It’s Quality, Not Quantity, of Life That Matters

(Advances in science and public health are increasing longevity and enhancing the quality of life for people around the world. In this series of interviews with the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging, 14 visionaries are revealing exciting … Continue reading

Living Life With the End in Mind

(Editor’s note: This story is part of a special report for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) Cathy Wurzer made a dying man a promise. Through interviews with Bruce Kramer (a former dean at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.) beginning in 2… Continue reading

How Realistic Is Dying at Home?

(Editor’s note: This story is part of a special report for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) On Jan. 29, 2014, David C. Skipworth died in Garland, Texas at age 67 after a long illness, holding his wife Sandra’s hand and listening to the National Anthem… Continue reading

How to Choose Hospice Care

(Editor’s note: This story is part of a special report for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) Making the decision to transition your loved one to hospice care (for people whose medical conditions mean they are expected to die within six months) is a tim… Continue reading

Saying No to Pervasive Ageism

(Advances in science and public health are increasing longevity and enhancing the quality of life for people around the world. In this series of interviews with the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging, 14 visionaries are revealing exciting … Continue reading

End-of-Life Conversations Can Bring You and Loved Ones Closer

(Editor’s note: This story is part of a special report for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) Before his mother, Dee Dee, died from emphysema in 2009, Larry Sernovitz spent a lot of time at her bedside, keeping her company. Toward the last few days of D… Continue reading

How California Is Changing Palliative Care

(Editor’s note: This story is part of a special report for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) In January, California became the first state to mandate home-based palliative care (care given to improve quality of life for patients with life-threatening d… Continue reading

A Filmmaker Honors His Father’s Last Days

In 2010, after a 29-year career as an editor and technical director at ABC News in Washington, D.C., Mike Kravinsky, 65, took a buyout offer and began making preparations for his second act. “At that point, I did exactly what you aren’t supposed to do … Continue reading

What Hospice Does and Doesn’t Do

(Editor’s note: This story is part of a special report for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) More than once in my life, I wish I knew more about hospice care, which is a sustained focus on quality-of-life near the end of a journey. A deeper working kno… Continue reading