Something to Think About

With all the loss that we are experiencing during this pandemic, it isn't just physical death that we are mourning. End of Life Expert Barbara Karnes, RN has some grief...

The showing and expressing of emotions is so individual, expressing our grief is individual also. Some cry, some show anger, some depression, some “tough it up" and move forward, some...

A hospice that does not take care of its staff cannot take care of it’s patients and their families in a manner consistent with the original hospice philosophy...

I don't think it is about the cleanliness of the body but of the hands-on ritual of saying goodbye. Bathing is an intimate ritual. It can be a way of...

A group of nurses who volunteer to perform an honor presentation at funerals or memorial services for licensed practical and registered nurses. It reminds me of a veteran's honor guard and...

Aside from pleasing or displeasing others let's look at some issues that can occur as the result of becoming socially and or romantically involved soon after a death of a...

Immediately following the death I clean the body (offer family, if they want, to help or not), tidy the room, turn off overhead lights and have a small lamp on....

This has led me to think about what any of us can do for an acquaintance who has a serious illness or is caring for someone who has a serious...

Trying to "calm" a person who is choking or panicking doesn't actually work whether death is close or not. The question we have to ask is how close to death...

Maybe, at some point, you can find a place even though you move frequently. A place that has meaning to them or to you. Plant a tree in a park...

Grief is whole bunch of normal emotions rolled up into a package we call grieving. It isn’t new emotions. It is our emotions. It is how we have handled everything...

If you are not satisfied with the conversation with your hospice nurse, if you are not completely comfortable with the nurse’s explanations, then call her supervisor and explain what you...

"When do we say our final goodbye to someone who is dying?" Barbara Karnes talks about how we say goodbye in stages. We say goodbye many, many times.  

How do you answer a family member when they ask you how much longer their loved one has to live?  That is a question most family members want to know and...

We, as a people, are never truly prepared for death but with guidance, honestly, and gentleness we, as caregivers for those people, can ease the fear and uncertainty most bring to the...

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...

As hospice agencies continue to grow we are hiring more from the acute care settings. It used to be that medical professionals, nurses, social workers and home health aides, arrived...

Hospice works at home for you. It provides support, guidance, and education but even more it provides understanding, concern, and heart felt caring for you, the family, and your support...

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...

First, if you don’t have to clean out belongings, don’t for awhile, wait even months if necessary. There can be great comfort found in putting on an unwashed sweater of...

Counseling is a support offering, a choice. Some personalities would never consider counseling. They would not be comfortable sharing their personal thoughts and life with someone else no matter how professional...