The Heart of Hospice Podcast

My guest Nathan Kottkamp is the founder and chair of National Healthcare Decisions, which highlights the importance of advance care planning. National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) is an annual day recognized as a day to talk about advance care planning. My guest Nathan Kottkamp is the founder and chair of National Healthcare Decisions, which highlights the importance of advance care planning. H...

Certified Caregiver Consultant Elizabeth Miller is helping other caregivers figure out how to stay healthy while juggling caregiving responsibilities.  Elizabeth describes herself as a life-long caregiver, a sandwich caregiver, as well as a hands-on and remote caregiver.  During the years she spent caring for her parents, Elizabeth learned her own caregiving style.  She’s a huge fan of proactive s...

Podcaster, caregiver, and advocate Savina Makalena is sharing what she’s learned as a family caregiver.  Savina is the host of the Caring Caregiver podcast and a personal caregiver for her mom. Savy is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Gimme A Break, a non-profit organization whose mission is to care for caregivers by giving them an emotional and physical break as well as resources for th...

Welcome to The Heart of Hospice podcast!

Rupert Callender identifies as a radical undertaker. He’s changing funeral services, one personal experience at a time. Rupert was moved to become an undertaker through his experience of bereavement and its aftermath. He spent much of his childhood in the hospice where his mother worked, and the caring humanistic philosophy of the hospice movement is central to his work. He opened The Green Funera...

Chris MacLellan is making meaning from his experience as the primary caregiver for his life partner Richard. Chris and Richard’s story was featured in the 2015 Pulitzer Prize-nominated 3-part story, “In Sickness and In Health: A Couple’s Final Journey,” which told their journey of caregiving. The story told of the challenges LGBT partners have in dealing with the medical and legal system, but it a...

Martha Ranon learned firsthand what it’s like to be a personal caregiver, and now she’s working to support and empower other caregivers.  #caregiving #caregiver #dementia #Alzheimers #seriousillness #hospice #endoflife   https://theheartofhospice.libsyn.com/finding-growth-and-gratitude-in-caregiving-with-martha-ranon-of-southern-caregiver-resource-center-episode-149 Along with the team at the Sout...

Haven believes every legacy needs a beautiful Haven to call home. Maggie Gannon and the Haven team support people at end of life by empowering them to share their legacy. According to Haven’s website, they are “on a mission to improve the quality of all our lives by changing the way the world thinks about death. We do this by giving everyone a beautiful home to preserve their story and grow closer...

Plan ahead so you leave a legacy, not a mess. Great advice from CPA Jody Giles, author of the Missing Pieces Plan.  According to her website jodygiles.com, Jody is “the author of the Missing Pieces Plan , a book designed to help people plan for end-of-life. The “missing pieces” are what Jody feels are the most important pieces in a financial plan however, they are often the most neglected. When in...

Filmmaker Edgar Barens works with the Humane Prison Hospice Project to highlight the need for compassionate end-of-life programs in the US. prison system.   https://theheartofhospice.libsyn.com/edgar-barens-shares-how-prison-hospices-are-changing-lives-episode-146

Catherine Hinz is talking about grief and how her company Beyond Words Co. creates curated care packages to ensure no one feels alone through life’s hardest times. After experiencing a grief event in her own life, Catherine realized our responses to hard events in the lives of people we care about is often inadequate. Things like cards and even flowers just don’t provide the relief and comfort we’...

Caitlin Crommett is the founder of DreamCatchers Foundation, an organization creating connections for older and younger generations to fulfill the end of life dreams of hospice patients. Caitlin got her start volunteering in hospice at only 12 years old. After realizing the benefits of matching younger volunteers with older adults, Caitlin founded DreamCatchers Foundation in 2009 as a non-profit o...

Join thousands of people around the globe opening their hearts to allow pain and peace to sit side-by-side together without fear on National Anchor Your Heart Day, at 3:00 pm ET on Thursday, Feb. 2. Sponsored by Opus Peace, National Anchor Your Heart Day includes a free webinar on self-compassioning with a post-webinar discussion guide. The webinar includes a free CE for nurses and mental health p...

End-of-life educator Barbara Karnes is back to talk about death in the home, what it looks like, and how caregivers can manage a dying loved one at home.  The reality of a death at home is that it's a challenge for caregivers, and can put a heavy burden on the caregiver.  Before death became a medical event, it was a psychosocial event that was managed at home, and caregivers were supported by the...

Grief activist and founder of Reimagining Grief Lisa Keefauver is talking about her work to transform and expand our understanding of grief and change the lives of individuals, communities, and organizations along the way.  According to lisakeefauver.com , Lisa is “using my personal and professional experiences with grief and loss over the past 20 years to create a grief-smart culture.” She’s the...

Medical Aid in Dying is a controversial topic. Hospice Social Worker Lisa Pahl shares what it’s like to support someone who’s utilizing Medical Aid in Dying. Hospice team members are often present when a patient chooses Medical Aid in Dying, or MAID.  Lisa’s experience has shown her how intense and intimate it can be to companion a patient and family during a MAID event.  Often the conversations a...

Hospice social worker and grief counselor Jill Johnson-Young is sharing wisdom and her perspective on end of life care for the LGBTQ+ community.  Just like every other patient and caregiver, members of the LGBTQ+ community and their caregivers want to feel safe and be treated with respect during their end of life experience.  Although it’s difficult to do, end of life workers need to be aware of t...

Communication is crucial to creating the best end of life experience possible. We’re talking about what to say, how to say it, and when to say it.  Knowing how to communicate with their end of life workers helps patients and their caregivers to get better care. Patients and caregivers should feel comfortable talking about symptoms to their hospice team and asking questions. The professionals provi...

Welcome to The Heart of Hospice podcast! You might be having to think about hospice care for yourself or someone you love. It's a big decision. Navigating end of life care can be challenging. You'll need to be an advocate for yourself and the person you care about. You're not alone. We care about your end of life experience.

Love Your Life to Death founder Yvonne Heath is teaching us how to just show up for someone who’s grieving. Yvonne has been a Registered Nurse since 1988, working in emergency and ICU settings as well as hospice and palliative care.  According to her website LoveYourLifetoDeath , Yvonne  “witnessed our grief-phobic society and how our reluctance to talk about, plan and prepare for grief, death, an...

Certified Grief Coach Jenny Dilts is helping people to find the calm inside the grief storm.  Jenny finds incredible meaning in supporting people going through a loss.  Jenny defines grief as a loss, change, or absence of connection.  Whether it’s from a death, a relationship, or a life role, she guides clients to find both the sadness and joy inside the grief experience. Loss of identity, trauma,...

We're talking with Hospice Nurse Penny about how her TikTok videos  about end of life care have become a social media phenomenon.  After finding her way to hospice nursing, Penny Smith realized there was a big gap in accurate information about end of life care.  She decided to educate people in a unique way, utilizing social media.  With videos, reels, and dancing, Penny helps expand understanding...

Empathy co-founder and CEO Ron Gura created the company with one mission in mind: to help families deal with loss. It’s the friend we all need when we’re navigating the death of a loved one.  According to the Empathy website, Empathy was “designed to help bereaved families find balance during one of life's most challenging moments.”   Combining technology and human support, the Empathy app helps f...

Hospice social worker Nathan Yemane is meeting the needs of his community by opening the first black-owned hospice agency in Washington State and carrying on his father’s legacy of service. Nathan grew up in Washington, has his masters in Social Work, and in 2013 obtained his clinical license in social work. He has worked in healthcare since 2010, primarily in the hospice field. Nathan and his bus...

Caregiver Warrior founder Susanne White is sharing the many lessons she learned as a caregiver for her dad and mom.  According to the Caregiver Warrior website, Susanne offers “advice, helpful tips, and strategies based on the experience, strength, and hope I found while surviving my own caregiving journey. It has become my mission to share my stories and the things I learned about being an empowe...