Just had an interesting conversation with Diane Bergeron, Executive Director of VNA Hospice Care (affiliate of VNAB), about the care provided by hospice nurses. I mentioned that, in my own experience, not everyone has a good sense of what hospice care is all about until they go through it themselves with a loved one. Diane mentioned that our culture doesn't always handle the dying process of family members all that well and that, for some, the loss of control, the unpredictability, the isolation... can all be profoundly overwhelming. Diane described her vision of hospice care changing in the future much as the birthing process has evolved over the past half century. Diane said: "When you and I were born, mom was knocked out and they called dad, who was at work, when it was over. But the baby boom generation changed all that and I expect that our approach to dying will as well."
Hospice is the most amazing service and no one knows about it. I was told by a friend whose Mom had been in hospice. We used hospice care for my Dad-- they were wonderful-- and now I tell everyone not to wait until the last week of life to enter hospice. I found they helped our family as much as they helped my Dad. I do hope that the future of hospice care will be different.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Hospice care is a great service. This may be offered by the hospice care program depending on what kind of treatment the patient is receiving.
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