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Monsignor Charles Fahey is working to fundamentally change the face of dying in U.S. nursing homes. As program officer of a project to make nursing homes better places to die, Fahey is leading a charge against the pain and suffering that plague many residents in their final days.
His passion emerges as he describes the typical course of suffering that many residents endure during their last days: abrupt transfers to the hospital, IVs, antibiotics and unpleasant side effects, harsh diagnostic tests and futile treatments. 
Instead, he asks: Why not keep dying residents in nursing homes and apply the principles of patient-centered care to the end of life? This way, residents could die in peace, free of pain and surrounded by family, friends and staff members who feel like family in a warm, nurturing and comforting environment. This is where palliative care can transform the whole dying experience, he says.
With many roadblocks lining the path to implementing palliative care, Fahey and his colleagues at the Milbank Memorial Fund have faced rough terrain. But with 25% of U.S. residents dying in nursing homes every year, and hospice service just beyond reach due to enrollment barriers, better end-of-life care is a necessity.1
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