The following websites may be helpful for more support and information about hospice care.
- National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
- Hospice Foundation of America
- On Our Own Terms - (a PBS series on end-of-life issues, with Bill Moyers)
- Aging with Dignity - Our mission is to help you and your family plan for and receive the care you deserve. This site offers "Five Wishes" a living will in lay language, hard copies of Five Wishes are available at the hospice office.) Spanish available.
- An example of fiber art that focuses on aging and mortality
- Music at the end of life - Virginia Bethune resides in Harrisonburg, Va., and is a certified music practitioner with the Music for Healing and Transition Program. Her music is offered at the bedside as neither performance nor entertainment; she supplies a "ministry of presence" to patients, family, friends and staff.
Anticipatory Grief
Anticipatory Grief is a normal response to a loss, before the death actually happens. This link offers support at this time.
Children and Grief
- Sentara RMH Hospice can provide you with an excellent resource, "Preparing the Children: Information and Ideas for Families Facing Terminal Illness and Death" by Kathy Nussbaum. We also have many books on children and grief in our office library.
Other links to resources on children and grief are:
- www.dougy.org Follow this link to the Dougy Center, a national center for grieving children. It has special pages for teens and for young children as well as for the adults who are walking with them
- http://www.hospicefoundation.org
- http://www.aacap.org
- http://www.americanhospice.org
Grief and the holidays
Grief is difficult any time of the year, but facing the holidays without your loved one brings special challenges. Check out some of these sites for tips on how to get through the holidays.
Links for Caregivers
- National Family Caregiver's Association offers tips on caregiving (has an e-community in Virginia)
- AARP American Association of Retired Persons excellent "tool kit" for caregivers
- A joint venture of the National Family Caregiver's Association and the National Alliance for Caregiving excellent resource and community for caregivers