The Heart of Hospice Podcast

In part 2 of our series in celebration of National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, we’re discussing current trends in hospice in the U.S.  Hospice has changed through the years.  While we still take care of cancer patients, we also see patients at end of life with other diagnoses - cardiac, dementia, respiratory, stroke, and kidney (renal) conditions.  According to NHPCO Facts and Figures repor...

November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month! We’re talking about the history of hospice, including medieval hospice houses, Dame Cicely Saunders, Florence Wald, and the modern hospice movement.  The rich history of hospice began in medieval times as monks and nuns of the religious orders of the time created hospice houses where travelers along the road who were ill or injured were cared...

 We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Jessica Zitter back to the podcast to talk about her new documentary “Caregiver: A Love Story”.  As a critical care and palliative care physician, Dr. Zitter has seen the true struggles of caregivers of loved ones with serious illness.  Dr. Zitter is also the author of Extreme Measures: Finding A Better Path to the End of Life , a book that offers an insider’s view...

We’re sharing our top 10 tips for the over 53 million unpaid caregivers in the U.S.! Caregiving is a hard job.  It takes patience, energy, self-awareness, and endurance.  We’ve been personal caregivers for family members and friends on hospice, in addition to our work as end of life professionals.  To help our caregiving colleagues, we’ve put together a list of tips we think are the most crucial t...

Patients with serious illness frequently need pain management.  How do hospice teams manage opioids and the challenges that come with them?  There’s often a lack of understanding about how pain medications are used in end of life care. When a patient’s pain is managed, his quality of life is better.  Hospice physicians and nurses are responsible for ensuring the pain is adequately and safely contr...

Funeralocity is a great resource for both consumers and hospice professionals when it comes to funeral planning.  Funeralocity provides information to help users compare up-to-date pricing and services from funeral homes and cremation providers in their area, get pricing and services for funeral homes enrolled in the Excellence Provider Program , and select a funeral home that feels like a good fi...

It’s a hospice patient’s right to choose how medications are managed. Deprescribing (simplifying or reducing) meds can be a huge benefit to both patient and caregiver.  There’s a myth that all the medications will be stopped when a seriously ill patient is admitted to hospice services.  Not true!!  Medications for hospice patients are reviewed by the doctor and the team when hospice services start...

Founder Kevin Long and the team at Give A Mile help to connect loved ones when they need it most. After experiencing the loss of his close friend Ryan, Kevin launched Give A Mile . According to the Give A Mile website, “Give A Mile is a group of dedicated volunteers who believe strongly in the power of visits from loved ones for people in palliative or critical condition.”  The organization uses d...

Hospice interdisciplinary teams provide the best care possible for seriously ill people, no matter where they call home.  Whether it’s a long term care facility (nursing home), assisted living facility, private residence or apartment, halfway house, a homeless shelter, or on the streets, end of life care professionals try to meet the needs of the patient in the patient’s own space.  Coordinating w...

Utilizing every discipline on the hospice interdisciplinary team helps to ensure the best outcomes and quality of care. Here 's why. Each member of a hospice team brings unique skills along with specialized training to the care of a seriously ill patient, and their caregivers, too.  Nurses (RNs, LVNs/LPNs), doctors, and nurse practitioners manage the clinical parts of patient care.  Spiritual coun...

Barbara Karnes, author of the iconic hospice guide “the little blue book” Gone from My Sight, talks with Jerry and Helen about ritual, self care wisdom, and thriving as end of life workers.  We’re honored to feature our third discussion with Barbara about what she’s seen during the last year.  As a hospice RN, Barbara understands how important it is to stay connected to our patients and their fami...

There’s a lot to process when a hospice patient dies.  Grief emotions along with business decisions can make it complicated. Today we’re talking about what a hospice death events looks.  Death is common in hospice care, and interdisciplinary teams are highly skilled in caring for patients and families when it occurs.  Nurses, social workers, chaplains, and aides can all be involved.  Each team mem...

One of the major milestones in serious illness occurs when a patient stops eating and drinking. We're talking about why it happens, how to cope with it, and what it means.  When someone with a serious illness moves toward death, he might begin to have difficulty taking in food or fluids.  It's a hard thing for those who love them to watch.  Patient might refuse food, or have difficulty chewing or...

Linda Bryce has worn many hats in her career: attorney, advocate for the elderly, ordained minister, bedside singer, author, and end of life doula. The culmination of all her experiences has been collected into her book, The Courage to Care: Being Fully Present With the Dying .  She has been a hospice vigil volunteer and has sat at the bedside of hundreds, who might have otherwise died alone. Lind...

When you want to support someone who’s going through grief, loss, or a difficult life transition, a carefully curated care package from Beyond Words Co . is the perfect way to say you care. Founder Catherine Hinz realized through her own grief experience how much we need thoughtful care.  Through the specially chosen products of a care package from Beyond Words Co. ,the sender can show support and...

How long does the patient have? It’s probably the hardest question for the hospice team to answer.  Patients and families have different motives for asking.  Sometimes it’s as simple as needing to know how much time to ask off from work, or when to schedule FMLA.  The motive for asking the “time question” might be more complicated, related to caregiver fatigue, expenses, or family dynamics.  Hospi...

Author Jill Johnson-Young knows a thing or two about grief. She shares her deep, funny, irreverent wisdom in an interview with The Heart of Hospice.  Jill is a social worker based in California, owner of Central Counseling Services and is the author of The Rebellious Widow, an insightful look into managing grief on your own terms.  After losing two spouses, Jill experienced the full spectrum of ot...

There’s a great virtual learning opportunity from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization at the IDC 2021! The Interdisciplinary Conference 2021 brought together by NHPCO will offer some highly valuable education to hospice and palliative care professionals on September 20-22, 2021.  It’s all virtual this year, eliminating the cost of lodging and travel. The IDC is a great way to get...

Document, document, document!  Documentation is vital to how hospice works, but how can we keep it from disrupting patient care?  Even though it seems to be a nuisance and takes a lot of time, it’s crucial to the care of seriously ill patients to document everything we do for our patients.  Medical records are created from our documentation.  It’s how we get paid, how we stay compliant with regula...

It always seems too early until it’s too late. We’re talking advance care planning, grief, and life lessons with Jon and Michelle Braddock of My LIfe and Wishes . With us for his second interview, Jon shares how My Life and Wishes got started after their experience with the death of Michelle’s dad.  My Life and Wishes provides an online platform for advance care plan storage, guiding users in the...

A hospice interdisciplinary team provides enhanced support at the time of a patient’s death - and that includes care from the hospice chaplain.  The chaplain, or spiritual counselor, is there to encourage those who are grieving, to provide comfort and guidance during what hospice professionals call a “death event”.  Along with other team members (nurse, social worker, aide), the chaplain comes alo...

Once the Initial Spiritual Assessment is completed, a hospice chaplain will make routine visits that are used for life review, legacy projects, encouragement, faith discussions, or whatever the patient says is important. Typically the chaplain (also known as the spiritual counselor) will see a stable patient once or twice a month, and when there’s a special need like a change in condition.  The di...

You’ll find more information about hospice and how to get the best out of your end of life experience at theheartofhospice.com .  Need a speaker for your next company event or conference?  Send an email to host@theheartofhospice.com to book Jerry Fenter or Helen Bauer to encourage and inspire your audience.  You’re not alone in your hospice journey - we never forget.  You are The Heart of Hospice.

In the second episode of our hospice chaplain series, we’re talking about the Initial Spiritual Assessment, why it’s necessary, and what it includes. Mandated by Medicare, the Initial Spiritual Assessment is completed within 5 days of a patient’s admission to hospice.  There’s a lot of information to collect, including details about belief systems, faith, and whether the patient wants to include a...

Chaplains, or spiritual counselors, are one of the core members of a hospice interdisciplinary team.  What's their role in the care of seriously ill patients and their families?  In this series, we'll talk about how a spiritual counselor comes alongside patients and caregivers to provide supportive spiritual care.     Due to outdated beliefs and myths, many people misunderstand what a spiritual co...