Hospice Care

Death: The Final Word?

Robert V. Taylor | Posted 05.24.2012

Read More: Hospice, Compassion and Choices, End of Life Choices, Death With Dignity, Dying, Hospice Care Dying, Hospice Care, Death & Dying, Hospice Care Death, Death, Healthy Living News
Robert V. Taylor

In spite of decades working with the dying and bereaved families, my familiarity with end-of-life choices, death and grief was now staring me in the face, reflecting the image of the woman who gave birth to me.

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Hopsice: Grief, Depression and the DSM -- Take Two

Jeanne Dennis | Posted 05.10.2012

Read More: Healthy Living Health News, Major Depression, Hospice, Depression, Grief, Dealing With Grief, Hospice Care, Dsm, Grieving, American Psychiatric Association, Mental Health, Healthy Living News
Jeanne Dennis

It is important that we continue to see -- and treat -- bereavement as a universal experience that is an integral part of life.

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Struggling Economy Can't Come Between Man And His Best Friend

Posted 04.16.2012

Read More: Pet Hospice Industry, Hospice, Veterinarians, Video, Down-Economy, Business News, Hospice Care, Pet-Spending, Pet Care, Veterinary Medicine, Pet Hospice, Recession, Business News

Not even a struggling economy can come between man and his best friend. That's right, weak recovery and all, the pet hospice industry is booming, ...

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Hospice Shows How Socialized Medicine Can Work

Joan E. Dowlin | Posted 05.30.2012

Read More: Alzheimer's Disease, Hospice Care, Medicare, Obamacare, Politics News
Joan E. Dowlin

If we used such a caring, empathetic, comforting approach to all patients no matter if they were dying or not and if we brought such passion to preventive medicine, maybe we could find a system that works for all.

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It's Never Too Soon: Make Your Final Wishes Known

Glenn D. Braunstein, M.D. | Posted 04.28.2012

Read More: Palliative Care, Hospice Care, Dr. Glenn Braunstein, Cedars Sinai, Terminal Illness, Health Care, Death, Caregivers, Living Wills, Advanced Directive, Los Angeles News
Glenn D. Braunstein, M.D.

There is a spectrum in the process of dying. It ranges from unbearable suffering for patients and their families to a reasonable quality of life in which symptoms are controlled until the end. Either way, survivors are left to grieve.

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Pets and Hospice Care: 'The Warmth of Touch'

Jeanne Dennis | Posted 02.12.2012

Read More: Hospice, Hospice Care, Pets, Pet Therapy, Caregiving, Hospice Pets, Healthy People Healthy Pets, Pets and Hospice, Pets and Hospice Care, Pet Health, Healthy Living News
Jeanne Dennis

Pets provide a touch, a look or just a calming presence that is nonjudgmental, elemental and all about connection. These powers are often amplified at the bedside of a patient in his or her final days.

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The Health Benefits Of Volunteering As A Caregiver

Jeanne Dennis | Posted 01.24.2012

Read More: Hospice, Hospice Care, Volunteering, Bereavement, End of Life Care, Caregiving, Hospice Volunteering, Palliative Care, Hospice Care and Caregiving, Healthy Living News
Jeanne Dennis

I am sometimes asked if it is difficult to be a hospice volunteer, to get to know someone only to have them pass away. The short answer is no. It is rewarding, transformative and life-affirming.

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'Making Design Matter' -- New Uniforms for a Hospice Unit

Jeanne Dennis | Posted 01.08.2012

Read More: Hospice, Fashion, Palliative Care, Hospice Care, Special Care, Caregivers, Hospice Uniform Competition, Uniform Design, Uniform, Nurse Uniforms, Pratt-Institute, Fashion Design, Student Fashion Design, Style News
Jeanne Dennis

A competition to design new hospice uniforms is an opportunity to see how multi-faceted hospice care is on the broader scale, and how smaller details can make a difference in the end-of-life care patients receive.

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A Day In The Life Of A Hospice Worker

Rev. Amy Ziettlow | Posted 11.27.2011

Read More: Hospice, Healthy Living Health News, Hospice Care, Death & Dying, Working in Hospice, Healthy Living Spirit, Healthy Living News
Rev. Amy Ziettlow

Most of society does not think nor talk about death and dying, until absolutely necessary. Why would someone freely choose to do so?

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The Ethics Of Hospice Care

Jeanne Dennis | Posted 10.01.2011

Read More: Hospice Investigation, Healthy Living Body, End of Life Care, Palliative Care, Hospice OIG, Hospice Care, Health Care, Hospice Ethics, Healthy Living News
Jeanne Dennis

Any industry that has regulations -- ours has plenty and rightly so -- will have people and institutions that flout those regulations.

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Caregivers Provide $450 Billion In Annual Unpaid Labor: Study

The Huffington Post | Alexander Eichler | Posted 09.17.2011

Read More: Health Care Business, National Caregiver Family Support Program, Aarp, Hospice Care, Disability, Unpaid Caregivers, Health Care, Health Care Economics, Illness, Seniors, Caregivers, Health Care Industry, Business News

Family caregivers performed about $450 billion worth of unpaid labor in the U.S. in 2009, a new study from the AARP has found, according to NPR. Th...

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To Kevork Or Not To Kevork, That Is The Question

Rev. Amy Ziettlow | Posted 09.12.2011

Read More: Advanced Directives, Hospice, Aging, Hope, Assisted Suicide, Jack Kevorkian, Thomas Lynch, Justin Roberts, Baby Boomers, Death and Dying, Hospice Care, Religion News
Rev. Amy Ziettlow

In the next 20 years, I imagine we will witness the options for end of life choice and control expand for those facing chronic or terminal illness, pain, meaninglessness and even boredom.

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MLB Hall Of Famer Exhausts All Options In Cancer Fight

AP | By DAVE CAMPBELL | Posted 07.13.2011

Read More: Minnesota Twins, Mlb, Harmon Killebrew Cancer, Hospice Care, Cancer, Baseball Hall of Fame, Harmon Killebrew, Sports News

MINNEAPOLIS -- Harmon Killebrew announced Friday that he no longer plans to fight his esophageal cancer and has settled in for the final days of his l...

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Honoring Life By Creating a 'Sacred Space' For Its Final Days

Jeanne Dennis | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: End of Life Care, Creating the Right Atmosphere for the Elderly, Hospice Care, How to Care for the Elderly, Care for the Elderly, How to Decorate a Hospice, Healthy Living News
Jeanne Dennis

Those of us in hospice care see death and dying as a part of living. When a loved one is dying, we encourage families to create spaces that reflect the life that's come before.

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10 Things To Know About A Loved One's Final Hours

Marguerite Manteau-Rao | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Hospice, Caregiving, End of Life Care, Death & Dying, Hospice Care, Caregiver, End of Life, Caregivers, Death, Healthy Living News
Marguerite Manteau-Rao

I have witnessed many families struggling with how to be during the last hours of a person's life. I have been struck by the lack of knowledge and the misconceptions that people have about the needs of a person approaching the end.

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You Don't Have To Believe In Heaven To Find Life After Death

Rabbi Gary S. Fink | Posted 05.30.2011

Read More: Death and Dying, Hospice Care, Hospice, End of Life Issues, Legacy, End of Life Care, Hospice Patients, Spirituality, Death, Religion, Life After Death, Death & Dying, Heaven, Religion News
Rabbi Gary S. Fink

Charlie wanted life after death, but not in some far off, heavenly place. He explained that most of all, he wanted to live in the mind and heart of his grandchild.

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God Will Not Desert Us: Difficult End Of Life Conversations

Rev. Dr. Martha R. Jacobs | Posted 05.29.2011

Read More: Dying, Advance Directives, End of Life, Death and Dying, Dying Wishes, End of Life Conversations, Hospice Care, Death & Dying, Religion News
Rev. Dr. Martha R. Jacobs

These situations, unfortunately, engender arguments and fights at the very time the family should be there to support and comfort each other and their dying parent.

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A Christian Guide To Confronting End Of Life Issues

Rev. Dr. Martha R. Jacobs | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Death and Dying, Christianity and Death, Conversations About Death, Confronting Death, End of Life Wishes, End of Life Care, Hospice Care, A Clergy Guide to End of Life Issues, ICU Care, Religion News
Rev. Dr. Martha R. Jacobs

There is silence on the issues that surround people as they near death. We need to accept ourselves as unique human beings who have fears and concerns about living and about dying.

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Creating Sacred Space In Life And Death

Rev. Amy Ziettlow | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Home Makeover, Death and Dying, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Dying, Hospice Care, Hiv, Death, Sacred Space, Life and Death, Religion News
Rev. Amy Ziettlow

With Ash Wednesday, a season of spiritual inspection and makeover begins that involves our lives, our communities, even our worship space.

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Making End-Of-Life Care A Family Tradition

Jeanne Dennis | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Hospice, Home Care, Advance Directives, End of Life Care, Death & Dying, Coping With Death, Hospice Care, End-of-Life Planning, Healthy Living News
Jeanne Dennis

New York City is a rich cultural, ethnic and religious tapestry, and those in my field must understand a complex set of traditions and beliefs before introducing conversations about death and dying.

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Understandng The Spiritual Needs Of The Dying

Kenneth J. Doka, M.Div., Ph.D. | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Hospice, Hospice Care, Death & Dying, End of Life Care, Dying, End of Life, Death, Religion, Spiritual Searching, Spirituality, Religion News
Kenneth J. Doka, M.Div., Ph.D.

Spiritual needs of the dying are often overlooked or ignored by family caregivers, clinicians and even clergy, who may be uncomfortable with with conversations that have strong spiritual significance.

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The Day My Husband Chose Hospice Care

Carol Jones | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Hospice, Cancer, Consciousness, Soul's Ascension, Spiritual Teachings, Conscious Dying, Dying, Death & Dying, Grief, Hospice Care, Cancer Treatment, Death, Healthy Living News
Carol Jones

After all these months of focusing every waking moment on Kenny's care, now we were to focus on his dying.

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Treating The Body As A Sacred Home

Rev. Amy Ziettlow | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Perfection, Losing Weight, Epiphany, Home, Dying, Body Image, Hospice, King Cakes, Death, New Year's Resolutions, Death & Dying, Hospice Care, Religion News
Rev. Amy Ziettlow

Every body, whether healthy and vibrant, scarred and fragile, in control or infantile, is sacred, created in the image of the divine, and deserving of the opportunity to feel at home.

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Finding God in the ICU

Rev. Amy Ziettlow | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Advanced Directives, PBS Frontline, New Year's Resolutions, Christmas, Living the Christian Seasons, Advent and Mourning, Dartmouth Atlas Project, Advent, Psalm 23, Religion and Mourning, Death & Dying, End of Life Care, Hospice Care, Religion News
Rev. Amy Ziettlow

In hospice care, we realize that patients deserve a team of professionals with diverse backgrounds and perspectives in order to serve the person's physical, emotional, relational and spiritual needs.

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Following A Divine Road Map: A Lesson Inspired By The Life Of Elizabeth Edwards

Rev. Amy Ziettlow | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Christmas, Death and Dying, Advent, Elizabeth Edwards, Breast Cancer, John Edwards, Hospice Care, Elizabeth Edwards Dead, Elizabeth Edwards Dies, Religion News
Rev. Amy Ziettlow

Although we would all long for idyllic lives, Edwards knew that the road of life can be tumultuous and full of unexpected twists and turns, and that meaning is culled from gratitude, faith, and relationships.

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