"Am I Going To Die Today?"
When doctors and healthcare professionals place a number on how long someone has to live they are doing that person a disservice.
Something to Think About: a blog on end of life
Hospice
"I'm So Angry That He's Sick!"
Anger in caregiving generally comes from a place of frustration, of fear, of sadness, of tiredness. All sorts of feelings with no outlet so they come bursting out.
Hospice Does Not Euthanize
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...
What Do You Do When Words Become Meaningless?
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...
Why I Believe a Person Should Be Told They Can't Be Fixed
Number one, we are all going to die at some point. Of course the operative words here are “at some point.” If we are told death will be the outcome...
When It Comes to End of Life Care, It Takes a Village
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”...
How Do You Tell Someone Something They Don’t Want to Hear?
It is our job, our responsibility as end of life workers to be honest with our patients. In a “don’t tell mom” situation I first assess where everyone is, who...
Do I Stay In Contact After the Death?
We in health care, enter a family's life at a challenging, sad and fearful time. It is our acts of thoughtfulness that will be remembered and provide comfort.
Entering Into "Precious Time"
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...
Hospice Services Pulled for Dementia Patient
There is a huge void in our medical system that so many families living with dementia fall into. These families have a loved one too sick and require too much...
IF I WERE -- a funeral home, a hospice worker, an attorney, a physician, a social worker, a nursing facility...
Dying isn't like it is in the movies. We don't know what it is like to die from disease or old age and while everyone is going to do it,...
"We Can't Fix You- Let's Talk..."
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...