Simple yet powerful, URGENT WHISPERS: Care of the Dying by Jerral Sapienza is an essential guide to getting focused in caregiving. Designed for novice and experienced caregivers alike, it empowers one to feel supported, informed and immediately useful in the process of helping out at the end of...
Family members and caregivers play an important role by supporting a loved one through the dying process: If the patient can still eat or drink, offer small sips of water/liquids, ice chips, hard candy or very small amounts of food via spoon. Take cues from the patient whe...
Personal attention. When the hospice team works with a patient or family, they become participants in the end-of-life process, a very personal experience. The hospice mission is to care for each person individually. We listen to patients and loved ones. We advocate for them. We work to imp...
He asked his wife to leave the room. As she closed the door he leaned over and grabbed my arm. "I want to die", he said. "Please can you give me something." He felt a burden on his wife and wanted euthanasia for himself. People are often more afraid of the process of dying ...
In most cases, life-sustaining medical treatment is any medical intervention, medication, or anything mechanical or artificial that sustains, restores, that would prolong the dying process for a terminally ill person. This is one of the many reasons that advanced directives are so important – if...
The multicomponent intervention included training hospital staff to identify actively dying patients, communicate the prognosis to patients and families, and implement best practices of traditionally home-based hospice care in the inpatient setting. The intervention was supported by an electronic order set—...
A non-profit hospice with full-time employees (with benefits), who have a good relationship with their administration and agree on the common goal: to help patients through their dying process with the best resources available. A hospice that focuses on the well-being of their staff, often tr...
from the Latin term “hospitum,” which encapsulates hospitality and offers a place of rest and safety for the sick and weary. This notion traces back to 1065 when facilities were established to provide solace and care to the sick and dying as they embarked on their journey to the Holy ...
11 Medical aid in dying (MAID) is a term becoming more widely used to describe this process in the U.S.12 Deaths in locations where MAID is authorized in the U.S. are not considered suicide if supported by documents regulated by the laws.11 But not all patients who choose to hasten ...
The family’s needs go beyond that, and pediatric hospice continues to support their desire for peace, dignity and closure during the dying process and after death. The VITAS Approach to Pediatric Hospice Care VITAS Healthcare has the resources and experience to provide a range of integrative ...