Growth House Guide To Hospice Volunteer Training
A compilation of resources for hospice volunteers and administrators of volunteer programs.

Hospice Foundation of America
National advocate in the United States for the hospice concept of care. Offers a range of books and training services for hospice professionals and the general public. Their annual teleconference is probably the world's largest single training event for end of life care, seen in over 2,000 downlink sites by more than 120,000 people. Resources include excellent publications on specialized types of grief and materials directed specifically at hospice clergy.

The Hospice Handbook: A Complete Guide
By Larry Beresford. Anyone thinking about using hospice services will benefit from this excellent introduction to hospice care. Written for a general audience, chapters introduce you to basic concepts of palliative care, when hospice is an appropriate choice, an inside look at how a hospice team operates, and practical suggestions on how to choose a hospice. This book makes good reading for hospice staff and volunteers, too.

At Home With Terminal Illness
By Michael Appleton and Todd Henschell. An easy-to-use, simple guide that is organized alphabetically. This book is written for caregivers who are not medical professionals. It explains basic issues in terminal care, including an introduction to hospice care, how hospice care can be delivered in the home, and practical caregiving tips that may be hard to find elsewhere.

International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC)
A membership organization that covers hospice and palliative care issues worldwide. The IAHPC newsletter covers news, journal reviews, and case studies of facilities in many countries. Website includes an international directory of palliative care associations, fact sheets on various issues, an international events calendar, and an online bookstore. You can search the Growth House database from this site. IHIC is a member of the Inter-Institutional Collaborating Network On End Of Life Care.

When Autumn Comes: A Hospice Volunteer's Stories
By Mary Jo Bennett. This book explores death from the perspective of a hospice volunteer, recounting stories based on experiences with patients, friends, and family members. This insightful and tender book provides a realistic introduction to what hospice volunteers actually do.

National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO)
An authoritative source for education and advocacy for hospice issues. NHPCO has over 2,250 provider members and 5,000 professional members from all over the world. Website includes information on how to find a hospice in the United States, hospice FAQs, recommended reading, technical publications for hospice professionals, audio tapes of past conferences, Medicare reimbursement benefit information, and links to related resources. Some features require membership in the National Council Of Hospice Professionals, but most of the site is accessible by all visitors. This organization was formerly known as the National Hospice Organization (NHO).

American Hospice Foundation
Mission is to improve access to quality hospice care through public education, professional training, and consumer advocacy. Offers publications, free articles, CD-ROM courses and training workshops related to care at the end of life, grief at school and in the workplace, and other topics.

National Hospice Work Group
A professional coalition of executives from some of the nation's largest and most innovative hospices. The NHWG "Hospice Access and Values" project has been examining how public policy and financing systems impede delivery of services that reflect the values of hospice and the preferences of the American public. The project team has completed an analysis of policy issues concerning access to humane and compassionate care at the end of life. You can download the full report [PDF file, 588 KB].

Volunteer Hospice Network
The Volunteer Hospice Network (VHN) is an affinity group of more than 150 volunteer organizations in the United States that provide a wide variety of free services to the terminally ill, their families, and those who are grieving. Members include volunteer hospices, grief support programs, and many other volunteer groups that care for the dying whether or not they are called "hospice". Although a few volunteer hospices provide medical care, most focus exclusively on practical, respite, emotional and bereavement support. Volunteer hospices charge no fees to individuals or third-party payors. Funding comes from the community through memorial contributions, fundraisers and private grants. Over 10,000 dedicated volunteers make it possible for these agencies to carry out their missions.

Judy's Hospice Page
A collection of hospice and palliative care links, with information about the Fort Worth, Texas, regional association of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA). You can search the Growth House database from this site.

The Comfort of Home
By Maria M. Meyer with Paula Derr, RN. This comprehensive and reader-friendly handbook covers all the basics of practical home caregiving. Clear organization, imaginative layout, and plentiful illustrations help family caregivers quickly locate and understand each subject. Published August, 1998.

Children's Hospice International
A non-profit organization dedicated to providing emotional, spiritual and medical support for children with life-threatening conditions and their families. Works to expand access by children to palliative care and hospice services and provides technical assistance to professionals.

Hospice Care For Children
Edited by Ann Armstrong-Dailey and Sarah Zarbock Goltzer. A professional resource book for pediatric palliative and hospice care. Chapters by contributing authorities in the field cover practical issues that make caring for dying children different from any other type of hospice work. This book will be of use to hospice professionals, child psychologists, school-based clinicians, bereavement counselors, and other end-of-life professionals working in family settings.

Hospice Home Page by Dale Larson
A great site for hospice professionals who can look over dozens of innovative management tips first presented at Dr. Larson's "Great Ideas" sessions given at national hospice management conferences. These practical ideas cover most aspects of hospice operations, including clinical care, bereavement, volunteer management, marketing, fundraising, community education, and much more. There's also a Great Ideas Forum to allow you to exchange ideas with others. Site also includes information on Dr. Larson's publications and video training resources for volunteer and professional caregivers working with persons who face terminal illness.

Hospice of the Western Reserve
Located in Ohio, this hospice provides services in a variety of locations including homes, hospitals, and their own inpatient facility. A general-purpose hospice, which includes an AIDS team.

Final Gifts
By Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley. This remarkable book by two hospice nurses shows how authentic communication at end of life takes on special meaning. Touching case stories show how approaching death can give a clarity and importance to how we all relate to one another. Practical suggestions on how to respond to the requests of the dying will be of value to anyone in a caregiving role. The book will also be of interest to those interested in how cognitive processes change as death approaches, explaining that the use of metaphorical language and images which is common among the dying is often interpreted as confusion by caregivers.

Hospice and Palliative Care Resources
Hospice, palliative care, and ethics resources provided by the University at Buffalo Center For Clinical Ethics. You can search the Growth House database from this site.

National Association for Home Care
Hospice and home care information.

Caregiving: Hospice-Proven Techniques for Healing Body and Soul
By Douglas C. Smith. Features "A Patient's Bill Of Rights" and practical ideas for improving the quality of care for people who are dying. Useful tools include needs assessment methods, role definition checklists, several different life review tools, guided meditations, family support checklists, spiritual care, and much more.

alt.support.hospice
A Usenet news group for discussion of hospice issues.

Medicare/Medicaid Hospice Services
This page at the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) gives an overview of the hospice service benefits available via these U.S. government programs.

Hospice organisations in the U.K. and Ireland
A regional directory listing hospices in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Includes a separate list of children's hospices.

Sacred Passage
By Margaret Coberly, Ph.D., R.N. A hospice nurse shows how to provide fearless, compassionate care for the dying from a Buddhist perspective. Published 2002.

Overview of hospice issues
Online learning module on hospice philosophy of care by Columbia University.

Hospice Net
This site gives a general introduction to hospice care with many brief articles on terminal care and bereavement. The thumbnail articles are complemented by well-chosen links to major net resources. The clean site design makes navigation straightforward.

National Prison Hospice Association
Promotes hospice care for terminally ill inmates.

How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter
By Sherwin B. Nuland. An award-winning account by a noted surgeon describing in frank yet compassionate detail just what the death process is really like. Chapters cover different types of death and the signs of dying, making clear the processes and choices that go along with each one. It addresses both medical and emotional realities of common conditions such as cancer, heart disease, AIDS, Alzheimer's, severe trauma, and just plain wearing out. Available in hard and soft covers, as well as in an audio casette version.

Hospice Cares Web Ring
A web ring of hospice-related sites.

The Association of Children's Hospices
An association of over forty voluntary organisations in the United Kingdom dedicated to the care of terminally-ill children and their families.

Amitabha Hospice Service
A Buddhist hospice service in Auckland, New Zealand. Website include material on the Buddhist perspective on death and dying plus links to related resources.

Living With Life-Threatening Illness: A Guide for Patients, Their Families, and Caregivers
By Kenneth J. Doka. A valuable book for families faced with severe illness, either their own or that of a loved one. Emphasizing the experience of living with illness, rather than simply focusing on its terminal phase, this guide outlines the tasks and issues that must be faced at each phase of illness, and offers workable suggestions for effective coping. Includes examples of health care proxies and living wills.

Upstate New York Hospice Alliance, Inc.
Started by eight certified hospice programs that have banded together to form a provider alliance. Promotes the use of hospice services for terminally ill patients within the region. The Alliance members serve the residents of thirteen counties from the Canadian border to the New York/Pennsylvania line.

Let Someone Hold You
Paul Morrissey, a Roman Catholic priest, shares a highly personal account of his pastoral care work with the terminally ill as a member of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York City. From bombed-out slums to swank highrises, he and other members of his hospice team visit dying people of all faiths and cultures in the intimacy of their homes and families. Winner of the 1995 Christopher Award. A good read for hospice chaplains, who will identify with the balancing act between personal and professional needs.

The Hospital Handbook (Pastoral Care)
By Lawrence D. Reimer and James T. Wagner. The pastoral care service can be an important part of holistic caregiving for the dying. This book is a professional "how to" book for hospital ministry. Published January, 1988.

Keech Cottage Children's Hospice
Keech Cottage is a children's hospice being built by the Pasque Hospice Charity to care for and support families with a dying child or young person under eighteen years of age in Bedfordshire or Hertfordshire in the UK.

Helen House Children's Hospice
Helen House, Oxford, UK was the world's first children's hospice and probably deserves a more glittering home-page than this. The page is limited to contact details and links to other resources (including hospices) in the Oxford region. The information is clearly and economically presented but it would be nice to have more of it.

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