end-of-life care

André Lee, administrator and co-founder of Heart and Soul Hospice, stands with Keisha Mason, director of nursing, in front of their office building last week in Nashville, Tenn.

Health & Safety

Black-owned hospice seeks to bring greater ease in dying to Black families

5:07pm December 28, 2021

by Blake Farmer

Black patients and their families are less likely to sign up for end-of-life comfort care. To reach them, investors are starting hospice agencies run by people who look like the patients they serve.

With many Americans dying of COVID-19, it's more important than ever to have advance directives – and conversations about your wishes for intensive and end-of-life care.

Health & Safety

Planning For End-Of-Life Care Is More Crucial Than Ever. Here's How

1:29pm July 09, 2020

by Katherine Harmon Courage

With many Americans dying of COVID-19, it's important to document your wishes for your care should you get seriously ill. Doing so can ease the way for family in difficult moments.

The practice of palliative care is changing under the pandemic: Doctors and nurses are learning new ways to help patients and families communicate their treatment goals and make decisions about end-of-life care.

Health & Safety

Patients Dying Fast, And Far From Family, Challenge Practice Of Palliative Care

2:47pm May 04, 2020

by Will Stone

For one family who lost both their mother and their father to the coronavirus, palliative care clinicians helped them face "the awful, awful truth."

Palliative care is a growing specialty that provides comfort care and that teaches patients and doctors how to talk about patients' goals for life with serious disease — and how to prepare for a good ending.

A Good Life And A Good Death: What Is Palliative Care?

3:54pm April 25, 2019

by Carmel Wroth

In That Good Night, palliative care doctor Sunita Puri shares insights from her years caring for patients with serious illness. She sees her role as an advocate and ally — every step of the way.

Belmont University's nursing program started hiring actors like Vickie James to help with their end-of-life simulations for students.

Health & Safety

Morphine, And A Side Of Grief Counseling: Nursing Students Learn How To Handle Death

12:23pm January 19, 2019

by Blake Farmer

Research has found that university curriculum often goes light on one of life's universal experiences — dying. So some colleges have gone to new lengths to make the training more meaningful.

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It's not easy to start end-of-life discussions, but some people make it a holiday tradition.

This Thanksgiving, Carve Out Time To Talk About End-Of-Life Wishes

6:00am November 22, 2017

by JoNel Aleccia

Turkey dinner with a side dish of death isn't everyone's idea of a festive meal. But end-of-life planning advocates say the holidays are an ideal time to have these conversations with family members.

Military Veterans Can Serve Special Role In End-Of-Life Care

2:19pm March 08, 2017

by David Ford

One of the Piedmont's largest hospice networks is putting out a call for a wide range of volunteers to better serve its patients, particularly military veterans.

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Many hospitals haven't fully implemented guidelines put forth in 2010 to minimize errors in the determination of brain death.

Health & Safety

Researchers Find Lapses In Hospitals' Policies For Determining Brain Death

6:47pm December 28, 2015

by Rob Stein

Most hospitals don't require neurologists, neurosurgeons or even fully trained doctors to make the ultimate call.

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As life draws to an end, compassion is more important than food.

A Nurse Reflects On The Privilege Of Caring For Dying Patients

3:47pm September 28, 2015

Palliative care nurse Theresa Brown provides in-home, end-of-life care to patients. "It's incredible the love that people evoke" at the end of their lives, she says. Brown's new book is The Shift.

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