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

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

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

One Doctor’s Plea: Consider Palliative Care

(Editor’s note: This content is provided by The John A. Hartford Foundation, a Next Avenue sponsor.) For some people facing a terminal illness or the end of life, transitioning to palliative care (care given to improve quality of life for patients with… Continue reading

The Ways Inequality Affects Black Americans at the End of Life

(Editor’s note: This content is provided by The John A. Hartford Foundation, a Next Avenue sponsor.) Jodi Savage was her grandmother’s caretaker in her last days. Like many black Americans, her grandmother’s cultural beliefs and religious background le… Continue reading

Can Your Doctor Understand Your Advance Directive?

(Editor’s note: This content is provided by The John A. Hartford Foundation, a Next Avenue sponsor.) Health care is deeply personal — especially as we age and face serious illness. Although it may not feel like the easiest conversation to have with our… Continue reading

For the Dying, Music Can Be Magic

(Editor’s note: This story is part of a special report for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) At a time when health care costs are soaring and health providers are strained for time, arts-based innovations can offer excellent patient care at the end of … Continue reading

Drone Ambulances to the Rescue

(Editor’s note: This story is part of a special report for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) Remoteness is what makes family worry about us. It’s true at any age — from a daughter who sets off on a weekend hike into the deep woods to a couple who choos… Continue reading

The End-of-Life Care That Veterans Need

(Editor’s note: This story is part of a special report for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) Every veteran is unique, with a lifetime of memories, stories and achievements. At the same time, veterans share a common experience regardless of when and whe… Continue reading