Reducing End-of-Life Hospitalizations in Long-Term Care: A Team-Based Approach

An increasing number of older adults are spending their end of life in the nursing home, and many are being hospitalized in the last few months of life. This is often unwanted by patients and their families. We hypothesize that identifying patients who are reaching the end of life in the nursing home and having effective communications about their goals of care would lead to care that better aligns with patients’ preferences.