Ending Life Well
Advance Care Planning It’s never too early to talk with loved ones and doctors about wishes for care. One helpful resource is PREPARE for Your Care, an interactive program that walks you through advance care planning in plain language. It even provides forms and videos in English and Spanish to help you share your wishes clearly. Learn more at prepareforyourcare.org
Hospice Care • Focus: Comfort and dignity for people nearing the end of life, and information and support for their loved ones. • When: Typically begins when a doctor believes a person has six months or less to live if the illness runs its usual course. • How: Provides pain management, emotional and spiritual support, and guidance for families. Curative treatment is stopped, but comfort care continues. • Where: At home, in assisted living or a skilled nursing facility, hospital, or rarely, a hospice center. • Team: Nurses, doctors, social workers, spiritual advisors, and trained volunteers who support both patient and family. Dolores’ Choice Dolores, 82, learned her kidneys were failing. She chose hospice care rather than dialysis, wanting to focus on time with family. Later, when she discovered her granddaughter was expecting a baby, she decided to pursue dialysis, then re-enrolled in hospice when her health declined again. Hospice can be flexible: people may enter, leave, or re-enter as their needs change.
Although hospice provides a lot of support, the day-to-day care of a person dying at home is provided by family and friends. The hospice team coaches family members on how to care for the dying person and even provides respite care when caregivers need a break. Respite care can be for as short as a few hours or for as long as several weeks. Additional Resources National Institute on Aging: nia.nih.gov CaringInfo (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization): caringinfo.org | 800-658-8898 Hospice Foundation of America: hospicefoundation.org This article was adapted from resources provided by the National Institute on Aging (nia.nih.gov). Content has been summarized and re-written for clarity for our readers. Visit the NIA website at bit.ly/NIHInfo for additional details, stories, and resources.
For more information or assistance regarding end-of-life planning, call the
PCOA Helpline at (520) 790-7262.
We are grateful for the generous support provided by the Shaaron Kent Endowment held at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona.
November & December 2025, Never Too Late | Page 15
Pima Council on Aging
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