New Hospice Foundation of America Program Looks at Veterans and End-of-Life Care

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) today released "Veterans and End-of-Life Care," a free online webinar written by Deborah Grassman, ARNP, of the Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Medical Center. This program will help people learn more about how veterans' military experiences impact their end-of-life experiences-and how hospice can make a difference.

"About 25% of all Americans who are dying are veterans-the men and women who have served our country as members of the Armed Forces," states Lisa McGahey Veglahn, HFA Senior Program Officer. "Yet only 4% of dying veterans die within the Veterans Affairs Healthcare Network. This means that 96% of these veterans are cared for by hospice and healthcare professionals in communities all across the U.S. HFA is grateful to Ms. Grassman, a preeminent authority on supporting veterans at the end of life, for this new resource."

In addition to the program, additional resources and Fact Sheets can be downloaded for sharing with staff, students, and community members at no charge. Free Continuing Education credits are available for a wide range of professionals.

This program is part of HFA's Hospice Information Center, an extensive online library that also includes programs such as Understanding Hospice, Family Caregiving, Understanding Grief, and Coping with Cancer at the End of Life. The programming provides hospices and other community organizations the opportunity to educate staff and volunteers about the basics of hospice care, caregiving, and grief, and links are provided to guide viewers to more information on a variety of subjects. Other resources are available for consumers, to help family and friends learn about hospice and how it can help people cope with some of life's most challenging situations, in a format that is accessible and understandable. Resources are also available in Spanish and Chinese.

Hospice Foundation of America (www.hospicefoundation.org) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help those who cope personally or professionally with terminal illness, death, and the process of grief and bereavement. This project is provided through the support of a grant from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to support hospice and end-of-life care outreach and education. CMS funds of $571,000 with HFA in-kind services of $5,710 are funding a variety of outreach and educational programs, including this project.

SOURCE Hospice Foundation of America

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