Prior to working for Gilchrist Hospice Care I worked for 30 years in hospitals and home care. My background is Respiratory Care and I thought I knew what hospice was when Gilchrist hired me a little over 3 years ago.

It quickly became obvious I had very little knowledge about hospice care. I have tried to outline some of the common myths many people believe to be true about hospice.

Fiction:  Hospice is a place.

Fact: Hospice is not a place, but a concept of care. More than 90% of the hospice services provided in this country are home-based. Care provided in the home allows families to be together when they need to most–sharing a loved one’s final days peacefully, comfortably and with dignity.

 However, there are times when more intensive medical intervention is needed. At these times, patients might be admitted to Gilchrist’s inpatient Centers.

 Fiction:  Hospice means giving…

Family caregiving is often all-consuming, impacting how we interact with others and how we view the world. The reality is, depending on your age, your inner circle of friends and neighbors as well as extended family members have probably never been in your position and are clueless as to what your life is like. We become consumed with the thought that no one could possibly understand what we are going through and rather than freely expressing or communicating our fears, frustrations and exhaustion which would take what precious time we incorrectly feel we do not have we begin to develop frustration towards those we care most deeply for.  It is easy to get short-tempered with those around you out of frustration but the fact is, your shooting yourself in the foot by doing so.  Taking your aggression out on those you love and admire simply distances you from them at a time…

Sometimes I forget that not everyone in the world knows what Hospice is or feels as strongly as I do that it’s a necessary step at the end of someone’s life. Unfortunately I got my reminder last week at the visitation of a family member who died of cancer and was at a hospice for the last few days of his life. The first thing my cousin said to me after we hugged was, “Hospice was such a blessing – everyone there was amazing and now I get it. I don’t know how you do it.” When I finally got to her mom for a conversation, she looked me in the eye and said, “You need to come raise funds here in our town for a hospice like the one we were in.” A woman of action, with a new-found passion, she is.

I offer an overview of the Hospice…

Hospice is known for making people more comfortable at the end of their life. But as we’ve talked about recently, “more comfortable” doesn’t just mean giving pain medicine. There’s much more to hospice than that.

At their blog, Holy Redeemer Hospice, which serves Pennsylvania and New Jersey, suggest a few complementary therapies you may want to ask about:

Some hospice teams include members specially trained in massage, healing touch, aromatherapy, music and art therapy to support patients and families as they face the dying process together. These services are optional and may be unavailable since they are not required by insurance regulations. … Are there added values unique to the hospice you are interviewing such as online presence, assistance with funeral services or special end of life opportunities related to telling the life story of a patient, serving children in the family or memorial projects?

In the post, the…

Tomb of Victorio Alferio Astensi, Italian Dramatist and Poet – Florence, Italy. A muse grieves at his tomb.

The loss of  some special people lately has started my little mind racing.  Why do people deal with grief in such wildly different ways?  

For some the death of a loved one or family member gives rise to strong emotions that can, unfortunately, be played out in negative ways.  Feelings of inequity or resentment can bottle up leading to arguments, feuds and sometimes even physical violence.  Almost like a Smothers Brothers (for you young whipper snappers, look them up!) routine gone bad, some people’s perception that “Mom always liked you best.” is a reason to fight for their piece of whatever the deceased individual left behind.   I’ve heard about some incidents that would probably make the departed person weep tears from heaven.

I attended the funeral today of a truly wonderful individual; a…

Recent statistics gathered by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) state that 1.65 million Americans are cared for by hospice organizations each year. The number continues to grow. Why? Because hospice provides the care Americans have said they want.

A Gallup poll has determined that 88% of Americans would prefer to die at home, free of pain, surrounded by loved ones. This is what hospice care makes possible. As a whole, our nation’s hospices appear to be doing a good job. 94% of Americans who’ve had family members in hospice rate the care received as good to excellent, according to NHPCO research.

One of the key messages that hospices nationwide are communicating to the public deals with the six-month time period. The major qualification for hospice care is a prognosis indicating that a patient has six months or less to live. But there is not a six-month limit…

The transition to hospice care changed everything since hospice care is essentially aimed at providing comfort and support until the imminent death NOT providing treatment to prevent death. It was the beginning of the end.

The day David began hospice care was the first time we talked about dying and it was the last time. We cried a lot and abruptly ended the conversation. David’s desire was to stay home and this was my desire as well. My Mom staying with us also made this possible, knowing that he was getting the best care and love. I continued to work, continued to maintain a normal routine for the girls. Unless you were in our house, nobody knew the extent of what we were dealing with.

The move to hospice made me angrier. The grieving began, I cried often when I thought I could not be seen or heard.  I became more open…

With more and more elderly people preferring to age in place, improvements in home care technology is necessary to help seniors, both active and with limited mobility issues, maintain their independence for a long time.  One such recent breakthrough in elder care technology is the “smart home”.  It’s the same concept as the regular smart home technology you may probably have already, but this one is geared towards a senior home owner.    

Elder care smart homes aim to:

• Help family members, physicians and primary care providers keep tabs on a senior’s daily activities, vital signs, food and water intake, medication, and movements (or lack thereof), which could indicate a medical emergency from afar.
• Provide a cheaper alternative to expensive assisted living facilities.
• Allow a senior resident to live independently in the comforts of their own home, which could boost their confidence.

Senior care smart home technologies could be in…