End-of-life care in this country is less than optimal. The College of Nursing at Marquette University is committed to changing the status of end-of-life care. We believe that a peaceful death with dignity is a right for all persons and want to take action to make that happen. The university’s affirmation of the goodness of life involves maximizing quality of life, including during the final stages of life. The Institute for End-of-Life Care Education was launched in spring of 2003.

The purpose of the Institute for End-of-Life Care Education is to improve the quality of care for dying persons and their families. Persons who are terminally ill have multiple needs involving physical, spiritual, psychosocial, family and economic domains of personhood. The Institute for End-of-Life Care Education addresses these needs through three avenues: professional education, community education and research.

Marquette IELCE/Aurora Visiting Nurses Association

The Marquette College of Nursing Institute for End-of-Life Care Education and the Aurora Visiting Nurses Association (part of Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) have formed a unique partnership to advance the quality of end-of-life care. The two organizations are working together to forge new initiatives in care, education and services.

The Institute for End-of-Life Care Education offers a multidisciplinary curriculum for the academic and clinical training of end-of-life care professionals. Aurora Visiting Nurses Association (VNA) provides end-of-life care services through home hospice and hospice care centers. Its newly established 18-bed hospice facility, the Aurora VNA Zilber Family Hospice in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, is a major initiative that will serve as a national model in hospice care and education. It provides a setting for interdisciplinary teams to plan and deliver care that is tailored to meet the individual needs of patients and their families. The Aurora VNA Zilber Family Hospice is a clinical site for students and faculty. The Institute for End-of-Life Care Education will provide opportunities for Marquette College of Nursing undergraduate and graduate students to obtain clinical experience by participating on these teams in the planning and delivery of care at the hospice.

This collaborative initiative between Marquette College of Nursing Institute for End-of-Life Care Education and the Aurora Visiting Nurses Association establishes a new level of care and expertise that is wholly focused on every aspect of need and comfort for the hospice patient and their family.

INSTITUTE FOR END-OF-LIFE CARE EDUCATION OVERVIEW

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