Comfort, touch, togetherness: these are among the key elements of hospice care — the kind of care offered at the end of one’s life. These same principles are also in direct opposition to the distance and separation asked of us during a pandemic. Yet ho… Continue reading
In a pivotal scene of the documentary End Game, we listen in as team of palliative care professionals discuss Mitra, a 45-year-old woman who is dying of cancer. Should they approach her about hospice? The hospital chaplain urges the group not to bring … Continue reading
The United States ranks No.1 for highest health care costs per person. Annual family health insurance premiums rose 5 percent last year, averaging $19,616, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. A healthy couple retiring at 65 this year can expect … Continue reading
(Editor’s note: This story is part of a special report for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) Our final days are difficult because they are infused with uncertainty: We don’t know which meal, conversation, embrace or even goodbye will be our last. This … Continue reading
(Editor’s note: This content is provided by The John A. Hartford Foundation, a Next Avenue sponsor.) If you are facing serious illness today or want to prepare for your own, or a loved one’s, illness in the future, you can tell your nurse, doctor and f… Continue reading
(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
(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
(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
(Editor’s note: This content is provided by The John A. Hartford Foundation, a Next Avenue sponsor.) When it comes to health care, what matters varies from person to person and differs depending on your state of health or illness. For one person, it mi… Continue reading