2011 AJN Book of the Year Winner in both Gerontologic Nursing and Hospice and Palliative Care

""The book is easy to read and is essential to all who work and care for those at the end of life.""

--David Shields, RN, MSN, QTTT
Assistant Professor of Nursing
Capital University

""The book is thought provoking and, if you are like me, you will be assessing (consciously or subconsciously) how good you or your service are at providing holistic care around the time of death. It deserves to be widely read and I hope it starts many a conversation.""

IAHPC Newsletter

"" This book] is a gem. It is a rare balance of an interesting read with an incredible integration of factual information. I intend to share it in my long term care circles...A wonderful contribution ""

Charlotte Eliopoulos, RN, MPH, PhD
Executive Director
American Association for Long Term Care Nursing

""Every once in a long while a short, succinct book comes along that awakens our senses and motivates us to action. This] is one such book. It cuts right to the chase to offer a new, innovative change for an old, outmoded rite of passage.""Barbara Dossey, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, FAAN
Co-Director, Nightingale Initiative for Global Health, Canada and Virginia
Director, Holistic Nursing Consultants, New Mexico
(From the Foreword)

This professional clinical guide presents nursing administrators and nurses in acute care agencies, nursing homes, hospice, and palliative care settings with detailed implementation strategies for accommodating dying persons and their loved ones as they make the transition from physical life. It presents the need for and the development of the concept: "Golden Room" concept: a place for dying that facilitates a dignified, peaceful, and profound experience for dying persons and their loved ones.

This book presents a practical solution on multiple levels that will benefit all involved-patient, family, nurses, administrators, policy makers, and insurance companies. It presents the theoretical frameworks for end-of-life care and how the "Golden Room" concept fits into these frameworks.Published in partnership with the Watson Caring Science Institute, this unique resource:

• Advocates the use of "Golden Rooms," which provide dignified, private, and safe settings for death and dying
• Presents various cases that illustrate the need for a dignified death, as well as strategies on how to provide for this dignified death
• Provides questions of concern after each case scenario, suitable for class discussion or personal reflection
• Offers cost-effective end-of-life solutions for families, the medical establishment, and insurance companies

For many death is one of the most difficult things to talk or think about. It is a subject that is not part of normal conversation and scary to many. This book gives you the opportunity to explore the facts and understand the process of dying. It guides you as to how to make the process smoother and easier. It offers information to make decisions based on knowledge rather than in the throes of emotions. This book empowers you to walk with death and dying knowing that you have value and worth - that you are prepared and everything will fall into place in the most kind and gentle manner as possible. The Golden Room introduces the next level of palliative and hospice care. It requires a shift in attitude so that dying is accepted as a sacred process deserving of compassion, dignity and beautiful surrounding AND available to everyone not just a select few. This is relevant to everyone as we will all die. It empowers readers to prepare for the inevitable and is a conversational opener for family and friends. This book provides basic ideas of what to expect and how to plan right up to the end. It is a guide beyond the medical. This book is about life; death is a part of it.