Something to Think About

Why is the patient being discharged, you ask? Is it because the patient just didn’t decline as rapidly as expected? Yes, that can be the situation...

I knew all the signs of approaching death, of labor beginning. What I didn’t know was how much we don’t want to see those signs, and by not wanting to see them,...

Tell her honestly what you are feeling and ask for help. Just FYI: she can sign on for hospice and if she felt she needed to go to the emergency...

When we begin the gradual dying process our personality tends to intensify. If we are an angry person we will get angrier. If we have a gentle personality we will...

I'm going to start by being blunt: hospice, end of life workers, hospitals, and nursing facilities make their money only as long as the people they serve are alive.. They...

I think we healthcare workers rely on our words as our offering. Explanations, suggestions, instructions, even using words to offer condolences and trying to comfort. And yes, words are a...

Hospice is widely known for providing end of life care. It has grown in size and in its original scope of services. Even its definition of “end of life care”...

All the work we do leads up to the moment of death. Our goal is to guide and support those present through the moment the last breath occurs.

In our medical society today, it seems to be very difficult for physicians to tell patients and/or families that death is approaching; That this special person will die, and probably...

A hospice referral is a win-win. You win if they say it is too soon and youare not appropriate for hospice care, or you win by coming onto the hospiceprogram...

As end of life professionals we have to carefully walk a line.  We are in the tenuous position of caring intimately for adult strangers who often do act as children. ...

We are not able to fix everyone. The physical body is programmed to die. It is made to die. So at some point the medical professionals will have to have...

Dying is not a medical event. It is a social, communal event. Dying is not a time for procedures or medications. It is time for support, guidance and reassurance FOR...

In today’s hospice environment time spent with patients and families seem to be what agencies have the least to offer. My suggestion is the chaplain can fill in that time...

Dying is not a medical event. Dying is a communal, social event. Nursing and physicians are part of care, but not the all encompassing focus. The main focus of end...

I think the reason hospice gets their referrals in the weeks before death rather than months is because hospice implies death will come. We look for and hope for a...

By Your Side offers guidance in the area of making choices: cure, life sustaining, comfort care, making advanced directives, and funeral planning. It details signs of approaching death (what to look...

Here is my idea of a death call. I have to warn you, it may take more than 10 minutes.

At this point is when you ask the physician, “What is happening? Is it wise to continue this course of treatment? What are your expectations for this treatment? Are we...

I want to clarify my thoughts about hospice in today’s environment...  

A waiting list seems incongruous with end of life. Particularly since most people wait until a person is literally on death’s door before reaching out to hospice...