Massachusetts Commission on End of Life Care

Mission is “To improve the quality of life at the end of life.” Committed to promoting public, professional and institutional awareness around end of life issues and fostering professional and consumer education to improve end of life care. Critical conversations regarding home care, palliative care, hospice care, pain management and symptom control are often delayed until it is too late to address the needs and wishes of the dying patient. To assist individuals and their loved ones better address these difficult subjects, the Commission has focused its efforts on collecting information about the end of life resources available in communities throughout Massachusetts and making that information available online and in print. www.endoflifecommission.org.

The Central Massachusetts Partnership to Improve Care at the End of Life
website: www.betterending.org

The Central Massachusetts Partnership has published “A Guide for a Better Ending” which can be accessed on their website along with the Healthcare Proxy form and a Personal Wishes statement.

American Bar Association
Consumers Tool Kit for Health Care Advance Planning available at: www.abanet.org/aging/toolkit/home.html

Massachusetts Medical Society
Phone: 781-893-4610 or 781-893-3800
website: www.healthcareproxy.org

The Massachusetts Medical Society's advance directives website provides helpful guidance on dealing with end-of-life medical care decisions. Developed by the Medical Society's Committee on Advance Care Planning, the site features:

· An overview of advance directives
· An explanation of the differences in various advance directives, such as health care proxies and living wills
· Health care proxy forms
· Links to other advance directives resources
· A description of the Medical Society's efforts around the topic of advance directives.