Palliative Care Patient Information

Helpful Documents and Sites Advance Directives Forms for Virginia, Maryland, Washington, DC, and West Virginia Advance Directive Resource Sheet  Advance Directive Tool Kit  "Your Right to Decide" Booklet Online Registry Fact Sheet  Glossary of Palliative Care Terms  Personal experiences with palliative care  Quiz – "Is Palliative Care for Me?" Additional Information Aging with Dignity's Five Wishes Aging with Dignity is a national non-profit organization, inspired by the life and work of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Introduced in 1997, their mission is to affirm and safeguard the human dignity of individuals as they age and to promote better care for those near the end of life. Better Ending Better Ending is a website that helps consumers plan in advance for serious illness and ensure one's final wishes. The site's "Guide for a Better Ending" lays the groundwork for discussing end-of-life issues, offering tools such as a health care proxy form and personal wishes statement. Caring Connections A program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, Caring Connections is a national consumer and community engagement initiative to improve care at the end of life. The program provides free resources on end-of-life care issues and services, including information on hospice providers and state-by-state information. GetPalliativeCare.org This site, provided by the Center to Advance Palliative Care, offers clear, comprehensive palliative care information for people coping with serious, complex illness. Key components of the site include a palliative care directory of hospitals, a detailed description of palliative care and how it differs from hospice, and an interactive questionnaire to assist people in determining whether palliative care is appropriate for them or their loved ones. Palliativedoctors.org This site has been developed by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine to reach out directly to patients and their families who might benefit from specialized medical care. On our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying A four-part PBS series produced by Bill Moyers that follows him on a journey across the country from hospitals to hospices to homes to capture some of the most intimate stories ever filmed and the most candid conversations about end-of-life care ever shared with television audience. The Quality of Death: End-of-Life Care in America A four-part National Public Radio documentary produced by WBUR in Boston and featuring Jim Conway and Diane Meier, as well as other leaders in the field including Joanne Lynn. Hospice: A Special Kind of Care  For those interested in hospice care, generally defined as care received in the final six months of life, see this helpful brochure from Inova.