Using ArcGIS mapping tools to identify potential training opportunities in end of life care

As the elderly population increases, there is a growing need for trained professionals who can treat seriously ill patients with terminal or life-limiting illnesses.  However, there is a lack of clinical training opportunities in end-of-life care, especially at the bedside in home settings where death is expected and supported as a natural process. To address this need, the Community Action, Research, and Education (CARE) program has been establishing partnerships between residential homes for the dying and health professions programs at several colleges in Upstate New York. Residential homes for the dying are community-run homes that train volunteers to serve as surrogate family members and caregivers to terminally ill residents in their final months of life. The CARE program aims to improve education in end of life care while, at the same time, helping to address a need for caregivers in residential homes for the dying. The aim of this project was to identify and map all of the residential homes for the dying in the United States and to identify institutions of higher education in close proximity to these homes. A list of New York homes. maintained by directors in New York, was expanded by using the data provided by the executive directors of homes who attended annual meetings of the Omega Home Network (former Social Hospice Network) and the Association of Death Education and Counseling. The result was the formation of a comprehensive database of homes within the United States (active = 69; in-development = 40). ArcGIS software was employed to illustrate the distribution of homes across the country.  In addition, data on institutions of higher education and population density was layered onto the map to allow examination of potential training "hubs," where multiple schools were located in close proximity to homes for the dying. This map could serve as a resource to illuminate potential opportunities for training in end of life care while helping to expand the CARE program to other regions.