Resource Center

Best Programs for Caregiving is a free online directory of proven support programs for family and friend caregivers of individuals living with dementia. Whether you are a caregiver yourself or a professional whose organization serves dementia caregivers, you can use this tool to find and compare evidence-based programs from across the country that address caregivers’ unique challenges and concerns.

This intake form assists patients in understanding whether they are eligible for medical aid in dying and the steps required. We recognize that contemplating end-of-life decisions can be an emotionally challenging experience for you and those close to you. The Academy is here to offer support as you explore the option of medical aid in dying.

This resource provides a list of educational opportunities for clinicians to continue their learning on medical aid in dying. The list includes:

Over the many years that the Academy for Medical Aid in Dying and its clinicians have been providing aid-in-dying care, we have found that having an experienced attendant at the bedside, in the days before and during the aid-in-dying procedure, is crucial. 

Pet quality of life scales are used to determine on a numeric basis how your pet is feeling. A QOL quiz helps you address different variables in your pet’s life to assess their overall comfort and happiness. Quality of life scales are typically used when a pet has a terminal illness or is at an end of life stage.

About The Organization: Journeys Home Pet Euthanasia LLC is an at-home pet euthanasia service that also has a lot of great information on euthanasia and assessing quality of life in pets.

Women's Institute for Secure Retirement offers a checklist of documents and other materials needed for end-of-life planning. The list includes

This Whole Health tool focuses on grief related to a death loss. A focus on other types of losses (such as disability, divorce, job loss, effects of natural disasters) is beyond the scope of Coping with Grief and related tools. However, you may find the information in this Whole Health tool helpful when working with a Veteran who has experienced a loss other than death.

Why do I need a health care directive? Simply put, putting your wishes about your health care in writing helps make sure they'll be known and followed by family, friends, health care providers and others. Sometimes decisions must be made when a person isn't able to decide or communicate preferences. A health care directive communicates your wishes when you’re not able to. The Minnesota Health Care Directive Planning Toolkit helps you create a health care directive. The toolkit contains step-by-step instructions (and suggested forms) for completing a health care directive. 

We describe a protocol for disclosing unfavorable information—“breaking bad news”—to cancer patients about their illness. Straightforward and practical, the protocol meets the requirements defined by published research on this topic. The protocol (SPIKES) consists of six steps.

The Stanford Letter Project tools to helps people write letters about their wishes for care in the future. These letter templates are specifically designed to help people voice the key information needed to help them prepare for the future.