Winged Messenger

Today august 24^th marks the 12th anniversary of the passing of my dear friend and teacher the late pioneering thanatolgist. Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Every year on this day I post this precious story.

We met in 1979 in Escondido California when I attended my first Life Death Transition workshop. Several workshops later Elisabeth wrote a reference letter in my behalf and told me to take it to hospice. So began my work with the dying and a 25 year friendship with a dear colleague.

Elisabeth was a person of passionate spirit and I learned from her to open my heart to the spiritual nature of life.

Sunday August 24,2004 I came out of my shower and went into my bedroom and laid on top of the bed to relax and look out to the tops of the trees that give me so much grounded ness in my 3^rd floor attic apartment.

As I gazed towards the trees I saw a pair of wings rising from the stairs below my deck. I raised my head in curious awe when an eagle appeared and perched on my deck looking into my room." Oh my God! "I exclaimed." what is this?" It was a small Golden Eagle. It did not fly over. It came up to intentionally perch on the railing of my 3^rd story deck.

I sat in utter amazement and wondered what it meant. After about two minutes it flew away. I immediately got my animal spirits book and looked up eagle, hawk. It said, A Native American omen of healing, rebirth, and a sign that I should be alert to what is coming ahead. The eagle is the messenger to God who takes our prayers to Heaven. I knew I was being given a very important message but I wasn't clear what it was. I emailed a good friend in Arizona and related the event.

Tuesday morning I received an email telling me of the death of my dear friend Elisabeth' Kubler Ross, I took a shower and went into my room to lay on top of the bed and look out to the trees. As I looked out I came to clarity:

Elisabeth's totem animal was the Golden Eagle. I wept in deepest gratitude for this gift and for the wisdom to recognize it.

At Elisabeth’s memorial service a Native American woman performed one of many rituals. As she spoke of the Golden Eagle being at the top of Elisabeth’s totem she asked us all to look up and imagine Elisabeth as a Golden Eagle. I smiled.

Many Blessings Irene Smith

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."

Buy Now
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The Changing Face of Volunteering in Hospice and Palliative Care
Contributing Author - Greg Schneider
HCF Creator & HVA President

Volunteers have a long history of supporting the development and delivery of hospice and palliative care in most countries throughout the world. As hospice and palliative care services anticipate significant increasing and changing demands, it is recognized that volunteers have a vital role to play in supporting the future delivery of services. However, as society changes so too does volunteering.

This multi-author text explores the complex phenomenon of hospice and palliative care volunteering from an international perspective and considers the influence on volunteering of different cultures and constructs. The book also explores the likely impact of changes in hospice and palliative care on volunteers and considers how and why volunteering itself is changing and the subsequent implications for managers, organizations, and policy makers.

This book does not attempt to offer solutions to the many challenges ahead, but rather poses questions that may help to reflect on new possibilities and opportunities.

Review

"The book is well laid out and written in an easy to use manner. It begins with setting the scene of volunteering and the modern context of hospice and palliative care. The book is well referenced and covers a range of topics making for a balanced and thought provoking read." -- Nursing Times

"If you run a palliative care volunteer service, or a palliative care service with a volunteer program, you need to read this book. Not only will it give you an in-depth view of where things are at, but also how things are changing in countries from around the world." -- Roger Woodruff, IAHPC Newsletter

Editors

Ros Scott, Honorary Research Fellow, University of Dundee, UK and Co-chair, EAPC Task Force on Volunteering in Hospice and Palliative Care. She is a researcher and voluntary sector consultant with a background in organisational development, research and the development of volunteering and of palliative care organisations.

Steven Howlett, Deputy Director at Roehampton Business School, London, UK where he teaches undergraduate and post graduate courses in management and ethics. Previously he was Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Volunteering research where he completed many studies on volunteering.

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