of death and dying, while still recognized and practiced, have developed outside the purview of academic inquiry and consideration. Meanwhile, global migration and multicultural diversification in the West have dramatically altered the profile of contemporary hospice care. In response to these developments, this volume is the first to critically explore how religious understandings of death are manifested and experienced in palliative care settings. Contributors discuss how a "good death" is conceived within the major religious traditions of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Chinese religion, and Aboriginal spirituality. A variety of real-world examples are presented in case studies of a Buddhist hospice center in Thailand, Ugandan approaches to dying with HIV/AIDS, Punjabi extended-family hospice care, and pediatric palliative care. The work sheds new light on the significance of religious belief and practice at the end of life, at the many forms religious understanding can take, and at the spiritual pain that so often accompanies the physical pain of the dying person.

Written as an introduction for professionals, this book gives the reader an overall grasp of how hospice care is practised, the challenges hospices currently face, and the direction the movement is taking. The author claims that in spite of expansion, people are not aware of the work of hospices.

Explains how to start a hospice, discusses issues concerning their Administration, And Considers Staff Stress, Emotional Support For mourners, ethical problems, and legal concerns.

The beginning of the twentieth century marked the rise of advanced medical technologies, allowing doctors to diagnose and treat diseases in new ways. Although American physicians accepted the validity of the new science of medicine, they were sometimes reluctant to trust technology over their professional judgment or intuition. Likewise, patients raised their own suspicions about the new scientific tools, sometimes resisting or contradicting the advice of their physicians. Here Christopher Crenner examines a critical period in medical history, focusing on the office practice of Boston physician Richard Cabot. Intimate epistolary exchanges between Cabot and his patients shed light on the challenges presented by the new technologies—especially their impact on the personal relationships between doctor and patient—providing insight into a time of expanding science and radical change.

In the past 35 years, the hospice movement has undergone major changes and has grown enormously. Palliative care is of growing importance to society as our culture struggles with how to provide compassionate end-of-life care to a growing segment of the population. This book provides professionals with a comprehensive overview of the hospice practice, as well as the challenges faced by and the future direction of the hospice movement. Chapters address the fundamentals of hospice and palliative care, including key topics such as the goals and importance of community involvement, outcome measurement, and the manner in which hospices address death, grief, and bereavement. Also provided is a detailed analysis of the business side of hospice and offers strategies for proper management for those working in hospice programs that are growing and bringing in new staff and volunteers. This book is being published in partnership with the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO).