Something to Think About

Now, all this said, there are thin lines and points to debate, in what istreatment to get better and treatment for comfort. Is pneumonia related to alife threatening illness or...

Where is medicine that treats PEOPLE that have diseases? Where is medicine that looks at the PERSON and finds out how they want to live and die based upon their...

First, lets define “No Code”. The simplest explanation I found was Googled from the Free Dictionary http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/no+code“a note written in the patient record and signed by a qualified, usually senior or...

We have the medical capabilities and procedures to keep a person alivealmost indefinitely BUT is it in the best interest of the person to do so? Wehave to ask “what...

Because we don’t really think about end of life care until we or someone close to us needs it we enter into relationships with hospice that may not be satisfactory...

...The end of life avocation that hospice originally presented is becoming a gift of the past. Now it is a business with high censuses, detailed and often confusing regulations, and...

Dear Barbara, I recently had a meeting with a family that was referred to hospice from a facility. They had about 10 family members at the meeting. The topic of...

We often think because a person is facing the end of their life we have to do whatever they want us to, regardless of how it affects us. We treat...

Barbara, I have a 23 year old daughter that has a chronic illness. She says she is tired of fighting. I don't want to lose her. I am lost.
 Having...

I appreciate how much you love your mother. I see the challenge you are dealing with in her attitude and behavior. As much as we love someone our feelings can...

Barbara, People have asked me when and how I can offer others your booklets. With anyone, an acquaintance or close friend, you can always just say, “I have some materials...

In the End of Life Care and Bereavement Group I have on Facebook some of us who are or have been hospice nurses were talking about what we, as hospice...

Grief is a reaction to loss. Loss equates to a death, a death of something or someone. Death comes in many ways, many forms. There is the death of a...

In non medical words I would call terminal delirium confusion with or without restlessness. In the weeks before death a person who has entered the dying process is sleeping most...

Question: How much is comprehended by the patient as they approach end of life? Do they know who is present, if someone is absent? How does the patient feel knowing...

When someone is dying a gradual death from disease and is hours to minutes from death they don't need a doctor, nurse, social worker, or even a chaplain. They need...

As death comes closer we tend to see that families have a hard time with the fact that the patient does NOT want to eat or drink. Not wanting to...

Being a type A personality I am moving and doing something most of the time. Tasks are finished before they need to be. Goals are the drive behind me, not...

QUESTION: The doctor recommended hospice for my father today (89, congestive heart failure). I believe this is probably the right thing, but how do I know this isn't about money...

Over the years people have told me stories of a friend or neighbor who was dealing with end of life issues. They then have asked that I call that person...

Don’t tell Grandma. There has been many a time when I did a hospice assessment and a family member has said to me “Don’t tell Grandma she can’t be fixed....