Just a Question

[sunshineclarity]

I work in a nursing home and we have a resident that was placed on hospice. She isn't eating very well and at dinner I sat next to her and helped her eat. Onice I sat and helped her, she ate almost all her food, but then a nurse came to me and yelled at me for "making" her eat. She said since she was on hospice, we don't help her or force her to eat. Is this true?!?

[nursedawn67, LPN]

Originally posted by mjlrn97

NO. Food is an enjoyable part of life for most people, even the dying, and you would have been negligent NOT to offer assistance with feeding. The other nurse apparently doesn't understand that hospice patients aren't dead yet---they should be offered food and drink just like everyone else. (And NO ONE is supposed to be "forced" to eat, regardless of their health status.)

I've seen people eat right up until a few hours before they passed on. You are to be commended for making this lady's meal as pleasant and nourishing as possible.

Here's a little story from my CNA training days: At the end of my first week on the floor, I was assigned to feed a 93-year-old hospice patient who was dying of renal failure. (He hadn't eaten much of anything for several days, but we were still offering meals.) I was also told to get him to eat at least half of his meat and vegetables before he was allowed to touch his chocolate cake.

It didn't take long to figure out that this gentleman wasn't going to eat his meat and vegetables, but he kept eyeing that cake as if it were the only thing on earth that looked good to him. This is where I'm glad I was old enough (35) to do some critical thinking, which went along the lines of "For God's sake, the man is 93 years old, he's dying, and I'M telling HIM he can't have his cake?!"

Well, that dear man ate every bite, and while I took a butt-chewing from the nurse for bringing out his tray full of food but minus the cake, it was worth it to see the bliss on his face and to hear his wife say "He hasn't enjoyed anything that much in a very long time".

He died that afternoon. And I like to think that he left this world happy, with the taste of chocolate cake still lingering on his lips like a memory. :)

It never fails to amaze me that someone that is 93 years old, ate like a pound of bacon a day and stayed up to all hours of the night is now forced to bed at a certain time and forced on a diet...why? Obviously they were doing something right to make it to 93? Good for those of you that helped someone enjoy a good meal, or let them stay up to watch a movie, or even "broke the rules" and gave them cake!