Additional Resources

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.

Dying Well
Resources for people facing life-limiting illness, their families, and their professional caregivers with Dr. Ira Byock

Hard Choices for Loving People
A Hospice Chaplain helps families look at CPR, Artificial Feeding, Comfort Care and the Patient with a Life-Threatening Illness

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. Check out these links for support at this time.

http://www.strengthforcaring.com

http://www.caringinfo.org

Children and Grief

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

http://childparenting.about.com

For teens:

http://www.childgrief.org

http://www.griefworksbc.com

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.

http://www.griefnet.org

http://www.hospicefoundation.org

Links for Caregivers

National Family Caregiver’s Association
offers tips on caregiving (has an e-community in VA)

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

Caring Connections
caregiving and end of life issues