rmw44

Just a reminder about the call tomorrow. I will be interviewing Michael Holmes (author of "Crossing the Creek") tomorrow at 11 a.m. EST. To call in and ask questions or to comment call 1-724-444-7444 and when prompted by the operator for the call ID enter 44351#. If you miss the call, go to www.talkshoe.com/tc/44351 for replay and download info. There is no cost involved in the call....unless you want to go ahead and buy one of Michael's books after you hear him speak. Feel free to pm me with any questions you may have prior to the call. Robin

Maybe the problem is with identifying the service. (AIDS Nurse, Cardiac Nurse, etc.). However there is freedom of "speech". Can you change your sticker to something like "I LUV HOSPICE" Nah, people would just think we didn't know how to spell.

department of veterans' affairs press release from larry scott at va watchdog dot org -- 01-08-2008 #1 i read this press release with interest and a little disgust. i sent an e-mail to the author and thought i would share it here. was i out of line? maybe the va is doing a great job of collaborating with the community hospices. i would love to hear from other agencies about their va relationships. ---------------------------------------------------------- dear sir: regarding the january 8th article "consultations for veterans nationwide" "to date, va has partnered with community hospice programs in 35 states to promote hospice services that are not provided directly by va staff" i considerate this statement to be conclusive of evidence of the lack of understanding and awareness of all the benefits that are available from hospice in the community. partnering with 35 states means 15 states are without this collaboration. i and other hospices would love to work with the va to make sure every veteran has an advanced directive, that benefits of hospice are explained as specialty care for the patient and their family/caregiver, and that bereavement care is utilized to develop support tools and coping mechanisms to those left behind. 30% of the country not exercising the right to a great collaboration between local hospices and the va is disheartening. robin watts

Thank you for your motivation and willingness to be a part of this call. The scheduled episode is located and described here: Hospice Innovators - Guest Michael Holmes, RN and Author Time: 02/06/2008 11:00 AM EST Episode Notes: Interview with Michael Holmes, RN and author of "Crossing the Creek"

i thoroughly enjoyed today's call and just wish more of you could have participated. you will get your chance. on february 6th (the first wednesday of february) at 11 a.m. the call will focus on a very special person and the impact of his words on hospice patients and families. mr. michael holmes, rn, author of "crossing the creek", "key elements of transitions", and "dying to know" and a regular participant of this forum will be our special guest. get your questions ready! please take a few minutes to listen to the call from today. you may not always have time to listen, but you can download the call or listen from your computer anytime. this 15 minute call became an hour long conversation that revived my motivation for this way of life i call hospice care. thanks guys for a wonderful first call (you know who you are). robin

Tomorrow's conference call: At 11 a.m. EST call 724-444-7444 at the prompt dial ID 44351 I recorded the instructions here.

The conference call has been scheduled. You must register for the call and be on the call preferably within 5 minutes of the start time. If you can't participate in the call, the recorded session is available as a free download for anyone who registers. I am excited to begin 2008 with this positive note. Topics will be chosen for future calls on this first episode. Relevant discussions that seem to be popular on this site include the "Profit vs. Non-Profit" dilemna and questions from nurses wondering if hospice is the right career choice. I look forward to your attendance and participation. We can make a real difference in how hospice is presented and understood by the communities we serve if we blend some great thinking into a few minutes discussion.

I am looking for at least 10 people who are currently involved in working with hospice - nurses, chaplains, social workers, bereavement counselors, marketers, administration, and/or volunteers - to participate in a conference call. The discussion will be issues that will help us best get questions answered and concerns addressed for our communities about hospice. There are no strings attached, no money involved, only about 10 minutes of your time on the telephone. If you are interested, please e-mail me and we can discuss the best time and date for you to participate. My hope is to post on this forum the positive outcomes of the call.:balloons: Thanks

From a family member's perspective, when my mother-in-law passed away, seeing hospice staff attend the funeral was like an "honorable mention" for the moment. We all felt totally blessed that the nurses would take time out of their day for the funeral of someone they barely got to know. That's the great part about hospice. The staff know how to recognize if their presence is really wanted or not and every family is not treated the same.

I love that idea of a "heart shaped pillow made of white satin with a posy of red roses" - beautiful! where do you get the pillows? Robin -------------------------------------------- Join the discussion: Spirituality of Dying Well

Our agency always has a representative at the service. For the bereavement coordinator, it is the beginning of a relationship for the next year and that bond begins with knowing how the person was remembered. Robin Watts

I hope this will help you. If you can find a few minutes here and there, go to: http://spiritualityofdyingwell.blogspot.com/ and listen to the weekly discussion group about the book, "Dying Well - Peace and Possibilities at the End of Life". It doesn't cost anything to listen and this is a great book to learn the good stuff about hospice. My best advice (today) is to turn off your cell phone if possible in the patient's home. A friend told me today that her daughter, a social worker, was attending a pt's death and as the body was being carried out of the home, her cell phone rang. Unfortunately the tune that played was, "Gone, Gone, Gone Like A Freight Train". It turns out that even the grieving family could not help but laugh. Good luck in your new life.

The best thing about hospice is having someone say, "I don't know how you can do that kind of work" and realizing that you don't know how you could do anything else. Wise advice I received in the beginning of my hospice life was to always meet families where they are. Sounds simple but you begin to understand being non-judgmental in ways that you never thought about before. It is quite a challenge to develop into someone who can listen and identify needs without judgment using your own value system. Each person has their own set of values and you are assisting them on their journey and not leading them on yours. I guess people wonder what world I am living in by making philosophical rants about end of life care. I love what I do and the great lesson is that I learn more about me after every visit with a family. Dr. Byock's site DyingWell.org is a great resource. I use one of his books "Dying Well - Peace and Possibilites at the End of Life" as a weekly discussion group talk cast called "The Spirituality of Dying Well". If you ever want to listen to it, let me know and I will send you the link.

Every hospice has a different need from their LPN's and I don't think your questions will be answered here. I know it's late, but just ask lots of questions on your interview and be prepared to request more information before you leave (i.e., Do you have any reading material that I can take with me? ) I wish I had read your post earlier, but since I didn't I can't recommend all the great resource sites online. Good luck anyway.

I did not see any mention of Ira Byock's books in this post but may have missed it. His "Dying Well" book was as impactful to me as "Final Gifts". There is an audio discussion and download of the "Dying Well" book that is a great resource for learning on the road. I burn the sessions to CD and listen between visits. Dr. Byock is strong in the political advancement of hospice services but his DW book gave a perspective from a son, a doctor, and a friend. He has written quite a few resources articles that I use consistently in marketing hospice services.