March is Social Workers Appreciation Month! I wanted to take a moment to especially recognize and honor a specific group of Social Workers that make an enormous difference in the end-of-life journey: Our Hospice Social Workers! Hospice Social Workers Make a Difference. The Hospice Social Workers I have worked with throughout the last 10 years of my career, that have made a difference in the lives they have touched, ALL share the same impressive qualities: AMAZING listeners Advocate for what is right Kind-hearted Puts others needs first Sees the details Non-judgmental Understanding Open-minde ..read more

The role of the Hospice Chaplain is such an important role, and benefit, to the hospice team. Their main focus is to provide spiritual support to hospice patients and their loved ones. Very often, our Hospice Chaplains guide patients and loved ones on a personal reflection and spiritual journey. The Hospice Chaplain is like a Taxi Driver for the Hospice Patient. The hospice patient hops into the “taxi” and directs the Chaplain where they would like to go. Sometimes, patients don’t know where they want to go, and Chaplains can help provide recommendations on where to go first. Chaplains drive t ..read more

Hospice CNAs (who are known in the hospice world as HHAs or Home Health Aides) are incredibly special individuals and members of the hospice team who provide gentle, compassionate, end-of-life cares for hospice patients. June 18-24, 2020 is the week we celebrate Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs). This week, in the field of Hospice, we honor and celebrate our amazing Hospice CNAs (HHAs)! During this week, hospice teams recognize and honor the special work and dedication of the Hospice HHAs. Home Health Aides enter hospice patients’ homes, without hesitation, at the most intimate and fragile m ..read more

Memorial Day is a day to remember and honor those men and women who lost their lives fighting for our freedom. Memorial Day is also a good reminder for hospice team members to take the time to listen to, and allow, your patients to share their military service experiences, as a part of their life review. But, many caregivers and hospice providers are hesitant about reaching out to veterans about their military service because they are either not sure what they should ask, or they are afraid they might ask the wrong question and make the veteran feel uncomfortable. And, let’s face it: Military ..read more

Routine Hospice Services (one of the four levels of hospice cares) can be provided anywhere that the patient calls “home”. This can be a private residence (owned or rented), a group home, assisted living facility, CBRF (Community Based Residential Facility), Memory Care Unit, or Skilled Nursing Facility (Nursing Home). For Hospice Cares in a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF, or Nursing Home), there sometimes can be a misunderstanding as to the expectations of hospice services. Routine Hospice services are a level of service that is provided ON TOP of whatever services are already in place at the ..read more

Are you a good hospice nurse? Or, are you an AMAZING Hospice Nurse? In my eight-years as a Hospice Nurse, I’ve worked with some good hospice nurses, some bad hospice nurses, and then I’ve had the honor and privilege of working with some AMAZING hospice nurses. I’ve learned, and have seen through observations firsthand, what truly makes a good hospice nurse different from an AMAZING hospice nurse. But can this difference be taught? Or does the difference come within? And, is it really important to be Amazing when managing a hospice patient’s end-of-life cares? Question for You: At the end of yo ..read more

There has been a lot of talk about the amazing, dedicating, and hard-working ER and ICU nursing teams during the COVID-19 health crisis in the United States. Through the media, we are hearing the stories of the ER and ICU nurses working long, sometimes double, shifts to provide care and compassion to all of those unfortunately affected by COVID-19, and the beautiful touching stories of holding patients hands when their family can not be at their side. We are hearing the stories of the risks involved in their health due to the limited PPE available, and the gut-wrenching stories of nurses emoti ..read more

Today, due to the threat of COVID-19 on our health, our personal relationships have suddenly changed (literally overnight) with our friends, coworkers, neighbors, fellow church members, social group members, and even family members living outside of our immediate homes. Where once we were free to meet and socialize with physical touch in a personal circle, today we are forced to avoid personal and physical contact, even avoiding others with a minimum of six feet of space between us. In fact, most of our interactions with friends and family outside of our immediate home have been reduced to pho ..read more

“Many of our hospice volunteers don’t even realize the impact they have on the lives they touch” Volunteers are valuable members of our society. They are people who spread goodness to others out of the kindness of their hearts. Volunteers are found everywhere! They are working to fix up and build parks, they are picking up trash on the side of our roads, they are greeting fellow church members, they can be found in kitchens for the less fortunate, they can be found stocking shelves at a food pantry, they are heard singing at nursing homes with fellow volunteers, they are working at schools rea ..read more

With the sudden and continuing increase in COVID-19 patients in our world, there are many nurses that are finding themselves face to face with death, more than ever before.  ICU Nurses and ER nurses are trained to help and care for patients with urgent and emergent needs, with the goal to have them walk out their hospital doors.  However, with the death rate continuing to increase, the likelihood of this goal is still poor. Hospice Nurses would love to come into the hospitals and advocate for the dying patients.  Yes, we really would.  Hospice Nurses, true Hospice Nurses, a ..read more