Recently Published!!
by Maryclaire Torinus
Surviving Hospice: A Chaplain's Journey into the Big Business of Dying Plus: How To Find a Trustworthy Hospice
This narrative is an insider’s look into the hijacking of hospice by private equity and professional investors and the subsequent harm to patients, their families, and to the interdisciplinary clinical teams. It was released by a NYC publisher on October 31, 2023. For sale on Amazon.
The author, a hospice chaplain, tells end-of-life stories of her patients who were harmed by financially-motivated policies. This is a book for anyone who is embarking on making a choice about a hospice for their loved one, working chaplains, those in training, and those interested in what dying is like with a hospice who places patients as their primary stakeholders.
Maryclaire's experience working for an owner who sold to a private equity firm helped her to realize that the reputation and viability of hospice is in jeopardy. Her goal is to alert all who love hospice to rid it of professional investors.
— Stacy Juba, author, editor, and award-winning health journalist
"Powerful, beautifully written, and eye-opening, this book spotlights the inner workings of a multi-billion-dollar industry and the effect on patients, families, and hospice staff. The author shares poignant accounts of hospice at its best and worst and the hard-hitting truths she learned on her journey. A must-read for family members exploring hospice care."
— Laura Kukowski, CEO, editor, For-Profit Badger Hospice, LLC
"Maryclaire Torinus speaks with authority, providing this essential handbook for choosing a hospice care team and why that selection really matters."
— Greg Schneider President, HVA, co-author of The Changing Face of Hospice Volunteering in Hospice and Palliative Care
"When I first found out that Maryclaire Torinus was writing this book, I immediately contacted her because in my 25+ years supporting hospice volunteers, I have seen a gradual decline in the quality of care volunteers are permitted to provide the dying and their families. There are a variety of reasons for this that I describe in the Foreward of this book. Maryclaire provides invaluable insights that everyone should know, along with solutions to help others make the right choice in choosing a hospice."
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Comments
Here is a good article that will give you some ideas:
Volunteers agree to be there when time comes
The article covers a lot of ground that you already know, I'm sure, but it does highlight the additional training focus for preparing volunteers for the vigiling role.Greg
I find that being a hospice volunteer presents many interesting situations. You may find this one a bit odd but for me I realized that my nearly 5 years of volunteer experience had created a very sensitive awareness to death...even for creatures that crawl this planet. This experience also demonstrated the significance of music and synchronistic events that can make serving the dying most interesting.
From My Journal 2/23/01 6:16 am Insect Dying
Got to work at 4:30AM and decided to play the Graceful Passages CD with the verbal messages about life and death by some of the world's great spiritual teachers. I should point out that the CD was produced as a "companion for living & dying". It is mostly for the latter but the former who are survivors may benefit as well.
An interesting event occurred as I was listening most attentively during the deep silence in the office at this early hour. First of all, the words spoken are so inspiring and that made it difficult to concentrate on anything but the CD (instead of the work I was supposed to be doing). I especially enjoyed the track by Jyoti, Walk On, presenting the Native American perspective of approaching death while looking back at life.
Another passage by Tu Weiming, a Confucian wisdomkeeper, is titled Returning Home. As I was listening to this passage, specifically the line: "And all things are our companions." At that moment I noticed an insect on my desk. Not sure where it came from. It wasn't there when I first arrived and began working at my desk. This small insect was not very active as I first noticed it.
I had a sense that it was dying.
It seemed so appropriate that as I was being so inspired by this CD that I was also being inspired by one of my earthly companions -- this insect that was dying.
I took out the magnifying eyepiece from my desk drawer and examined the creature closer. It was clearly not doing well, its tentacles were moving slowly and its legs had only slight motion.
I carefully placed it aside on a napkin as I continued to try and work. A few minutes later I felt compelled to hold this little creature in my hand that it might experience love from a human companion before it died. I placed it in my left hand and kept it there for 10 minutes or so as I listened further to other graceful passages on this remarkable CD.
I soon realized that this was no coincidence, I was given an opportunity to recognize that perhaps even these tiny creatures occasionally might enjoy the care, tenderness, and loving kindness that I had given forth to many others as a hospice volunteer.
I kept vigil for the next several hours, periodically checking its progress until it died.
This was one of those mysterious moments that life presents to a hospice volunteer.