The Handbook of Hospice Care

by Robert W. Buckingham

Overview

As a recognized advocate of pain-relieving care and compassionate human concern for those who are reaching the end of life, Dr. Robert W. Buckingham offers this poignant, yet informative sourcebook on the basic components of hospice care. The Handbook of Hospice Care is a detailed look at the history of hospice, its philosophy of care, and the contemporary issues it faces. The role of each member of the hospice team is carefully explained in the hope that palliative care, based upon the needs and preferences of each patient and family, can be provided. Dr. Buckingham describes a cooperative and compassionate approach that brings meaning, dignity, and autonomy to the dying process. "Historically, dying has been a coming-apart experience for most families, " Dr. Buckingham says. "Hospice care concentrates on making the process of dying a coming-together experience for patient and family. Hospice is not a place or an institution but a philosophy of care."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781615927555
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	04/06/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	262
Sales rank:	240,226
File size:	325 KB

About the Author

Robert W. Buckingham, Doctor of Public Health, is Professor of Public Health at the University of Michigan-Flint. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER) and is the former founding Dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. A graduate of Yale School of Medicine, Buckingham is a pioneer in development of hospice programs in the United States and worldwide, and he has established clinics and orphanages in Thailand, Africa, and Honduras. He is author of eleven books, including The Handbook of Hospice Care; Among Friends: Hospice Care for the Person with AIDS; and  I'm Pregnant, Now What Do I Do?. Buckingham received the 2014 Nelson Mandela Award for Academic Leadership presented by Harvard University, and he was honored by the Russian Institute of Health with the 2006 Ivanosky Prize for Humanitarian Medicine for work with people with HIV and AIDS.

Editorial Reviews

3 Stars from Doody

This is an overview of the development of the hospice organization from its inception to current day management. Included are the hospice philosophy, issues in hospice care, administration, cost analyses, patient care issues, grief management and the future of hospice care. The purpose is to identify the unique place the hospice organization plays as a healthcare agency that serves terminally ill patients and their designated caregivers. This uniqueness is emphasized in the author's discussion of the basic hospice philosophy of care that the organization provides. The hospice meets the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the patient as a complete unit. The author provides the reader with statistics on the availability of hospice services nationally and the demonstration of its cost effective approach to care. The audience is physicians, nurses, chaplains, social workers, students, discharge planners and administrators of hospices, home care agencies and the general public seeking information. The book is easy to read, and includes 10 chapters with references and an appendix of National Hospice Organization names and addresses. This handbook serves as an adequate reference on the historical development of hospice care and statistics concerning allocation of service and finances. It is an updated and welcome addition to limited hospice care manuals. Despite this, it falls short in several areas. Social workers, chaplains, and home health aides are absent from the text. These members are valuable contributors to the healthcare team and provide a unique service. Other overlooked areas include information on respite care, continuous care, residential living units and hospicecare in nursing homes and independent living centers. Information is also needed on other terminal diseases serviced by hospice care, such as patients with end stage cardiac, renal, lung, and neurologic disorders. The concepts of palliative care management need a clearer definition and expansion of its use in patient care. Despite its limitations the text does serve as awareness of the hospice movement and the need to develop more palliative care models and methods of research to promote increased knowledge of how to deal with dying patients and their caregivers. The author's strength lies in his ability to show the continued need for hospice care as an efficient, cost effective, and caring method that provides service to the terminal patients in all settings. It is a basic overview for the beginning practitioner.

Mary E. Murphy

An analysis of the building blocks that form the foundation of theory in the social sciences, showing how to analyze any theory, evaluate its worth, assess its connections, and understand its development. Uses seven defining questions about the four essential components of any theory, and examines the positions and arguments that are available as answers to these questions. For communications scholars and students in advanced theory classes in communication, journalism, and allied fields. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Reviewer: Mary E. Murphy, MS, OCN, CRNH (Hospice of Dayton)
Description: This is an overview of the development of the hospice organization from its inception to current day management. Included are the hospice philosophy, issues in hospice care, administration, cost analyses, patient care issues, grief management and the future of hospice care.
Purpose: The purpose is to identify the unique place the hospice organization plays as a healthcare agency that serves terminally ill patients and their designated caregivers. This uniqueness is emphasized in the author's discussion of the basic hospice philosophy of care that the organization provides. The hospice meets the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the patient as a complete unit. The author provides the reader with statistics on the availability of hospice services nationally and the demonstration of its cost effective approach to care.
Audience: The audience is physicians, nurses, chaplains, social workers, students, discharge planners and administrators of hospices, home care agencies and the general public seeking information.
Features: The book is easy to read, and includes 10 chapters with references and an appendix of National Hospice Organization names and addresses.
Assessment: This handbook serves as an adequate reference on the historical development of hospice care and statistics concerning allocation of service and finances. It is an updated and welcome addition to limited hospice care manuals. Despite this, it falls short in several areas. Social workers, chaplains, and home health aides are absent from the text. These members are valuable contributors to the healthcare team and provide a unique service. Other overlooked areas include information on respite care, continuous care, residential living units and hospice care in nursing homes and independent living centers. Information is also needed on other terminal diseases serviced by hospice care, such as patients with end stage cardiac, renal, lung, and neurologic disorders. The concepts of palliative care management need a clearer definition and expansion of its use in patient care. Despite its limitations the text does serve as awareness of the hospice movement and the need to develop more palliative care models and methods of research to promote increased knowledge of how to deal with dying patients and their caregivers. The author's strength lies in his ability to show the continued need for hospice care as an efficient, cost effective, and caring method that provides service to the terminal patients in all settings. It is a basic overview for the beginning practitioner.

Doody's Review Service