Ellen Rand

As a hospice volunteer with Holy Name Medical Center in Bergen County, New Jersey, Ellen Rand has a unique lens through which to explore the broader issues of late-life care. Her essays have appeared in several medical humanities publications, including Pulse--Voices from the Heart of Medicine; KevinMD; the Gold Foundation; Generations Beat Online; and Life Matters Media.

She has been a journalist for more than 40 years, including five years as a housing columnist for The New York Times. She often speaks about late life issues and advance care planning to community organizations, libraries and senior centers.

Her book, "Last Comforts: Notes from the Forefront of Late-Life Care," is a 2017 IPPY (Independent Publisher Book Awards) silver medalist and a 2017 International Book Award finalist.

A member of the steering committee of Age Friendly Teaneck, Ellen is head of its Health and Social Engagement Task Force.

You can sign up for her blog at http://lastcomforts.com and follow her on Twitter: @EllenRandNJ

You can also listen to a radio interview Ellen did with Shelli Sonstein for WAXQ in NYC that aired on Dec. 17, '17 at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/139-Sonstein-Sessions-28094539/episode/end-of-life-hospice-care-28745441/

Midwest Book Review praises the book: "Impressively well written, extraordinarily well organized and presented, as informed and informative as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking, 'Last Comforts: Notes from the Forefront of Late-Life Care' is a critically important and highly recommended addition to community, college, and university library Health/Medicine collections. Simply stated, 'Last Comforts' is directly recommended for the personal reading lists of all health care givers and hospice staff members, as well as non-specialist general readers with an interest in end-of-life care issues."