Those of us who work in hospice are passionate about what we do because we witness every day how our services improve the quality of life for both patients and families. That’s right; hospice services are designed to support the entire family unit – not just the client.
Joining a grief support group or seeking individual grief support is a powerful way to learn more about grief, how it affects you in your daily life, and process your grief to move forward in a more balanced way.
When you begin searching for grief support, you’ll have two available options. The first is to enlist the help of a clinical grief therapist. The other is to join a peer grief support group or one-on-one peer grief support help. This post clarifies the difference between the two, so you can determine which one feels like the best fit for you at this moment.
During one of our grief support groups the other day, a member shared that the first grief she ever experienced was when her family sold their green VW bus. She was five years old at the time, and when the family left the van at the car lot, she was beside herself with grief. She cried and cried, and her parents didn’t understand why.
From her perspective, it was the only car she knew, and she remembers feeling like they were abandoning a member of their household without giving it a proper goodbye. She’s wanted to buy a green VW ever since. While the group nodded and smiled as she shared, we were also grateful to have a chance to share some of “The Other Types of Grief” we have experienced in our own lives.
We can’t tell you how many times our nurses, social workers, or volunteers have heard the words, “We wish we would have called hospice sooner. It has made our lives so much better.” When you’re facing a terminal or end-of-life prognosis, you and your family deserve all the support you can get. The hospice model of care is incomparable when it comes to providing that network.
Many people mistakenly believe that signing up for hospice means that death is imminent, and they aren’t “willing to give up yet.” In fact, hospice provides comfort and support at every level – physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual – for patients and their families. Remarkable Fact: Contrary to popular belief, signing up for hospice actually improves life expectancy for many patients. Based on findings from a large cohort of retrospective studies, “Receiving at least one day of hospice care may increase life expectancy by up to three months.” But, of course, we hope that anyone facing a terminal illness would benefit from far more than a single day of our care. Whether you choose hospice care or palliative care options (more on those below), we sincerely hope you find the care you deserve as you and your family navigate this next powerful chapter in your journey.
We have yet to meet a hospice nurse, physician, social worker, staff, or volunteer that doesn’t feel our work is “a calling.” The fragile, respectful, and complicated realms of dying, death, and grief require unique skill sets and gifts. Those who want to work in this field have a special relationship with life and death, seeing them as part of the same and connected whole.
This is all to say that while there is a logistical and linear path to becoming a hospice nurse, odds are your journey is one of the heart and soul.
Enjoy a delicious prime rib and shrimp dinner catered by Mudcat Charlie’s, live entertainment from local talent and most of all the palpable fellowship buzzing through the Shrine Club.
Bringing hospice care into the home improves the quality of life for patients and their families. Once you’ve started home hospice care, you have access to an incredible network of support that goes far beyond the realms of clinical and comfort care.
If you’re new to the idea of hospice, read our post What is Hospice Care for a general overview of the services we provide.
As hospice care providers we often see or hear the terms palliative care and hospice care used interchangeably even though they are not exactly the same thing.
While these two services do share things in common, there are distinct differences. Knowing and understanding what each healthcare service offers helps you to make the most informed healthcare decisions for yourself or a loved one.
Hospice care is available to qualifying patients virtually anywhere, including certain hospitals, acute care centers, and nursing homes, assisted living facilities, designated hospice houses, and in the comfort of the patient’s own home.