|
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
|
End-of-Life Care in Hancock County, Maine: A Community Snapshot
Walter B. Forman, MD, FACP, CMD, FAAHPM1*
and
Susan G. Ostertag, MD2
1 University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
2 Ellsworth Family Practice, Ellsworth, Maine
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: wbforman{at}unm.edu.
 |
Abstract |
|---|
This study presents a model for identifying end-of-life concerns in 1 rural community: Hancock County, Maine. Focus groups and structured interviews were held with primary care physicians, hospice staffs, clergy, hospice board members, long-term care facility staffs, and families of patients who had died either with or without hospice services. A list of suggestions for action within the community was generated from the interviews. Specific ideas targeted for implementation as a result of this project were educational sessions for long-term care facility staff, hospital grand rounds for primary care physicians, collaboration to bring information to the general public, stronger liaisons between long-term care facility and hospice staffs, and investigation of the development of a dedicated hospice facility. This is a simple, easily accomplished model to evaluate hospice needs in a small community.
First published on January 15, 2008, doi:10.1177/1049909107310143
American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine® 2008;25:132.
A more recent version of this article appeared on May 1, 2008

CiteULike Complore Connotea Del.icio.us Digg Reddit Technorati Twitter What's this?
|
|