Acknowledgements

These manuals were made possible by funding from the AARP Andrus Foundation.

Much of the information in these manuals is based on the work of a national quality improvement project aimed at improving care for people with advanced illness. Physicians, nurses, social workers and other health care professionals from 47 health care organizations hospitals, Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, hospices, home health agencies, and other facilities around the country participated. The Washington Home Center for Palliative Care Studies (formerly the Center to Improve Care of the Dying) [ www.medicaring.org ], the Institute for Healthcare Improvement [ www.ihi.org ], and the US Department of Veterans Affairs [ www.va.gov ] sponsored the project. The project aimed to find ways to help lung disease patients and their loved ones manage illness while staying at home and avoiding unnecessary hospitalization. Thanks to their work, we are able to share proven advice, ideas, and strategies that enhance the quality of life for people with lung disease and their caregivers. For more information on the quality improvement collaborative, contact:

Anne Wilkinson, Ph.D.

Senior Behavioral and Social Scientist
Rand Corporation

Director of Research
The Washington Home Center for Palliative Care Studies
(a division of Rand Health)

4200 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.
4th Floor
Washington, DC 20016
(202) 895-2659
anne_wilkinson@rand.org

The manuals also include information that has been adapted, with permission, from Handbook for Mortals: Guidance for People Facing Serious Illness. Full-text excerpts of that book can be downloaded from the website of Americans for Better Care of the Dying [ www.abcd-caring.org ]. ABCD is a public information and advocacy organization dedicated to making excellent end-of-life care a routine part of health care.

The following team of public health and health care professionals wrote and edited this material: Janice Lynch Schuster MFA, Carol Spence MS, RN, Michelle Jacobs, MPH; Anne Wilkinson PhD; Casey Milne RN, BSNC, Suzanne Pieklik, and Sarah Myers, MPH.

Finally, special thanks to the following individuals who made significant contributions to the quality improvement collaborative and to this manual: especially Barbara Volk-Craft and the staff at Hospice of the Valley, Pheonix, AZ; Della Leavitt RN and Rich Brumley MD, Kaiser, Bellflower, CA; Deborah Childs, Center for Hospice and Palliative Care, Cheektowaga, NY; Kathy Egan, Hospice of Florida Suncoast, Largo, FL; Bonnie Ryan and Tom Edes, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC; Wes Ely, Vanderbilt Medical Center, Nashville, TN; Don Courtney, Eisenhower VA Medical Center, Leavenworth, KS; Betsy Clarke, Hospice of Winston Salem, Winston-Salem, NC; Jane Quinn, Hospice Care, Inc., Janesville, WI; Debra Kiker, Wichita VA Medical Center, Wichita, KS; Cyndee McDaniel and Catherine Hoofard, Resource Connectors, Ltd., Portland, OR; June Lunney and Joanne Lynn, RAND/Washington Home Center for Palliative Care Studies (formerly the Improve Care of the Dying), Washington, DC.

The online version of the manual was created by Growth House, Inc. [ www.growthhouse.org ].