Something to Think About

a blog on end of life

We love sharing helpful info on our blog.

About the BK Team
Developing End of Life Expertise by Barbara Karnes, RN

You have to walk the walk before you can talk the talk. Learn from your patient/family interactions. At the same time read everything you can get your hands on...

Alzheimer's, Cancer and Hospice by Barbara Karnes RN

Dementia isn’t a terminal illness in that it doesn’t have a limited prognosis. It is like dying from old age, it takes longer. Alzheimer’s, or any form of dementia, is...

Setting Up A Hospice Program by Barbara Karnes, RN

...You really don't need a doctor or nurse at the bedside when someone is dying. You need someone who understands the natural way people die and can educate and guide...

WORKING TOGETHER, Hospice & Nursing Facilities by Barbara Karnes, RN

Hospice has worked with nursing facilities for many years now. Our relationship  and interactions with patients and their families is now better understood and better defined. That said, some nursing facilities...

8 Things to Consider Regarding End of Life Pain Management by Barbara Karnes, RN

Often dying looks painful to the people watching. Dying is a struggle to get out of the body. There are sounds that ordinarily would indicate discomfort but, when a person...

I Hear You, But I Don't Understand

...I remember being with my mother in my hospice Medical Director’s office. He was explaining to my mother his medical findings as they related to her illness. I, being a...

SOCIAL WORKERS: I Want To Be Like You When I Grow Up by End of Life Educator, Barbara Karnes, RN

This is the story that came to mind when I decided to write a blog for National Social Work month. Social work, to me, is about saying the right words...

GRIEF- Struggling After Mom's Death by Barbara Karnes, RN

Often after a person dies we forget that there is no perfect relationship, that there are easy times and difficult times. Somehow once a person dies we elevate them to...

Refusing Treatment At Age 93, Article by Hospice Innovator Barbara Karnes, RN

Why make your mother’s remaining time be unhappy and with more discontent than is already there due to age and illness? Being old is hard work. Our thinking processes aren't...

Hospice~ What Have We Accomplished?

We’ve had over 40 years of providing end of life care to the community. And yes, it is acknowledgment of our work that there is a national Hospice month but...

BIRTH BACKWARDS, A Daughter's Death by Barbara Karnes, RN

At 8:17pm she took one more breath and then at 8:18 there was one more which I describe as hot caramel pouring onto vanilla ice cream. It was the most...

Family Discord As Death Approaches

What I have discovered is that a family member dying can bring a family together. It can be their finest moment of closeness and comfort. But for other families it...

3 Things You Can Do As Someone Is Dying by Barbara Karnes, RN

The hours before actual death is very scary, a "I don't know what to do" time, for anyone present. Someone who knows the normal natural way a person dies can...

WHY NOT HOSPICE? A Reluctance To Refer by Barbara Karnes, RN

If the signs are there, get the referral and let a hospice professional determine if Hospice is appropriate. Three things I look for to tell me if it is time...

A Hospice With Integrity by Barbara Karnes, RN

Be the best hospice you can possibly be, provide the highest quality of care with the most compassionate, caring staff your area has to offer. Build a reputation within the...

Calories Count by Barbara Karnes, RN

When living with a life threatening illness we are eating for two---our physical body and our disease. In most cases the disease eats before we do. If we don’t eat,...

The Balancing Act of Caring for the Dying by Barbara Karnes, RN

For healthcare professionals it is often a balancing act to care for patients and then deal with the sense of futility that is triggered when they are doing their job...

DYING Young or Old, The Signs Are The Same by Barbara Karnes, RN

There are other signs of approaching death that indicate a person with a disease (at any age) has weeks to live...

This Is How People Die, A New Film By Barbara Karnes, RN : Award Winning End of Life Educator & Hospice Pioneer

My message throughout all this time has been to educate, educate, educate. Educate anyone who will listen about how people die. To help people understand how death comes, what it...

Grief During the Last Stages of His Life

From the moment of a diagnosis of a life threatening illness we begin grieving. We grieve not just the eventual losses that come with serious illness but the approaching death...

How Do I Pick A Good Hospice? by Barbara Karnes, RN  www.bkbooks.com

There have been many changes in hospice care since it began. Some for the better, some not so much. What I am suggesting as representing a “good” hospice is becoming...

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