Something to Think About

Hospice and palliative care are not the same—and understanding that difference matters. If the goal is comfort and a natural death, certain medical interventions no longer fit. Let’s talk about...

Clear communication is one of the most powerful tools in healthcare. Healing begins when we sit close, speak simply, and remember that care is about people, not just disease.

Everyone dies. Death will not be conquered. It can be forestalled and that is where the medical model comes in. We learn through trying. The medical rounds physician is correct...

Some illnesses are curable. Some are uncertain. And some can’t be fixed—no matter what we do. Knowing which type you or your loved one is facing can help you choose...

When the terminal illness, the disease progression, has been a pain filled experience and all comfort management options have been unsuccessful, then sleep is our friend...

When working with families who ask me not to tell mom, I say that I won’t bring the subject up, but if she asks, I will talk about it.

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 doctors and healthcare professionals place a number on how long someone has to live they are doing that person a disservice.

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”...

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...

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,...

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...

Comfort Care describes a focus on the quality of life being lived, as opposed to concentrating on the lengthening of that life no matter the quality. Comfort Care is good...

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

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...

Our frontline workers: nurses, nursing assistants, doctors, hospital employees, first responders, housekeeping, grocery, delivery, and transportation personnel, all people who are out front while most of us shelter in place,...

There are many of the same circumstances with today’s coronavirus as we faced with  HIV/AIDS in the early years— lack of medical knowledge, lack of guidance, and fear. I think...

Touch in with the families, “What’s happening? Do you need anything?” Use the same volunteer for each family to develop confidence and bonding. You are saving your staff while providing a sense...

Isolation from others is teaching me this about my self ——- I do a lot for others, for their thoughts of me, why else do I wear makeup? Get dressed?...