Something to Think About

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...

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

What to do? First, look at the wording you wrote to me "could be dying." Actually, everyone is dying. Everyday we are one step closer to the end of our life. You're...

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

 Know that all of these signs of approaching death, whether indicating months or weeks, are just guideposts. Some people will show all of them...

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...

There are signs that we look for that indicate a person who has entered the dying process has months, weeks, days, or hours to live BUT not everyone “plays by...

Often the patient shares more with the CNA than with their own family members. We are so open and vulnerable when someone is giving us a bath, changing our bed,...

I keep shouting from the roof top to hospitals, hospices, home health care agencies, and nursing facilities, “TAKE CARE OF YOUR PEOPLE!!!!!” How can we expect healthcare workers to continue...

The greatest gift you have to give is time. It won’t be the words you say, even the guidance you give, although that is all very important. It will be...

What is the difference between what hospice provides and what the EOL Workers provide? Hospice services are more medically oriented. They also provide a variety of services that are non...

Most diseases have a pattern. You generally know what to expect. With dementia there seems to be no pattern, at least as far as approaching death is concerned until they...

With Hospice you never know what you will find once you enter the home. Service can’t be time based. Visits have to be stay until the job is done and...

I was Zooming with a hospice today for Q & A’s and the subject of not being able to use volunteers because of Covid came up. WHOA!!! What do you...

Keeping Secrets: “Don’t tell mom.” Don’t say that she could die.” Don’t talk to her about “sad” things.” “Pretend everything is going to be alright.”  Mom lives inside of her body....

I get a lot of letters like the one I’ve edited below. We, as a culture, are so unprepared for witnessing a death. We have no accurate role models. We...

 Know that all of these signs of approaching death, whether indicating months or weeks, are just guideposts. Some people will show all of them...

There are so many reasons your father could have been receiving medicine by a “needle”. I am not fond of IV or giving medication by a “needle” as end of...

Our children are not supposed to die before we do. I cannot think of any grief more intense than watching our child deteriorate before our eyes. We grieve their dying...

Our job as an end of life specialist is to address the elephant in the room, to be direct and honest in the gentlest way possible. We are not doing...

We bring our fears, our childhood experiences with death, our culture, our belief systems, and our stereotypes to the bedside of the dying and the dead. Generally, none of that...