Palliative care is an interdisciplinary approach to specialized medical and nursing care for people with life-limiting illnesses. It focuses on providing relief from the symptoms, pain, physical stress, and mental stress at any stage of illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the person and their family. Evidence as of 2016 supports palliative care's efficacy in the improvement of a patient's quality of life.
Thanatology or deathlore is the scientific study of death and the losses brought about as a result. It investigates the mechanisms and forensic aspects of death, such as bodily changes that accompany death and the post-mortem period, as well as wider psychological and social aspects related to death. It is primarily an interdisciplinary study offered as a course of study at numerous colleges and universities.
Terminal illness or end-stage disease is an incurable disease that cannot be adequately treated and is reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer or advanced heart disease than for trauma. In popular use, it indicates a disease that will progress until death with near absolute certainty, regardless of treatment. A patient who has such an illness may be referred to as a terminal patient, terminally ill or simply terminal. There is no standardized life expectancy for a patient to be considered terminal, although it is generally months or less. Life expectancy for terminal patients is a rough estimate given by the physician based on previous data and does not always reflect true longevity. An illness which is lifelong but not fatal is a chronic condition.
Dame Cicely Mary Saunders, OM DBE FRCS FRCP FRCN was an English Doctor, nurse, social worker, physician and writer, an Anglican, and involved with terminal care research and engaged with international universities. She is best known for her role in the birth of the hospice movement, emphasising the importance of palliative care in modern medicine.
Marie Curie is a registered charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which provides care and support to people with terminal illnesses and their families. It was established in 1948, the same year as the National Health Service.
Royal Trinity Hospice is the oldest hospice in the United Kingdom, founded in 1891 by a member of the Hoare banking family. It is located in Clapham Common, London, England, and provides specialist palliative care. Trinity Hospice provides its specialist services free of charge for those who need them in its community of over 750,000 people from central and south-west London.
Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) is a hospital located in the Baltimore suburb of Towson, Maryland. GBMC serves more than 20,455 inpatient cases and approximately 52,000 emergency department visits annually. GBMC’s main campus also includes three medical office buildings—Physicians Pavilion East, Physicians Pavilion West and Physicians Pavilion North I. In addition to its main campus located in Towson, GBMC’s care can be found in several facilities located throughout the community including Hereford, Hunt Manor, Hunt Valley, Owings Mills, Perry Hall, Lutherville, Phoenix and Timonium.
Trinity Hospice is a purpose built hospice on Low Moor Road in Greenlands, Bispham, Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It is set in landscaped gardens and it has a central courtyard. It was opened in 1985 after several years of planning and fund raising led by Dr David Cooper. Built on a former horse paddock and marsh land and stream. It has grown from the original in-patient unit to include a day-patient unit, a children's unit, a study centre and a community care centre.
Shooting Star Children's Hospices is an English children's hospice charity. It is intended to support and provide palliative care to families with children who are not expected to reach the age of 19 because of illness, genetic conditions or incurable disease. Shooting Star Children's Hospices offers community based support to families in south west London, Surrey and Sussex and runs two children's hospices: Christopher's, which is based at Artington near Guildford, and Shooting Star House in Hampton, London. Both hospices are currently rated as Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission.
Florence Wald was an American nurse, former Dean of Yale School of Nursing, and largely credited as "the mother of the American hospice movement". She led the founding of Connecticut Hospice, the first hospice program in the United States. Late in life, Wald became interested in the provision of hospice care within prisons. In 1998, Wald was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) is a professional organization for physicians specializing in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership is open to all health care providers committed to improving the care of patients with serious or life-threatening illnesses. AAHPM has more than 5,200 members; 82 percent are physicians, 12 percent are nurses or other health care providers and 6 percent are residents or students.
Community Hospice & Palliative Care, also known simply as Community Hospice, is a not-for-profit hospice, which has served the Greater Jacksonville Metropolitan Area since its inception in 1979. The organization was the first hospice program in Northeast Florida and one of a few operating programs in the state when Florida began granting hospice licenses in 1981; Community Hospice received their license in 1983 and in 2008, assisted nearly 1,000 patients daily and more than 6,000 patients a year.
Hospice care in the United States is a type and philosophy of end-of-life care which focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's symptoms. These symptoms can be physical, emotional, spiritual or social in nature. The concept of hospice as a place to treat the incurably ill has been evolving since the 11th century. Hospice care was introduced to the United States in the 1970s in response to the work of Cicely Saunders in the United Kingdom. This part of health care has expanded as people face a variety of issues with terminal illness. In the United States, it is distinguished by extensive use of volunteers and a greater emphasis on the patient's psychological needs in coming to terms with dying.
Calvary Hospital is an American non-profit institution specializing in hospice and palliative care, headquartered in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York. The hospital has a total of 225 beds.
Rectal administration uses the rectum as a route of administration for medication and other fluids, which are absorbed by the rectum's blood vessels, and flow into the body's circulatory system, which distributes the drug to the body's organs and bodily systems.
Bradbury Hospice is a hospice with 26 beds located in Sha Tin, Hong Kong. It is under the New Territories East Cluster managed by the Hospital Authority.
Together for Short Lives is the UK registered charity for children's palliative care. Together for Short Lives’ vision is for children and young people in the UK with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions and their families to have as fulfilling lives as possible, and the best care at the end of life.
The AdmiralCity of Newport Half Marathon is an annual half marathon race held in the Welsh city of Newport, Wales, taking place in March. The event was established in 2013, organised by the charity St. Davids Hospice Care.
