The Heart of Hospice Podcast

Kati Wettstein is a board certified music therapist, and has worked in hospice for over 6 years.  During that time she has experienced the joy of providing music for many patients, and she shares many of her stories of how music helped to transform the end of life journey for these patients.  We had the opportunity to sit down with Kati to learn more about the power of music therapy to provide com...

One of the unique services provided by hospice care is known as respite care.  Helen & Jerry explain the purpose of respite care in this episode, and share the many ways that it benefits the caregiver and the patient.   Please leave us a rating or a review to help others discover the information provided by the Heart of Hospice.  Follow this link to share your review.   To learn more about the...

Hospice, like most healthcare, has different levels of care that are provided, depending upon the need of the patient.  There are 4 levels of care provided in hospice. Routine home care (RHC) General in patient (GIP) Continuous care, or crisis care Respite care In this episode, Helen & Jerry share the levels of care that are offered when a patient is having a crisis that requires more direct c...

National Healthcare Decisions Day is Monday, April 16.  At the Heart of Hospice we encourage everyone to share their healthcare decisions with the significant people in their lives.  Over the past year we've shared several resources that can help make having the conversation easier, and even enjoyable.   In this episode, we share another resource that will help you communicate to your doctor, and...

National Healthcare Decisions Day is on Monday, April 16.  The purpose of NHDD is to encourage people to have conversations with friends and loved ones about advance care planning.  It's a day to remind us about the importance of advance care planning.  These conversations aren't always easy to have, but they're very important, and can be very meaningful, too.  In this episode, we share with you o...

Did you make any New Year's Resolutions about self care?  The first quarter of the year is almost over, so it's time for a self care check in.  In this episode, Helen and Jerry share their own personal self care stories for 2018--the best and the worst.   The purpose for the self care check in is to remind all of us how important self care is to our health--body, mind and spirit.  So how are you d...

Social workers are on the front lines when it comes to being advocates for their patients, and that includes being involved in ethical issues that concern their patients and the families who love them.  In this episode Katie Ortlip SW, discusses various ethical issues that are affecting hospice patients, including physician aid in dying, and patients who are voluntarily stopping eating and drinkin...

In this episode, Social worker Katie Ortlip describes the many ways she provides bereavement care to families when a loved one is on hospice.  Bereavement care begins when a patient is admitted to hospice, Katie says.   Learn more about the many bereavement care programs provided by hospice professionals in this episode.  Visit our website at www.theheartofhospice.com  to learn more about hospice,...

Welcome back to National Social Worker Month.  This week we continue our discussion with social worker Katie Ortlip as the discussion turns to long term care placement.  At times a patient may need more care than what can be provided in a private home setting.  When that occurs, the social worker may need to provide help in finding a different living environment.  In this episode, Katie explains s...

March is National Social Worker Month. Social Workers are leaders, advocates, and champions who serve people when they're in need of help.  Hospice social workers are some of the best. To celebrate National Social Worker Month, Helen & Jerry talked with their friend, Katie Ortlip.  Katie has been a hospice social worker in Oregon at the same hospice agency for over 25 years.  She shares her we...

Hospice provides 4 different levels of care for patients. 1. Routine Home Care, or hospice at home 2. General Inpatient, or GIP. 3. Continuous Care, or Crisis Care.  4. Respite Care. In this 5 for Friday, Helen & Jerry discuss the services that are provided for patients who receive Routine Home Care.   To learn more, visit our website at www.theheartofhospice.com,  or follow us on Facebook and...

Our mission at The Heart of Hospice is to educate about hospice, and enhance the end of life journey for hospice patients, and their families and caregivers.  To help our listeners learn more about hospice, we're providing short, but detailed episodes regarding the various aspects of the hospice experience.   In this episode Helen & Jerry discuss the process that a patient will go through when...

At the Heart of Hospice we're always looking for great resources that help educate and encourage.  One of the best websites for end of life education is bkbooks.com.  BK Books is the website of Barbara Karnes, RN.  Barbara has written many books, including the classic end of life guide, Gone From My Sight.   Not only does bkbooks.com have books for sale, there are blogs written by Barbara that cov...

There are many excellent books that have been written about end of life, but there are few written by a doctor about his own death.  When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, is an extraordinary description of the end of life journey of a gifted neurosurgeon.   We highly recommend this book to end of life caregivers to help understand the mental, emotional, and spiritual concerns that are faced b...

Tom Batiuk is the creative mind behind the comic strip "Funky Winkerbean."  Tom began drawing Funky over 45 years ago when he was still a middle school teacher in Ohio.  Funky Winkerbean is published in over 400 newspapers across the U.S.   Helen & Jerry had the opportunity to talk with Tom recently about how humor can have a positive affect on the mind, body, and spirit, even during difficult...

In this episode Helen & Jerry continue discussing the positive affects of humor for self care.  Previous episodes discussed the affects of humor on the mind and the body.  This episode focuses on humor's affect on the spirit. Lowers stress Dissolves anger Unites people during difficult times Helps us gain perspective by laughing at ourselves Helps us connect with others and avoid being lonely...

Your body cannot heal without play. Your mind cannot heal without laughter. Your soul cannot heal without joy. -- Catherine Rippenger Fenwick Through the month of January Helen & Jerry will be discussing the benefits of humor for the mind, body, and spirit.  Humor should be a part of a everyone's healthy self care program, simply for the benefits it provides. In this 5 for Friday Helen & J...

What was your 2017 like?   In this episode Helen & Jerry share their self care successes and blunders for 2017.  It's the 2017 version of our best/worst self care stories.  Listen to our stories and be inspired. We'd love to hear your self care stories.  Send us an email at host@theheartofhospice.com,  or post to our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/theheartofhospice, and share how you did in...

Jon & Michelle Braddock were faced with an almost insurmountable challenge when Michelle's father passed away unexpectedly at home on Labor Day, 2013.  For the next 10 months they tried to piece together all of his investment accounts, safe deposits boxes, insurance policies, online accounts, etc.  It was during this time that they envisioned a better way to prepare for that moment when death...

2017 Year in Review In this 5 for Friday episode, Helen & Jerry take a look back at the year of 2017, and a look ahead into the new year of 2018.   Despite the challenges of 2017, there were many moments that deserve to be remembered and recognized.  Listen as we share The Heart of Hospice highlights for 2017.   Be sure and visit our website at www.theheartofhospice.com for blog and podcast up...

For self care to be effective it needs to be balanced.  Self care should include body, mind, and spirit.  Each one affects the others, and neglect of one can negatively affect the others.  In the Thanks & Giving campaign, the balance between thanks (gratitude) and giving (generosity), helps to maintain a healthy balance in our self care program.   In this episode, Helen & Jerry discuss the...

The holiday season can be difficult for personal caregivers, as well as professional caregivers.  Maintaining a self care program is difficult enough, but when you add in the expectations of the holidays, it becomes almost impossible.   The HOH Thanks & Giving Holiday Self Care Campaign is designed to encourage your self care, and to keep you motivated with short daily inspirational emails.  W...

ABODE Contemplative Care for the Dying is a unique home in San Antonio, Texas, that provides care for up to 3 guests who are in the last few months of life.   This special episode reveals the amazing work that's being done at ABODE, as we interview their executive director, Martha Jo Atkins. Hearing Martha Jo describe the service that’s being provided by all the staff and volunteers at Abode was i...

As part of the Thanks & Giving Self Care Campaign, this Five for Friday focuses on the power of gratitude to provide self care. Researchers have concluded that writing down 3 things you're thankful for every day for 21 days can actually re-wire your brain to be more positive.  During the busy holiday season it's more difficult to practice self care.  Gratitude is an easy, but powerful practice...

Holiday Self Care Campaign Launch Today we're going to start our Holiday Self Care Campaign, "Thanks & Giving". The holidays always add another layer of stress and busyness to our lives, so it becomes more important than ever to practice intentional self care.   Gratitude (thanks) and generosity (giving) are twin components of a balanced self care lifestyle that can help us move through the ho...