| The Organization
Hospice
Education Institute is an independent non-profit
organization in the USA, founded in 1985, holding tax-exempt
status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The Hospice Education Institute
serves a wide range of individuals and organizations
interested in improving and expanding hospice and palliative
care throughout the United States and around the world.
The Institute works to inform . . .
to educate . . . and to support . . . people
seeking or providing care for the dying and the bereaved, or
themselves coping with far advanced illness, or with loss.
Over 3,000 local hospice and
palliative care programs in the United States offer
specialized care to people suffering from fatal illnesses,
such as cancer. Working in close cooperation with the
patient's doctor, the hospice team of trained health
professionals and community volunteers helps each patient with
symptom relief (especially control of pain), skilled nursing;
emotional support; pastoral care if requested; and practical
assistance with everyday tasks. Hospice care always remembers
family members, before and after the death of the patient.
Good hospices are rooted in, and responsive to, the
communities they serve.
Hospice care is provided at
home, in a hospital, or in a nursing home, depending on
the patient's choice and circumstances, and on the local
hospice's services. Some hospices now have their own
residences or inpatient units.
Hospice is a philosophy of
caring which values the dignity and worth of each person, and
good hospice care is the practical expression of that
commitment.
Although hospices care for people
nearing death, hospices cherish and emphasize life,
by helping patients (and those who love them and care for
them) live each precious day to the fullest.
The Hospice Education
Institute offers the following services:
HOSPICELINK, which maintains a computerized
database and up-to-date directory of all hospice and
palliative care programs in the United States. A free
telephone number (800-331-1620) offers referrals to hospice
and palliative care programs, and provides general information
about the principles and practices of good hospice and
palliative care.
HOSPICELINK is a safe,
unhurried setting where patients, caregivers and family
members can not only obtain information, but also discuss in
confidence their concerns, fears and hopes, and share some of
the burdens of difficult decisions and stressful life
situations. (HOSPICELINK provides no medical advice or
psychological counseling, preferring instead to offer
'sympathetic listening.') There is never a charge for any
HOSPICELINK service.
SMALL GIFT PROGRAM which makes immediate gifts to
hospice patients and families for non-medical needs, as
identified by local hospice staff members. These gifts are
made without delay and ‘red tape’, and within one working
day after the request is reviewed and approved, a check is
on its way. The nature of the non-medical assistance is
limited only by the needs of patient and family, and the
ingenuity of the hospice caregiver.
COOPERATIVE EDUCATION GRANTS are made to hospice and
palliative care organizations nationwide, to assist them in
planning and operating their own educational programs on a
local and regional level.
INPATIENT HOSPICE DESIGN PROJECT is working to
create architectural modules to assist individual hospices
and palliative care units in improving and/or designing
their own facilities for in-patient end-of-life care.
SEMINARS on many aspects
of care for the dying and the bereaved are organized for
health and caring professionals, and for qualified hospice
volunteers. Since 1986, seminars have been offered in 31
states in the USA. Faculty members for these seminars are
international experts on hospice and palliative care. The
Institute also sponsors the annual Hospice & Palliative Care
Study Seminar in Britain, an intensive two-week workshop for
health care professionals from all over the world.
ADVICE AND ASSISTANCE is
freely given to people working to begin or to improve
community-based hospice, palliative care and bereavement
support.
BOOKS and PAMPHLETS are
available from the Hospice Education Institute on
hospice-related subjects. The Hospice Education Institute's
Notes on Symptom Control In Hospice and Palliative Care is a
definitive 387-page reference text on caring for the dying and
the bereaved. It is available for $34.95 per hard copy, or can
be viewed on our website free of charge.
FMI...Please contact
info@hospiceworld.org for further information regarding
on any of our services. |
