Comfort and Care at the End of Life

For some elderly people, the body weakens while the mind stays alert. Others remain physically strong, and cognitive losses take a huge toll. But for everyone, death is inevitable, and each loss is personally felt by those close to the one who has died. End-of-life care is the term used to describe the support and medical care given during the time surrounding death. An older person is often living, and dying, with one or more chronic illnesses and needs a lot of care for days, weeks, and sometimes even months. This book explores helping with comfort and care at the end-of-life and hopes to make the unfamiliar territory of death slightly more comfortable for everyone involved. Discussions on hospice, end-of-life services, costs, ethics, and quality of care are contained herein.