Last year during the holidays, many of us bloggers participated in the first documented blog rally to promote Engage With Grace - a movement aimed at having all of us understand and communicate our end-of-life wishes.
It was a great success, with o
Requests for extracting sperm from terminally ill or recently deceased patients continue to increase due to the success and acceptance of techniques that assist reproduction such as in vitro fertilization. These requests are accompanied by several co
Read more…As we all know, end-of-life care in the U.S. is fragmented, uncoordinated, costly and unsustainable. But it doesn't have to be that way. My new book, "Last Comforts: Notes from the Forefront of Late Life Care" spotlights many innovations that can mak
Read more…I'm a retiree and very active as an amateur musician (piano/singing) in nursing homes/assisted living centers, Alzheimer's day care, etc. I connected with a "for-profit" hospice firm that will assign me to sing/play as much as I feel like doing, bu
Read more…Hi
New Volunteer Coordinator here. I was wondering if you all could give me some tips for recruitment.
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Debbie Ziegler holds a photo of her late daughter,
Brittany Maynard, after the California State Assembly
approved a right-to-die measure on Sept 9. Maynard
died on Nov. 1, 2014. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli/AP
Photo by Rich Pedroncelli/AP
NPR Reports
Read more…Hello and happy Friday to everyone :) I am looking for tips and advice on the orientation of new Hospice Volunteers. I am a new coordinator and only want to ensure that our volunteers are trained in all required areas. I did log onto NHPCO and found
Read more…Can someone give me some examples of what their hospice includes in their 5 percent? Women who make blankets and walker bags… do their hours count? What about volunteers who help with health fairs etc? Do you offer a different training for clerical
Read more…I'm looking for some ideas on how to increase our volunteer hours fast. We are well below the required 5% mark. We have approx. 10 volunteers in a broad, mostly rural area; and we are serving approx. 75 patients in this area. Most of our vounteers h
Read more…As a hospice volunteer, I provided patients with many wheelchair rides that were priceless occasions for learning. A patient named Nat had a wheelchair-riding contest with himself every time we returned to his room from outdoors. He briefly pushed hi
Read more…I find it frustrating as our pedi unit is only part hospice and our supervisor and manager don't seem to get it.... they expect me to carry on with my day- say seeing a child with wound care or an infant with jaundice after a child I've cared for for
Read more…Results of the “South Dakota’s Dying to Know” statewide survey about end-of-life concerns prove again that many of us don’t do what we say. Surveyors wanted to gain understanding of attitudes, advance planning, knowledge, and preferences residents ha
Read more…Touch is the core of caregiving and yet skllful touching is rarely a component to cna, nursing or volunteer training. Why do you think this is? I have had the opportunity of teaching Touch Awareness in Caregiving for over 20 years. I teach with seve
Read more…If so, does the Volunteer Coordinator do a joint visit each year for each volunteer? Does CHAP require this? Thanks! Marcia
Read more…Many of you may have viewed “The Bucket List,” a movie about two terminally ill cancer patients going about completing goals on their “bucket lists” (from expression "kicking the bucket") while they still have time. But what do real dying patients, m
Read more…Late Monday, Aug. 3, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule ( CMS-1629-F ) to update the Medicare hospice payment rates and wage index for fiscal
Read more…Caregiver Communication: communicating with one another is important when someone in your family is told they have cancer.
This guide is based on four main ideas:
To all Hospice volunteers:
You’re invited to a explore a new website, http://windowswithinproject.com created by myself (a Hospice volunteer) and designed to share volunteer experiences. It is my hope that by sharing these stories, we will learn to
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Quotes below from Salon
THURSDAY, SEP 15, 2011 08:01 AM PDT
HVA will be writing more in the coming months abo
Read more…by Rashani Rea & Kathy Douglas
Those who companion suffering daily, such as hospice nurses and volunteers, will surely appreciate this beautiful work. With 62 original art collages by Rashani Réa, five beautiful chapters by Kathy Douglas, and a foreword by Jean Watson, this exquisite book is a peaceful refuge for contemplation, inquiry, reflection and inspiration for those who traverse the joys and sorrows of nursing.
Kathy Douglas, RN, MPH-HA is a nationally recognized nurse leader, filmmaker and entrepreneur.
Rashani Réa is a prolific artist and musician, a creatrice of sanctuaries and a respected spiritual mentor.
“This is a beloved book and beyond a book. It is an evocative, poetic, ecstatic, and inspirited sacred, experiential calling. A calling to you--YES, YOU.”
— Jean Watson, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, FAAN, Living Legend (AAN)
“Those who companion suffering daily need to turn inward to metabolize what they have witnessed. This exquisite book, filled with beautiful images and poetic wise words, is the inspiration and support needed to grow a wise heart.”
— Frank Ostaseski, founder and director of the Metta Institute and author of The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully
“In this unique time of the COVID-19 pandemic, this book should be considered a tribute to the tremendous courage being displayed by nurses around the world. There is much wisdom conveyed throughout by those who have been there serving others with such grace.”
— Greg Schneider President, HVA, co-author of The Changing Face of Hospice Volunteering in Hospice and Palliative Care
