You need to be a member of Hospice Community Forum to add comments!
This reply was deleted.
CAREGIVERS STORE
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."
Replies
At these meetings, the focus, at a minimum, is on the patient's physical condition, with comments from social workers and chaplains about the patients and their caregivers/families/friends. Sometimes the focus of the patient discussion is on the psychosocial aspects of their care; obviously, it depends on the situation. Problem solving involves the entire team.
In between these meetings, we remain in touch via conversations in the office and phone calls. Some team members are more prone to sharing information than others. The longer we work together as a team, the better we are able to function together on behalf of our patients, because we build a trust level among us that facilitates our work.
Sometimes I find myself serving as an advocate for caregivers in team meetings. It is easy for team members to view family/caregiver needs as impediments to caring for the patient. I do my best to reach out to and understand the needs and concerns--often emotional--of the family, as, in truth, they are really inseparable. Having all disciplines looking at the case together is so helpful in getting the truly "big" picture. Remember the poem about the blind men and the elephant, where each man, touching a different part of the elephant, identified it as different object? Much the same thing can take place at times for us. That's why this formal meeting time is so helpful. Hope this helps a little.