End of Life: Helping With Comfort and Care

If you are interested in learning more about any of the topics in this booklet, here are some other resources for you to explore. Some of these are also listed in the To Learn More section found at the end of most chapters.

AARP
601 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20049
1-888-687-2277 (toll-free)
www.aarp.org

Aging with Dignity
P. O. Box 1661
Tallahassee, FL 32302
1-888-594-7437 (toll-free)
www.agingwithdignity.org

Alzheimer's Association
225 N. Michigan Avenue, Floor 17
Chicago, IL 60601
1-800-272-3900 (toll-free)
www.alz.org

American Academy of Pain Medicine
4700 W. Lake Avenue
Glenview, IL 60025
1-847-375-4731
www.painmed.org

American Board of Wound Management
1155 15th Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
1-202-457-8408
www.aawm.org

American Bar Association
321 N. Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60654
1-800-285-2221 (toll-free)
www.americanbar.org

American Geriatrics Society
Foundation for Health in Aging
40 Fulton Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10038
1-800-563-4916 (toll-free)
www.healthinaging.org

American Hospice Foundation
2120 L Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20037
1-800-347-1413 (toll-free)
www.americanhospice.org

American Music Therapy Association
8455 Colesville Road, Suite 1000
Silver Spring, MD 20910
1-301-589-3300
www.musictherapy.org

Association for Conflict Resolution
12100 Sunset Hills Road,Suite 130
Reston, VA 20190
1-703-234-4141
www.acrnet.org

Beth Israel Medical Center
Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care
First Avenue at 16th Street
New York, NY 10003
1-212-844-8930
www.stoppain.org

Caring Connections
(See National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization)

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
7500 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, MD 21244-1850
1-800-633-4227 (toll-free)
www.medicare.gov

Center for Practical Bioethics
Harzfeld Building
1111 Main Street, Suite 500
Kansas City, MO 64105
1-800-344-3829 (toll-free)
www.practicalbioethics.org

Center to Advance Palliative Care
1255 Fifth Avenue, Suite C-2
New York, NY 10029
1-212-201-2670
www.getpalliativecare.org

Compassion and Choices
P. O. Box 101810
Denver, CO 80250
1-800-247-7421 (toll-free)
www.compassionandchoices.org

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Benefits Administration
Veterans Health Administration
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20420
VA benefits:
1-800-827-1000 (toll-free)
To speak with a health care benefits counselor:
1-877-222-8387 (toll-free)
www.va.gov

Donate Life America
701 East Byrd Street, 16th Floor
Richmond, VA 23219
1-804-377-3580
www.donatelife.net

Eldercare Locator
1-800-677-1116 (toll-free)
www.eldercare.gov

Family Caregiver Alliance
785 Market Street, Suite 750
San Francisco, CA 94103
1-800-445-8106 (toll-free)
www.caregiver.org

Federal Trade Commission
Consumer Response Center
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
1-877-382-4357 (toll-free)
www.ftc.gov

Growth House
2261 Market Street, Suite 199A
San Francisco, CA 94114
www.growthhouse.org

Hospice Association of America
228 Seventh Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
1-202-546-4759
www.nahc.org/HAA/

Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association
One Penn Center West, Suite 229
Pittsburgh, PA 15276
1-412-787-9301
www.hpna.org

Hospice Foundation of America
1710 Rhode Island Avenue, NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
1-800-854-3402 (toll-free)
www.hospicefoundation.org
www.hospicedirectory.org

Hospice Net
401 Bowling Avenue, Suite 51
Nashville, TN 37205
www.hospicenet.org

The Living Bank
P. O. Box 6725
Houston, TX 77265
1-800-528-2971 (toll-free)
www.livingbank.org

National Alliance for Hispanic Health
1501 Sixteenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
1-866-783-2645 (toll-free)
www.hispanichealth.org

National Cancer Institute
Public Inquiries Office
6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 300
Bethesda, MD 20892
1-800-422-6237 (toll-free)
www.cancer.gov

National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
1731 King Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
1-800-658-8898 (toll-free)
www.caringinfo.org
www.nhpco.org

National Institute of Nursing Research
31 Center Drive, Rm. 5B-10
Bethesda, MD 20892
1-301-496-0207
www.ninr.nih.gov

National Library of Medicine
www.medlineplus.gov
Health Topics
Search for:
"Advance Directives"
"Bereavement"
"End-of-Life Issues"
"Hospice Care"
"Organ Donation"
"Pain"

OrganDonor.gov
Health Resources and Services Administration
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
www.organdonor.gov

Palliative Care Policy Center
www.medicaring.org

Society of Critical Care Medicine
500 Midway Drive
Mt. Prospect, IL 60056
1-847-827-6869
www.myicucare.org

Visiting Nurse Associations of America
900 19th Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20006
1-202-384-1420
www.vnaa.org

Well Spouse Association
63 West Main Street, Suite H
Freehold, NJ 07728
1-800-838-0879 (toll-free)
www.wellspouse.org

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is part of the nation's principal medical research agency, the National Institutes of Health. NIA promotes healthy aging by conducting and supporting biomedical, social, and behavioral research and public education.

Visit NIHSeniorHealth (www.nihseniorhealth.gov), a senior-friendly website from the National Institute on Aging and the National Library of Medicine. This website has health and wellness information for older adults. Special features make it simple to use. For example, you can click on a button to make the type larger.

To learn more about Alzheimer's disease, contact NIA's ADEAR Center at:

Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center
P. O. Box 8250
Silver Spring, MD 20907-8250
1-800-438-4380 (toll-free)
www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers

For more information on health and aging, contact:

National Institute on Aging Information Center
P. O. Box 8057
Gaithersburg, MD 20898-8057
1-800-222-2225 (toll-free)
1-800-222-4225 (TTY/toll-free)
www.nia.nih.gov/health
www.nia.nih.gov/espanol

To sign up for regular email alerts about new publications and other information from the NIA, go to:
www.nia.nih.gov/health

Send comments, suggestions, or ideas to:
Freddi Karp, Editor
Office of Communications and Public Liaison
National Institute on Aging
Building 31, Room 5C27
Bethesda, MD 20892

Writer: Karin Kolsky, Office of Communications and Public Liaison, National Institute on Aging
Designer: Lena Markley, Levine and Associates, Inc., Washington, DC
Photos: Cover and pages 2, 17, 31, 47, 62—Pam Soorenko, Photogroup, Silver Spring, MD
Page 69—Stock photo, MediaBakery.com, Santa Barbara, CA

We would like to thank these groups for their help with photography for this publication—the NIH Clinical Center, the NIH Clinical Center fifth floor nursing staff, and the Berry-Woodyard family of Takoma Park, MD.

January 2008
Reprinted April 2010, September 2012