Janice Lynch Schuster – författare

Written by the leading quality improvement experts and clinicians, The Common Sense Guide to Improving Palliative Care provides a quick and easy "how-to" introduction to quality improvement in palliative care. Each chapter features a case study that illustrates how successful quality improvement teams work and includes dozens of ideas for change that most groups can put into practice - now! In today's healthcare settings, too many patients and families suffer needlessly for dozens of reasons. Healthcare teams can and must take charge of reform. With equal measures of proven, practical advice and encouragement, The Common Sense Guide enables them to do just that in a wide array of settings.

Health care professionals seeking to improve the quality of life for those living with serious illness and nearing the end of life will find exactly what their organization needs in the second edition of this acclaimed book by Dr. Joanne Lynn and her colleagues. Improving Care for the End of Life provides expert guidance on how to make significant improvements now, at all levels of the health care system from the bedside and the hospital to the health care policy and legislative arenas by using the rapid-cycle breakthrough approach to change. The ideas are proven, and the stories of teams that have put them to use will inspire and enlighten.New to the second edition:BL New chapters to address issues of growing interest such as continuity of care, and the special needs of dementia patients and their loved onesBL Details on trajectories of care and how these affect decisions at the end of lifeBL Updated and expanded information on pain management, advance care planning, ventilator withdrawal, depression and delirium, advanced heart and lung disease, and moreBL Scores of new insights, measurement approaches, and tips based on the experiences of hundreds of improvement teams nationwideBL Thoroughly updated references The sourcebook speaks to all managers of health care systems serving people with serious illnesses, including doctors in offices, nurse managers on hospital units, social workers in long-term care facilities, administrators of home care and hospice agencies, hospital chaplains, directors of volunteer services, and others.

Modern medical technology has changed not only the way we live but also the way we die. Until two generations ago, people usually died suddenly, after an accident or serious illness. Now, most of us will live with chronic conditions, and our dying will usually take longer, require more care, and demand more planning than ever before. Handbook for Mortals is warmly addressed to all those who wish to approach the final years of life with greater awareness of what to expect and greater confidence about how to make the end of their lives a time of growth, comfort, and meaningful reflection. Written by Dr. Joanne Lynn and a team of experts, it provides equal measures of practical information and wise counsel. Readers will learn what decisions they will need to face, what choices are available to them, where to look for help, how to ease pain and other symptoms, what to expect with specific diseases, how the health care system operates, and how the entire experience affects dying persons, their families, and their friends. Such practical information is indispensable. But equally important are the personal stories included here of how people have come to terms with serious illness and dying, how they have faced their fears and made their choices. These give us moving firsthand insights into a profoundly important process, one that is often kept hidden in our culture. From down-to-earth advice on how to talk to your doctor to inspiring quotes from such writers as Emily Dickinson, W. H. Auden, Jane Kenyon, and others, Handbook for Mortals addresses the needs of both the body and the spirit in our final years.