Hospice and Palliative Care: The Essential Guide

In the past 35 years, the hospice movement has undergone major changes and has grown enormously. Palliative care is of growing importance to society as our culture struggles with how to provide compassionate end-of-life care to a growing segment of the population. This book provides professionals with a comprehensive overview of the hospice practice, as well as the challenges faced by and the future direction of the hospice movement. Chapters address the fundamentals of hospice and palliative care, including key topics such as the goals and importance of community involvement, outcome measurement, and the manner in which hospices address death, grief, and bereavement. Also provided is a detailed analysis of the business side of hospice and offers strategies for proper management for those working in hospice programs that are growing and bringing in new staff and volunteers.

This book is being published in partnership with the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). 

"Excellent. Comprehensive. Well written...very timely considering the dramatic changes that have occurred in hospice care in the past ten years. It will be an indispensable guide for professionals starting their careers in hospice care but... also valuable for seasoned hospice workers and administrators... Stephen is one of only a few people I know that discusses honestly the persisting issues and problems in hospice care in the US." – Dr. Hannelore Wass, University of Florida

"...a comprehensive and authoritative text that provides an overview of the hospice and palliative care movement in the past, present, and future...seasoned with insights about changing the culture of dying in the United States...Hospice and Palliative Care provides a well-organized and synthesized primer on the delivery of hospice and palliative care that could be used in courses for health care professionals, on death, dying and end-of-life, or to help prepare new employees on a hospice or palliative care team." - Deborah P. Waldrop, Ph.D., The Gerontologist