What Does Good End-of-Life Care Look Like in a Pandemic?

How do we ensure good end-of-life care in a hospital system under strain? For many of us, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a renewed effort to answer this question.1 Patients, families, and palliative care clinicians have long advocated that good end-of-life (EOL) care extends beyond pain control and the limitations of nonbeneficial treatments to include psychological, relational, and spiritual support.2 These aspects of EOL care, such as life completion, attending to relationships, and performance of rituals, were particularly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.