Shows
The Heart of Hospice PodcastLearn About the Important Work of the Conscious Dying MovementRamDev Dale Borglum is a pioneering figure in the conscious dying movement, known for his contributions to end-of-life care and spiritual support. In his 40 years of work with the dying, he thinks the U.S. has made progress in our attitude towards death, but there’s still room for improvement. Dale defines conscious dying as the practice of living consciously as we die. Meditation and gratitude practices support conscious dying. Working with the dying has allowed RamDev to be present with families and those with serious illness, helping them to create wholeness and reduce their fear of death.
Con...
2025-12-2637 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastBack to Basics: What You Need to Know About Disease Specific DirectivesWe’re deep diving into advance care planning with hospice Social Worker Rosie Gaston, talking about diagnosis specific advance directives. With diseases like Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia on the rise, the need to plan for end of life situations for neurodegenerative diagnoses is increasing. It’s hard to predict every scenario, but considering basic care needs and wants is important. Some of the things that should be considered include where the person wants to live out their life, what treatments they want/don’t want, who’ll be the primary caregiver, and how care will be paid for. A d...
2025-12-1935 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to Cope With Grief That No One UnderstandsThere isn’t a greeting card for every type of grief. Dr. Ken Doka joins the podcast in this episode to talk about anticipatory and disenfranchised grief. Before death even occurs, people are grieving - anticipating the loss of identity, functional ability, roles, and relationships as well as the actual loss that comes with death itself. This kind of grief is felt by both the person who’s dying and the caregivers and family. Disenfranchised grief occurs when the relationship with the deceased person wasn’t one that’s recognized by society, and can't be publically mourned. Ex-spouses, abusive and estranged...
2025-12-1240 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastBack to Basics: What You Need to Know About Advance Care PlanningSocial Worker Rosie Gaston talks about getting back to the basics of what matters most to start an advance care plan. Reflecting on values and beliefs is a great starting place. The next step is having conversations with people who matter most to us (along with healthcare providers) to communicate the kind of care we want when our bodies begin to shut down, and what embodies quality of life. When should we make an advance care plan? Rosie recommends anyone over 18 make an ACP and revisit it whenever there’s a life change. End of life wishes change and ACP sho...
2025-12-0537 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastUp Close and Personal With Hospice Nurse JulieHospice Nurse Julie McFadden is using TikTok to teach over 1 million followers what death really looks like. As a nurse with 15 years of experience in end of life care, she’s seen all the ups and downs of community-based bedside hospice care. Julie also spent years working in ICU, and learned the intense needs of the dying. Her book Nothing to Fear: Demystifying Death to Live More Fully prepares readers for death and dying, with stories interwoven throughout. Her newest book is The Nothing to Fear Journal: Questions and Reflections for Demystifying and Preparing for the End of Life. The jou...
2025-11-2851 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastThe Powerful Work of a Palliative Care ChaplainPalliative Care Chaplain Cody Hufstedler shares the end of life experiences of his patients and their families using compassion, healthy boundaries, and a little bit of humor. After 12 years of working as a chaplain, he’s seen the best and worst of death and dying. Cody believes his job is to help people work through changes when bad news happens, and help them pivot back to the values they hold most dear. He’s stepping into the place where panic happens and works to be the calm inside the chaos.
As host of The Dying to Tell You Podca...
2025-11-1451 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastThis is About Caregiving From a Millennial's PerspectiveJessica Guthrie is more than a millennial caregiver - she’s an advocate using her voice to change how we approach the care of loved ones. When her mom Constance was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease at 66 and Jessica was 26, Jessica began coordinating her care from a distance. The trajectory of the disease soon required a move to be closer to Constance. Jessica describes it as “a shock to the system” as she began trying to figure out how to manage her mom’s care. None of her friends were talking about caregiving or Alzheimer’s disease. In the ten years...
2025-11-0647 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastThe Dementia Deck is a Helpful EOL Conversation StarterWhen dementia is the diagnosis, end of life discussions can be intense and heartbreaking. Hospice social workers Lisa Pahl and Jessica Empeno shed light on how to make things easier. Whether the dementia diagnosis is the primary (or terminal) diagnosis, or it is happening alongside another serious illness, the topics to be considered are complex. Everything from incontinence management to feeding tubes to ventilator support needs to be addressed. Talks about advance care planning should happen early and often, and include healthcare teams, family members, and anyone who might be involved in the caregiving group.
The Dementia Deck i...
2025-10-3143 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastCaring House Provides Dignified Care at End of LifeThe team at Caring House is supporting the dying with compassion and respect, and a willingness to say yes to every end of life wish. Caring House is more than a non-profit organization; it’s a home focused on helping residents and families through the end-of-life experience. It’s the only one of its kind in Los Angeles County. Executive Director David Zartman and Resident Care Manager Joanna Franco lead the Caring House team to empower the dying and their caregivers. Admission to Caring House is open to all regardless of who they are, and support is provided 24/7. The Caring...
2025-10-2451 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastBringing Hope to Underserved Populations Who Need it MostElizabeth Johnson is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Peaceful Presence Project, a community-based organization in Oregon dedicated to fostering compassionate end-of-life care. Her commitment to supporting end of life planning for the unhoused population is deep, leading her to companion homeless individuals to help them complete their advance directives. The Peaceful Presence Project offers numerous resources, including end of life doula training and a free downloadable resource called End Notes that guides the user in gathering the documents their loved ones will need, and the wishes they want honored, into one place. The End Notes workbook comes in...
2025-10-1748 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastSuzanne O'Brien Reflects On 20 Years Serving The DyingSuzanne O’Brien has spent the last 20 years serving the dying, and supporting the ones who serve at the bedside. As a hospice nurse and founder of Doula Givers, she finds purpose and meaning in working with patients at end of life. After working most of her nursing career in oncology and hospice, Suzanne saw the gaps in care for people with advanced diseases. This led to the creation of the award-winning program DoulaGivers: End of Life End of Life Doula Training, Eldercare Doula Training, and Doulagiver Care Consultant Training. Today, Suzanne has combined her years of training, education, and exp...
2025-10-1051 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastLearn Some Surprising Insider Secrets at a Hospice Nurse RoundtableWe’re excited to feature a roundtable discussion with a group of amazing hospice nurses discussing what makes a “good death” and the rituals they’ve created for themselves and caregivers. Jean Ann Menna, Carrie Oram, and Shelley Henry have many years of end of life nursing experience. Along with Helen, they share the many facets of helping patients create good deaths for themselves. This conversation is a great inside look into how hospice nurses care for families when death occurs.
Find Jean Anne Menna and her book “Go with Grace: A Simple Guide to Caring for...
2025-10-031h 10
The Heart of Hospice PodcastBedside Wisdom: Powerful Lessons From a Hospice DoctorHospice doctor Dr. Alen Voskanian is sharing the lessons he’s learned at the bedside of the dying, including why managing compassion fatigue is so vital. Working with AIDs patients led him to hospice work and to obtaining his board certification in hospice and palliative care medicine. Through his practice, Alen tries to humanize his patients and tries to connect with them. He works to find the best balance of doing his job and seeing the patients as human beings. Debriefing with the hospice team and finding an outlet for his secondary grief has helped Alen create personal wellbeing and s...
2025-09-2648 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastEmpowering the Dying for a Better EndingElizabeth Uslander is empowering the dying every day to create a better ending. As co-founder and CEO of Empowered Endings, Elizabeth is passionate about helping people with serious illness to find the death that aligns with their values and wishes. Her social worker background equips her with problem solving skills she can use to be an advocate for patients and their caregivers. Elizabeth’s theological training lets her support the religious, faith, and spiritual beliefs of her patients.
Elizabeth is not only an advocate for people who are at the end of life; she’s also a proponent...
2025-09-1958 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastLearn About the Important Work of The Peaceful Presence ProjectHospice nurse and End of Life Doula Erin Collins puts her heart and mind into helping people make peace with the end of life through compassionate, reflective conversations. As co-founder of The Peaceful Presence Project, Erin has seen the comfort and calm that advance care planning brings to not only those who are dying, but also to their family caregivers and the end of life workers who are serving them.
Facilitating end of life conversations is one of Erin’s gifts. The Peaceful Presence Project offers a printed workbook called End Notes that helps people express their end...
2025-09-1251 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastInternational End of Life Doula Association is Making Dying BetterThe International End of Life Doula Association believes everyone deserves compassionate, respectful care at the end of life. Executive Director Doug Simpson is working with the INELDA team to make that happen. Doug’s journey to EOL doula work began with the death of his own father, followed by the birth of his son. Drawn to end of life work, Doug trained as a doula in 2018 and became an INELDA volunteer in 2019. He moved into the Executive Director position in 2022, and has never lost sight of the personal experiences that have guided his work. Reflecting back, Doug realizes the simila...
2025-09-0551 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow a Pediatric Palliative Care Physician Found Spiritual HealingTrigger Warning: The content of this episode includes narratives about seriously ill children. If you need to sit this one out, catch up with us on another episode and please take time to care for yourself.
In his memoir titled “Because I Knew You: How Some Remarkable Sick Kids Healed a Doctor’s Soul”, Dr. Robert Macauley tells the story of the patients who have impacted his life, and how he’s changed for good. As a pediatric palliative care physician, Bob walks alongside kids and their parents through serious illnesses. Those experiences have shaped who he is, w...
2025-08-2956 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastBefore the Casket Provides Helpful Education for End of LifeWith honest information and gentle humor, the founders of Before the Casket are teaching us how to plan for more than just funeral arrangements. Hospice nurses Erin Putney and Amy Hensley have designed workshops that educate attendees about hard end of life decisions, empowering them and their decision-makers and making the whole experience easier. Before the Casket also provides education for healthcare professionals, offering content on end of life interventions and compassionate conversations. Nurses can even get CEUs for license renewal.
Amy and Erin provide education that includes demos of medical devices and relaxed interaction. It’s a grea...
2025-08-081h 01
The Heart of Hospice PodcastAn Authentic Conversation With End Well Founder Dr. Shoshana UngerleiderIn this open and vulnerable interview, Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider talks about her caregiving experiences during her dad’s illness and death. Shoshana discovered early on that she wasn’t prepared for the complicated decision making that comes with serious illness caregiving, despite her medical training. Reflecting back at the experience, she talks openly about what she would have done differently. Difficult conversations about treatment, challenges with appetite and weight loss, and the genetic implications for Shoshana and her sister were all issues surrounding her father’s illness.
You can connect with End Well at endwellproject.org Listen to the Befor...
2025-08-0144 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastEnd of Life Options: The Powerful Story of Brittany MaynardEnd of life option advocate Dan Diaz is sharing the story of his wife Brittany Maynard and her pursuit of a gentle death. Diagnosed at age 29 with a terminal brain tumor, Brittany chose to move 600 miles to a state that allowed for death with dignity, utilizing Medical Aid in Dying. In this powerful interview, Dan describes the impact of her life and death on compassionate death choices and legislation.
Since Brittany’s death in 2014, Medical Aid in Dying laws have expanded to eleven states in the U.S. Dan continues to tell their story, advocating for expansion of deat...
2025-07-2559 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastBack to Hospice Basics: What You Need to Know About 24/7 Hospice ServicesOn-call, after hours, 24/7 services - no matter what you call it, hospice care is available to patients and caregivers every hour of every day. Regardless of the day of the week, whether it’s a holiday, or the office is closed, a member of the hospice team is accessible all the time. Some hospice agencies have answering services or triage teams, but the final result of a call is connection with a nurse. If another discipline is needed, that’s going to be coordinated by the agency. No question or concern is dumb. Hospice agencies offer this service to make sure...
2025-06-0627 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastEngaging the Remarkable Energy of Aromatherapy at End of LifeBlending aromatherapy and sound bathing into the care of dying patients comes naturally to end of life doula and hospice nurse Carrie Oram. Carrie has witnessed deep, relaxing responses from clients as they experience the vibrations of Tibetan sound bowls. Regardless of diagnosis or disease progression, people who are at the end of their lives become more relaxed during treatments with aromatherapy. The benefits are many - calm, an elevated sense of happiness and wellbeing, comfort, connection with pleasant memories and sensations, even appetite stimulation.
Carrie integrates her doula work into her work as a hospice nurse, being...
2025-05-3041 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastThis is What Funeral Planning Should Look LikeFuneral director Andre Roupp of Roupp Funeral Home believes each person and every family has a story, and he’s sharing all the ways funeral planning makes services personal and meaningful. When advance care planning doesn’t include funeral planning, there can be fallout that makes the family’s grief journey more difficult. Here are some highlights from Andre’s interview:
Pre-planning a funeral can ease the immediate overwhelm of tasks that happen right after a death occurs.Including funeral plans in an advance care plan eases the emotional, financial, and decision-making burden for the surviving family.Military ceremonies...
2025-05-1647 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to Thrive as a Sandwich Caregiver in 2025Christy Byrne Yates of Alz Authors has experienced all the unique challenges of sandwich caregiving. Caring for both of her parents with neurodegenerative diseases (dementia and Alzheimer’s disease) while she raised young kids taught her lessons she now shares with other caregivers. In this open and honest conversation, Christy shares the good times and the struggles of her caregiving experience. Christy is a Licensed Educational Psychologist, author, speaker, and coach. In Building a Legacy of Love: Thriving in the Sandwich Generation, she shares her journey as a working mom caring for parents with dementia. A retired school...
2025-05-0248 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastBack to Hospice Basics: What You Need to Know About the Hospice TeamWe’re getting back to the basics of hospice care with Hospice Social Worker Lisa Pahl to talk about who’s on the hospice team and what each person brings to the care of patients and caregivers. This episode focuses on the core members of the hospice interdisciplinary team (doctor, nurse, social worker, and chaplain) as well as hospice aides (Certified Nurse Assistants) and hospice volunteers. Each person on a hospice team brings very specific and essential skills to the care of patients, and the support of their families and caregivers. The best care of a hospice patient includes everyon...
2025-04-2546 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastToday Is The Best Day To Make Your End Of Life Plan - NHDD 2025It’s National Healthcare Decisions Day 2025! This episode features clips from some of our favorite guests, highlighting wisdom and thoughts about advance care planning for the end of life. You’ll hear some of the brightest and best voices working in the end of life care industry talk about managing hard conversations about dying and death, funeral planning, and choosing a proxy or medical power of attorney who will speak for you. We hope it makes you laugh, cry, think, and make decisions about your own advance care plan! This episode features guests and resources from the followi...
2025-04-1657 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow To Manage Seagulls in End of Life CaregivingPatty Webster of The Conversation Project is talking with me about the swoopers and seagulls that are sometimes part of the caregiving experience. As part of her caregiving journey with her dad and siblings, Patty realized that she had been a “swooper”, offering her opinions about her dad’s care during an intermittent visit. Here’s what Patty says she learned:
Supporting the primary caregiver is an important part of caregiving from a distance.“Swoopers” and “seagulls” tend to offer input into the actions of the primary caregiver creating a mess in the care of their Person. Patty and her siblings had...
2025-04-0444 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to be a Better Advocate for Yourself and Your Loved OneIn this fourth and final episode of our special series in partnership with Stanford Healthcare, our guest Susan Evans shares the ins and outs of caregiving, and talks about her work to support other caregivers dealing with the challenges of Alzheimer’s Disease. As a caregiver, Susan worked to ensure her dad was safe and well cared for. She and her brother incorporated humor into their caregiving journey, and now she works to ensure other caregivers have the resources they need.
Here are a few highlights from our conversation:
Susan knows the power of story sharing, and ho...
2025-03-2848 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastWhat You Need To Know About Palliative Care For Parkinson's DiseaseDr. Jocelyn Jiao and Social Worker Mike Polisso of the Stanford Healthcare Palliative Team know the value of getting to know patients and families from the start of the care relationship.
As part of an interdisciplinary team providing neuropalliative care for people and families living with serious neurological illnesses, they’re supporting patients and caregivers and training other healthcare workers in palliative care.
Here are some topics discussed in this interview:
Jocelyn discussed the importance of finding out communication preferences when it comes to early conversations about advance care planning and disease progression. Mike highl...
2025-03-2157 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastStanford Healthcare Presents a Caregiver's Honest and Powerful StoryWith courage and vulnerability, Sheralin Samuels shares her experience as a caregiver for her mom, and their journey through Early Onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Here are a few highlights from this episode, created in partnership with Stanford Health Care:
Sheralin’s mom Carlys began showing symptoms in 2012, and a definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease wasn’t found until about 10 years later. Carlys spent a year in hospice care before she was discharged.As a sandwich caregiver, Sheralin cares for her two kids while working a full time job and ensuring her mom’s needs are being met. B...
2025-03-1450 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastThe Truths You Need to Know About Palliative Care from the Stanford Healthcare TeamThis episode is the first in a 4-part special series in partnership with Stanford Healthcare, sponsorsored by Kensington Senior Living.
Grant Smith, M.D. and Emily Linderman, BCC from the Palliative Care team at Stanford Health Care are sharing all the basics of palliative care - when to start it, who can benefit from it, and what a PC team does for patients and caregivers.
Here are a few highlights from our conversation:
Palliative care teams are transdisciplinary (consisting of workers with different skills, like physicians, social workers, nurses, and chaplains) and support quality of...
2025-03-0750 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastSocial Worker Rosie Gaston Reveals How You Can Have a Better EndingSocial Worker Rosie Gaston brings energy and compassion to the care of people and families dealing with life-limiting illness. As a passionate clinical social worker, she’s worked for over a decade supporting individuals, families, and professionals through the intricate journey of end-of-life care. Rosie founded A Better Ending in 2022 to focus on personalized support, community education, and fostering professional development in the end-of-life care domain all while continuing to serve part-time as a hospice social worker.
As Rosie says, “A life well lived deserves an ending that honors that life.”
Connect with Rosie Gaston an...
2025-02-2850 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastThe Truth About Spiritual Care From a Physician's PerspectiveDr. Robert Klitzman has learned the truth about the value of spiritual care through his professional practice and his own lived experience. As an author, he’s written over 180 articles and books on critical issues in bioethics regarding doctor-patient relationships and communication, research, and other areas. Robert realized the whole-person impacts of a traumatic grief event after the death of his sister in the Twin Tower attacks on 9-11.
Speaking with physician colleagues, Robert heard them voice erroneous beliefs about the support that chaplains provide. His book Doctor, Will You Pray for Me?: Medicine, Chaplains, and Healing the Who...
2025-02-2149 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastMideo is a Breakthrough Method to Digitize Your Advance Care PlanDr. Fred Mirarchi is working to create personalized, specific advance care plans for patients, accommodating every stage of life and end of life wish. After seeing clinicians in the hospital struggle to determine exactly what patients’ wishes were, Fred realized documentation of advance directives didn’t truly communicate clearly. He and the team at Mideo Health have developed a best-practice model for documenting health care directives.
Using a video format allows patients to customize their plan. For older adults who might struggle with technology, the team provides concierge service to guide them through every step of the process. ...
2025-02-0745 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastGet the Help You Need to Navigate a Hospice JourneyHospice nurse and End of Life Doula Gabby Jimenez of The Hospice Heart is our guest host for today’s episode, featuring a discussion of Hospice Navigation Services. When you’re looking at making decisions about end of life care for yourself or someone you love, things can seem frightening and confusing. Hospice Navigation Services can help you figure things out. We can help you feel just a little less lost.
Hospice Navigation Services was founded by Hospice and Palliative Certified RN Helen Bauer, a respected voice in the end of life industry. Helen acts as Lead Navigato...
2024-09-2049 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHelping People Through Life's Hardest Times is Their Business, Episode 145Catherine Hinz is talking about grief and how her company Beyond Words Co. creates curated care packages to ensure no one feels alone through life’s hardest times. After experiencing a grief event in her own life, Catherine realized our responses to hard events in the lives of people we care about is often inadequate. Things like cards and even flowers just don’t provide the relief and comfort we’d like to give. Her company Beyond Words Co. is in the business of caring for people when life’s grief events occur. Beyond Words provides intentionally crafted boxes, with items t...
2023-02-1046 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastMaking End of Life Dreams Come True with Caitlin CrommettCaitlin Crommett is the founder of DreamCatchers Foundation, an organization creating connections for older and younger generations to fulfill the end of life dreams of hospice patients. Caitlin got her start volunteering in hospice at only 12 years old. After realizing the benefits of matching younger volunteers with older adults, Caitlin founded DreamCatchers Foundation in 2009 as a non-profit organization. According to the Dream Catchers website, “DreamCatchers empowers students and their local communities to fulfill end-of-life Dreams of hospice patients, and creates powerful connections for younger and older generations.” Caitlin would tell you that intergenerational relationships bring wonderful benefits and gifts to bot...
2023-02-0335 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastMaking End of Life Dreams Come True with DreamCatchers Foundation, Epi. 144Caitlin Crommett is the founder of DreamCatchers Foundation, an organization creating connections for older and younger generations to fulfill the end of life dreams of hospice patients. Caitlin got her start volunteering in hospice at only 12 years old. After realizing the benefits of matching younger volunteers with older adults, Caitlin founded DreamCatchers Foundation in 2009 as a non-profit organization. According to the Dream Catchers website, “DreamCatchers empowers students and their local communities to fulfill end-of-life Dreams of hospice patients, and creates powerful connections for younger and older generations.” Caitlin would tell you that intergenerational relationships bring wonderful benefits and gifts to bot...
2023-02-0335 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastTalking About National Anchor Your Heart Day with Opus Peace Founder Deborah Grassman , Special EpisodeJoin thousands of people around the globe opening their hearts to allow pain and peace to sit side-by-side together without fear on National Anchor Your Heart Day, at 3:00 pm ET on Thursday, Feb. 2. Sponsored by Opus Peace, National Anchor Your Heart Day includes a free webinar on self-compassioning with a post-webinar discussion guide. The webinar includes a free CE for nurses and mental health professionals.
10,000 dying veterans taught NP Deborah Grassman of Opus Peace the value of dying peacefully and dealing with soul injury. After working with terminally ill veterans for 30 years, Deborah and a team of hos...
2023-01-3139 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastTips for Navigating Hospice Care at Home with Barbara Karnes, Episode 142End-of-life educator Barbara Karnes is back to talk about death in the home, what it looks like, and how caregivers can manage a dying loved one at home. The reality of a death at home is that it's a challenge for caregivers, and can put a heavy burden on the caregiver. Before death became a medical event, it was a psychosocial event that was managed at home, and caregivers were supported by the community. These days people frequently die in the hospital or in a nursing facility. Family often is not present when a death happens. A good death can h...
2023-01-2744 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastLearning How to Reimagine Grief with Lisa Keefauver, Episode 141Grief activist and founder of Reimagining Grief Lisa Keefauver is talking about her work to transform and expand our understanding of grief and change the lives of individuals, communities, and organizations along the way. According to lisakeefauver.com, Lisa is “using my personal and professional experiences with grief and loss over the past 20 years to create a grief-smart culture.” She’s the founder of Reimagining Grief, Host of the top-rated podcast, Grief is a Sneaky Bitch, and Adjunct Professor of Loss and Grief at Steve Hicks School of Social Work at University of Texas at Austin. She brings...
2023-01-2059 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastMedical Aid in Dying From a Hospice Social Worker Perspective, Episode 140Medical Aid in Dying is a controversial topic. Hospice Social Worker Lisa Pahl shares what it’s like to support someone who’s utilizing Medical Aid in Dying. Hospice team members are often present when a patient chooses Medical Aid in Dying, or MAID. Lisa’s experience has shown her how intense and intimate it can be to companion a patient and family during a MAID event. Often the conversations about the death, and the details of how the patient wants it to happen, are enriched and deep. Lisa shares that as a social worker, she finds her energy for suppo...
2023-01-1337 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to Provide Quality Hospice Care for LGBTQ+ Families, Episode 139Hospice social worker and grief counselor Jill Johnson-Young is sharing wisdom and her perspective on end of life care for the LGBTQ+ community. Just like every other patient and caregiver, members of the LGBTQ+ community and their caregivers want to feel safe and be treated with respect during their end of life experience. Although it’s difficult to do, end of life workers need to be aware of their own biases. Members of the LGBTQ+ community might be hesitant to choose hospice care, withhold necessary information from their end of life team, or even go back in the closet durin...
2023-01-0642 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to Communicate to Get the Best Care Possible, Episode 138Communication is crucial to creating the best end of life experience possible. We’re talking about what to say, how to say it, and when to say it. Knowing how to communicate with their end of life workers helps patients and their caregivers to get better care. Patients and caregivers should feel comfortable talking about symptoms to their hospice team and asking questions. The professionals providing care can’t fix problems they don’t know about. It’s also important to know what concerns need to be reported immediately and what information can wait. The same holds true for the team me...
2022-12-3059 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHospice Nurse Penny is a TikTok Phenom, Episode 135We're talking with Hospice Nurse Penny about how her TikTok videos about end of life care have become a social media phenomenon. After finding her way to hospice nursing, Penny Smith realized there was a big gap in accurate information about end of life care. She decided to educate people in a unique way, utilizing social media. With videos, reels, and dancing, Penny helps expand understanding of hospice care. She normalizes the dying process and helps people to be more comfortable with someone who’s dying. Penny says she gets the biggest response from videos about end of life visionin...
2022-12-1642 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastWhen You Need an Expert, Empathy.com is Your Friend, Episode 134Empathy co-founder and CEO Ron Gura created the company with one mission in mind: to help families deal with loss. It’s the friend we all need when we’re navigating the death of a loved one. According to the Empathy website, Empathy was “designed to help bereaved families find balance during one of life's most challenging moments.” Combining technology and human support, the Empathy app helps families through all the financial, legal, emotional, and logistical challenges after losing a loved one. Grief and loss cost businesses millions of dollars a year, yet most companies are ill-equipped to support employees af...
2022-12-0949 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHospice Social Worker Nathan Yemane Honors His Father's Legacy of Service, Episode 133Hospice social worker Nathan Yemane is meeting the needs of his community by opening the first black-owned hospice agency in Washington State and carrying on his father’s legacy of service. Nathan grew up in Washington, has his masters in Social Work, and in 2013 obtained his clinical license in social work. He has worked in healthcare since 2010, primarily in the hospice field. Nathan and his business partner David Turner were awarded a Certificate of Need approval from the DOH to establish the first Black-owned hospice in Washington State. Nathan recognized the end of life needs of people of color in...
2022-12-0649 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to Survive as a Caregiver Warrior with Susanne White, Episode 132Caregiver Warrior founder Susanne White is sharing the many lessons she learned as a caregiver for her dad and mom. According to the Caregiver Warrior website, Susanne offers “advice, helpful tips, and strategies based on the experience, strength, and hope I found while surviving my own caregiving journey. It has become my mission to share my stories and the things I learned about being an empowered caregiver.” Susanne is an advocate for surrounding yourself with your caregiving village, to find support in friends and family to help you do the caregiver job. She realizes the lessons she learned about hersel...
2022-12-0238 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastCreating an Advance Care Plan Series with The Conversation Project, Episode 5We’re wrapping up our Advance Care Plan Series in collaboration with the amazing team from The Conversation Project from IHI, sharing the lessons we learned during our advance care planning process. Creating an advance care plan is not an easy task, even if you’re not in the middle of a serious illness. Family dynamics have a big influence on how conversations about end of life happen. We learned it’s important to set aside a quiet time and place to talk with the ones you want to make your wishes known when you can’t speak for yourself. ...
2022-11-2920 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastJill Johnson-Young Discusses Intimacy at End of Life, Episode 131We’re having an open, honest discussion with hospice social worker and author Jill Johnson-Young about intimacy during a serious illness. Jill’s been widowed twice, and knows the importance of physical intimacy even at the end of life. As a hospice social worker, Jill has seen what it’s like for terminally ill patients and their partners to struggle with physical intimacy. Losing physical intimacy is just another loss of identity and who couples are together. It can be a source of anticipatory grief at a time when intimacy is so important. There are many layers to physical intimacy...
2022-11-2554 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to Create Your Advance Care Plan Series with The Conversation Project Episode 4Kate Debartolo of The Conversation Project is talking with us about advance care planning, and how to talk about what matters most to you. According to The Conversation Project website (theconversationproject.org), Kate “has worked at The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) since 2007. She currently leads The Conversation Project team and operations. Additionally, Kate manages and cultivates relationships with national and state-level organizations that help engage the general public in advance care planning.” Individuals can find the Conversation Starter Guide and use it to have discussions with their families. The Conversation Project also has resources for choosing a healthcare proxy...
2022-11-2224 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastWhat You Need to Know about Conscious Dying with Dr. Aditi Sethi-Brown, Episode 130Dr. Aditi Sethi-Brown, founder of the Center for Conscious Living and Dying, has devoted her career to promoting positive death experiences. She’s a rare hybrid in healthcare, both a hospice physician and an end of life doula. According to the Center for Conscious Living and Dying (CCLD) website, “CCLD has a vision for death, dying, and grief that involves greater community involvement and connection to the mystery of this season of life. Death is a mirror in which our own lives are reflected”. Aditi feels deeply the importance of supporting dying patients with not only medical skills, but with com...
2022-11-1847 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to Create Your Advance Care Plan Series with The Conversation Project Episode 3In the 3rd episode of our Advance Care Plan series, Rosemary Lloyd talks about how faith communities can support Advance Care Plan discussions using resources from The Conversation Project. Rev. Rosemary Lloyd was formerly the Advisor to Faith Communities for The Conversation Project. She’s also a registered nurse, hospice volunteer, and an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister. Rosemary is an outspoken advocate for including our spiritual beliefs in advance care planning. Using resources from The Conversation Project website, faith communities can promote end of life discussions among their members. Resources on TCP’s website include sermon examples for faith leaders...
2022-11-1521 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow To Create Treasured End Of Life Memories With The 3 Wishes Program, Episode 129Dr. Thanh Neville is talking with us about the benefits of granting end of life wishes through the 3 Wishes Program at UCLA Health. Dr. Neville joined the faculty in the UCLA Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care in 2012 and is both a clinician and a researcher. In 2017, she co-founded the 3 Wishes Program and is currently its Medical Director. According to the UCLA Health website, clinical staff works with the patient and family, finding favorite memories or special qualities about the patient to celebrate the unique life of the patient. These memories and qualities are turned into special legacy keepsakes o...
2022-11-1143 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to Create Your Advance Care Plan Series with The Conversation Project, Special Episode 2Welcome to the second episode of our Advance Care Plan Series in partnership with The Conversation Project, featuring TCP’s Improvement Advisor for Community Engagement and Learning Patty Webster! Whether you want to have ACP conversations in a group of 5 of 500, The Conversation Project has the resources to get those discussions started. Through shared stories on TCP’s website, users can find examples of how other community groups are utilizing TCP’s resources. There’s a Starter Guide to take to your group, and other tools and resources to help you all available for free. You’ll find guidance on hosting an...
2022-11-0828 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastLearn How GrandPad Can Make Life Better for Seniors with Scott Lien, Episode 128GrandPad founder Scott Lien is talking with us about GrandPad's best features and how it keeps older adults connected. Older adults often feel isolated, and the pandemic separated them even more from family and friends. The GrandPad device is simple for seniors to set up. Customers can access white glove customer support with questions 24/7/365. The best thing about GrandPad’s convenience is the inclusion of 4G LTE, so it doesn’t require the household to have wifi. Offering things like games, video chats, simplified Zoom capability, email, and mood-enhancing apps, the GrandPad has something for every senior. “Connecting families and creat...
2022-11-0446 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to Create Your Advance Care Plan Series with The Conversation Project, Special EpisodeNeed some help with those difficult Advance Care Plan discussions? Welcome to our special Advance Care Plan Series featuring Kate Debartolo and the team from The Conversation Project! Conversations about end of life wishes can happen in different places - in family groups, community groups, or inside communities of faith. No matter where you want to have those ACP discussions, The Conversation Project has a resource you can use. This special series features experts from The Conversation Project team, including TCP Director Kate Debartolo, Improvement Advisor for Community Engagement and Learning Patty Webster, and Rosemary Lloyd, Advisor to Faith Co...
2022-11-0106 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastWhat You Need to Know About Palliative Care From Dr. Arian Nachat, Episode 127Our guest Dr. Arian Nachat is an advocate for palliative care services, informed advance care planning, and optimizing quality of life. As founder of Pallity, Arian guides the organization to focus on “you, the patient, helping you to manage your disease symptoms and treatment side effects while focusing on your quality of life”. According to their website, Pallity can “help you to better understand the options available to manage the symptoms of your disease and the side effects of treatment so that you can live your life to its fullest”. Dr. Nachat has years of experience guiding patients and their careg...
2022-10-281h 00
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to Write a Spiritual Care Directive with Rhonda Lopresti, Episode 126End of Life Coach and home funeral guide Rhonda Lopresti is talking with us about spiritual care directives, and their importance as part of an advance care plan. Rhonda Lopresti is a certified End of Life and Life Coach and has been a Holistic Health Practitioner for 30 years. According to her website (peacefully-prepared.com), Rhonda is “passionate in holding and creating sacred space, personal ritual, spiritual practice, and creative choices through dying and deathcare”. She believes advance care planning should be a comprehensive, robust plan for someone’s end of life care, including care of the spirit. Through Rhonda’s organizat...
2022-10-2147 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastTalking about The Narrative Initiative with Dr. Lorraine Dickey, Episode 119We’re honored to talk with Dr. Lorraine Dickey about The Narrative Initiative and the benefits of its Write-Read-Reflect method for both patients and staff. Dr. Dickey is an innovator and activist for a better experience of care within the healthcare system. She is a healthcare entrepreneur and a motivational speaker as well as a board-certified Neonatologist, board-certified Pediatric Hospice and Palliative medicine physician, and certified in Pediatric Bioethics. Lorraine is also the CEO and co-founder of The Narrative Initiative, which focuses on helping healthcare professionals decompress and remain resilient, and makes communication between patients and providers efficient and effec...
2022-09-0246 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastA Death Perspective with Rabbi Steve Leder, Episode 116In this episode, our guest Rabbi Steve Leder shares his perspective on dying and how the death of his father forever changed him. Steve Leder is the senior rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles. After receiving his degree in writing and graduating cum laude from Northwestern University, and spending time studying at Trinity College, Oxford University, Leder received a master’s degree in Hebrew letters in 1986 and rabbinical ordination in 1987 from Hebrew Union College. He is the author of five books: The Extraordinary Nature of Ordinary Things, More Money Than God: Living a Rich Life Wi...
2022-08-121h 01
The Heart of Hospice PodcastWhat You Need To Know About Medical Aid In Dying: A Discussion with Author Anita Hannig, Episode 114Anthropologist Anita Hannig is talking with us about Medical Aid in Dying, misconceptions about assisted dying laws, and her new book The Day I Die: The Untold Story of Assisted Dying in America. Every end of life professional should be informed about what medical aid in dying really is. MAID laws, otherwise known as Death with Dignity laws, have been passed in ten states across the U.S. as well as Washington, D.C. Regardless of whether their state has a law permitting MAID, it’s important that healthcare providers are able to answer questions that might arise from se...
2022-08-0156 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastWhat You Need to Know About Comfort Feedings, Heartbeat Episode 296We’re talking about comfort feedings today, how they work and the benefits they hold for hospice patients and their caregivers. Comfort feeding, (also pleasure feeding, is the practice of feeding the patient only what the patient likes and wants. It might not be considered particularly healthy. It’s more about enhancing quality of life for the patient. The focus of food intake is on comfort rather than good nutrition. The choices about food and drink are driven by the patient’s ability to swallow, of course. If a patient’s ability to swallow is impaired, he might just take the food...
2022-07-2914 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to Do Death Better with Dr. BJ Miller, Episode 113We’re honored to feature hospice physician and innovator BJ Miller in an amazing discussion about strengths, trends, and the future of end-of-life care. Dr. Miller is an advocate, thought-leader, and leader on the front lines of end-of-life care. He has been a physician for 19 years and has counseled over 1,000 patients and family members. This vast experience has led him to understand what people really need when dealing with difficult health situations. His TED Talk, What Really Matters at the End of Life has had over 11 million views. He’s the co-author of A Beginner’s Guide to the End: Prac...
2022-07-1558 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastKnow Your Patient Rights Series 5, Heartbeat Episode 294In the final episode of our Patient Right series, we’re talking about the right to choose medications, equipment, and who makes visits to the home. The care that’s provided for a hospice patient is collected into something called a Plan of Care. That Plan of Care includes every intervention the hospice team provides, including medications, any medical equipment that’s needed, and which disciplines on the hospice team will make visits with the patient. There’s a lot of information in a Plan of Care and should be individualized to the patient’s and caregiver’s needs. Medications are...
2022-07-0822 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to Care for Your Team Beyond the Ordinary with Dr. Michelle Owens & RN Keisha Jones, Episode 112Meet RN Keisha Jones and Dr. Michelle Owens of Hospice Austin and hear how they take extraordinary care of their hospice team with a debriefing program. . After seeing signs of accelerated compassion and moral fatigue in their hospice clinical team in 2021, Keisha and Michelle realized there was more needed beyond pizza parties. They put their heads together to create a debriefing program. As director of the clinical team, Keisha saw that nurses and other clinicians were deeply involved with patients, and the grief of not having families with dying patients was severely affecting the team. A safe space to discu...
2022-07-0156 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastKnow Your Patient Rights Series #3, Heartbeat Episode 292In episode 3 of our Patient Rights series, we’re talking about the right to choose a physician to manage a patient’s care while on hospice. When receiving hospice care, the patient or decision-maker has the right to choose which physician will manage care. The hospice agency is required to let the patient know he can choose an “attending physician”, a doctor who works alongside the hospice medical director and the hospice interdisciplinary team. Patients often ask a doctor who’s been their primary care provider, someone who knows them well. Hospice teams are required to include that attending physician in c...
2022-06-1708 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to Be the Best Caregiver for Your Loved One with Alzheimer's or Dementia, Episode 111Caregiving for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia holds its special challenges. Jennifer Fink of the Fading Memories Podcast is with us to share her caregiving experience. Jennifer became the caregiver for her mom after the death of her dad. Experiencing all the frustration and challenges, Jennifer looked for podcasts that could help. After not finding what she needed, Jennifer launched the Fading Memories podcast. The podcast content is designed to help anyone who is providing care for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia. According to the Fading Memories Podcast website, “Jennifer is the daughter, granddaughter & great-granddaughter of women who suffere...
2022-06-1551 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastKnow Your Patient Rights Series #1 - Heartbeat Episode 290A common myth about hospice is that patients and families don’t have any choices once hospice care starts, so we’re talking about all the rights patients really do have. Don't miss this 5 part series! It’s vital that both consumers and providers of hospice care know what rights the patient (or the responsible decision-maker) has. Those rights are real and every agency serving seriously ill patients should provide a list to their patients and caregivers. We’re highlighting some of the most important rights - the right to make a complaint, the right to choose a physician, the right...
2022-06-0308 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHospice Nurse Julie is the New TikTok PhenomenonWho knew that TikTok videos about death and dying would gain 800,000 followers? Hospice Nurse Julie is our guest, talking about why her hospice videos have gone viral, and what she finds meaningful about working in end-of-life care. RN Julie McFadden started making the videos, never dreaming that four days later so many people would connect with her content. As a hospice nurse, Julie has heard all the questions from patients and families dealing with serious illness. Topics of her videos include the dying process, end of life medications, visioning, and what a natural death looks like. The average age of a...
2022-06-0143 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastWhat You Need to Know About Bereavement Services, Heartbeat Episode 289Bereavement care is part of hospice, but what exactly is it, who does it, and what should it look like? Hospice agencies in the U.S. are required to offer bereavement services to families and loved ones of patients who die on hospice service. For up to 13 months after the death, families receive support for their grief. It can come in many different forms, depending on the individual needs of the family. The Bereavement Plan of Care is written according to how the family is coping with the death. Hospice team members do a Bereavement Risk Assessment, factoring in situ...
2022-05-2716 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastGetting Back to the Basics of Quality Self Care, Heartbeat Episode 288How's your self-care these days? We're getting back to the basics of care of body, mind, and spirit. Maybe your self care got off track during the pandemic, but it’s always a good time to do a care inventory. It’s important to ask yourself 5 things about your self care: 1) Is it affordable? 2) Is it sustainable? 3) Is it enjoyable? 4) Is it flexible? 5) Is it actionable?
Here’s what we know about self care. You have to like what you choose to do (enjoyable). You might need to change it at a moment’s notice (flexible). It needs to be somethi...
2022-05-2016 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to Create Meaningful Care with CareStory, Episode 109Certified Dementia Practitioner Nicole Shute is talking with us about CareStory and its mission to make caring a collaborative effort between caregivers and families. According to the CareStory website, CareStory is “a non-medical digital solution approach to bridge the gap between aging populations, their families, and caregivers. It provides individualized holistic person-centered care for senior residents and just-in-time support to caregivers by engaging families through the use of smart devices. Each resident’s profile has a quick fact page, personalized music, life stories, and video messages that can greatly facilitate caregivers’ daily jobs.” Nicole and the CareStory team provide a multi-fac...
2022-05-1541 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to get the Best Hospice Care with Therapies, Heartbeat Episode 287We’re clearing up the confusion about using therapies (physical, speech, and occupational) for hospice patients. It’s one of the confusing issues in hospice - whether therapy modalities can be used in end of life care. The truth is that PT, ST, and OT can be utilized in hospice. The goal of these therapies is not rehabilitation or long-term strengthening. The real goal for each of these therapies is enhancing quality of life, focusing on education of the patient and caregivers, and teaching safe practices for patient care. Physical therapists can teach safe transfer techniques, good body mechanics, turning a...
2022-05-1315 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastAre You Ready for National Healthcare Decisions Day?, Heartbeat Special Episode April 16, 2022In recognition of National Healthcare Decisions Day 2022, we’re talking about advance care planning. What’s your plan for your healthcare and who have you told it to? National Healthcare Decisions Day was started in 2008 by attorney Nathan Kottkamp to encourage people to complete their advance care planning. Every year on April 16 (the day after Tax Day), National Healthcare Decisions Day is observed. It’s the perfect day to make your end of life plans. Develop your plan - think about your beliefs, wishes, and wants for healthcare during a serious illness. Document your plan - put your plan into the le...
2022-04-1611 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to Avoid Labels and the Damage They Cause, Heartbeat Episode 283Using labels for people can be evidence of our implicit bias. Hospice providers can enhance the quality of care by avoiding labels. If you have a brain, you have a bias. It’s who we are as humans. The key to treating our patients and their families with respect and compassion is to avoid labels that make them less than human. Healthcare providers might not even realize the labels we give our patients are disrespectful or derogatory. It’s possible to describe a patient’s condition or status without using a term that is demeaning. It’s also possible to report beha...
2022-04-0816 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastFrom Grief to Growth with Paula Stephens, Epi. 106Today’s guest is a chaplain in the Buddhist tradition and author of “From Grief to Growth: 5 Essential Elements of Action to Give Grief A Purpose and Grow From Your Experience”. You’re going to love our conversation with Paula Stephens!! Paula has a Master's Degree in Exercise Physiology and studied Buddhist Chaplaincy at Upaya Institute and Zen Center. She’s a Certified Wellness Coach, Mindfulness Teacher, Clinical Hypnotherapist, a Yoga Instructor and a hospital chaplain in the Buddhist traditions. She brings professionalism and compassion to her work by recognizing the importance of healing the whole person, mind/body/spirit. Afte...
2022-04-011h 04
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow to Manage the Financial Aspects of Caregiving, Heartbeat Episode 282Financial burden is a real problem for over 55 million caregivers across the U.S. What money issues do people need to consider before they take on the caregiving role? Often a caregiver has many roles, including being a full time wage earner and other family caregiving responsibilities like kids. Caregivers spent an average of $7000 of their own money in 2017 for things like medical expenses, legal fees, and paid caregiving help. It’s important to stay informed, and to think about the financial needs in advance if you can. Keep in mind the financial health of both the one needing care a...
2022-03-2514 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHelp for Your Grieving Heart Series Wrap Up with Gabby Jimenez, Heartbeat Episode 281We’re wrapping up our Grief Series in collaboration with Gabby Jimenez of The Hospice Heart, featuring social workers Isabel Stenzel and Lisa Pahl of The Death Deck. After discussing prolonged grief, helping children manage grief, and dealing with grief for someone while still providing care for someone else, we’ve grown in our understanding of how grief affects our lives. Gabby says that being stuck in grief really hit home with her. The situation of being unable to move through grief is very real. For Helen, Isabel’s guidance about how children grief was so helpful. As Isabel said, “If y...
2022-03-1812 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastDiscussing Memorial Tattoos with Deborah Davidson of The Tattoo Project, Episode 105Memorial tattoos have become a popular way of remembering loved ones. Our guest today is Deborah Davidson, creator of The Tattoo Project. Deborah has done some amazing research and work into how we express our grief through tattoo body art. Tattoos have become more mainstream than ever. As a sociologist, Deborah has researched deeply into death and dying, bereavement and grief. She had her own personal grief experiences as well. Working as a volunteer for a bereavement families organization, she began seeing more and more tattoos in memory of loved ones who had died. Historically, tattoos have been used for s...
2022-03-1546 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHelp for Your Grieving Heart with Lisa Pahl and Gabby Jimenez, Part 5, Heartbeat Episode 280In episode 5 in our Grief Series in partnership with Gabby Jimenez of The Hospice Heart, hospice social worker Lisa Pahl of the Death Deck is back to talk with us about managing grief for a loved one while still providing care for someone else. Multiple losses can be overwhelming, and Lisa reminds there’s no magic answer. It’s important to assess whether you can step back from current caregiving responsibilities and let someone else take on some of the work, even if it’s only temporary. Hospice professionals have to ask themselves the same question as they move from pati...
2022-03-1118 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHelp for Your Grieving Heart with Isabel Stenzel and Gabby Jimenez of The Hospice Heart, Part 4, Heartbeat Episode 279Part 4 of our Grief Series with Gabby Jimenez of The Hospice Heart features bereavement social worker Isabel Stenzel, with a focus on grief in children and young adults. Younger people navigate grief differently. As hospice and bereavement professionals, it’s important to remember to respect the instinct and wishes of the parents. There are numerous ways children can be connected to someone who’s dying - writing letters and cards or drawing pictures. If we’re old enough to love, we’re old enough to grieve. A time of loss is an opportunity to teach a child how to navigate a g...
2022-03-0429 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastFinding Refuge in Grief with Reid Peterson, Episode 104Reid Peterson of Grief Refuge brings a serene energy to our conversation about grief support, self care, and finding your normal inside a grief journey. Thanks for connecting with The Heart of Hospice! Reid is the founder and creator of the Grief Refuge app. He holds a masters degree in transpersonal psychology, and is certified in death and grief studies by the Center for Loss and Life Transition. Reid lost his biological father to suicide, and his stepfather to cancer. His personal experience helped him identify the need for grief support after a loss. He created the Grief Refuge app...
2022-03-0146 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHelp for Your Grieving Heart with Isabel Stenzel and Gabby Jimenez, Part 2, Heartbeat Episode 277In collaboration with Gabby Jimenez of The Hospice Heart, we’re featuring social worker Isabel Stenzel in Part 2 of our Grief Series. Isabel specializes in grief and bereavement, and she shares guidance about how to cope with grief in healthy ways. Identifying when extra support is needed during a grief journey is really important. Talking with a close friend who listens well, or a professional grief counselor is a good way to get help. Isabel offers that it can be helpful to focus on the grief during a talking session, and then set it aside for a while to relie...
2022-02-1822 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastLife After Child Loss with Peggy Green, Episode 103Grief coach Peggy Green is with us talking about her journey through child loss, the lessons she’s learned, and her book “Life After Child Loss: A Mother’s Guide to Survival”. Peggy became a grief coach after experiencing the loss of two children, a nine month old daughter and her 24 year old son. Her wisdom is invaluable for anyone who has experienced the death of a child. Her mission according to her website theegriefspecialist.com is to “bring hope to mothers who are grieving the loss of a child and support to those who feel they can't find hope for the fu...
2022-02-1545 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHelp for Your Grieving Heart Series, Part 1, Heartbeat Episode 276Welcome to our series on grief in collaboration with Gabby Jimenez of The Hospice Heart, featuring grief experts Isabel Stenzel and Lisa Pahl of The Death Deck. Gabby, a hospice nurse, began noticing an increase in questions about grief on her Facebook group for The Hospice Heart. She’s partnered with us at The Heart of Hospice to bring you this six part series on grief. We’re going to be talking about numerous topics related to grief, including grief that seems to last for longer than it should, when to seek professional help for your grief, grieving for one per...
2022-02-1110 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastSelf Care Series for Caregivers, Wrap Up, Heartbeat Episode 275With over 50 million caregivers caring for loved ones across the U.S., self care has become an urgent need. We’re wrapping up our Self Care Series, helping you take care of body, mind, and spirit. Caregivers use their whole “selves” - body, mind, and spirit - to provide care for loved ones, family, and friends. If you’re a hospice professional caring for those who provide unpaid care for those with serious illness, it’s important to provide education on self care. Personal caregivers have reduced quality of life due to the demands of caregiving responsibilities. Isolation, sleep deprivation...
2022-02-0411 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastA Self Care Series for Caregivers, Part 4, Heartbeat Episode 274In episode 4 of our Self Care Series, we’re talking about nurturing your spirit, supporting hope, and sustaining your spirit while providing care for someone with a serious illness. Just as you care for body and mind, it’s important to provide care for our spirits as well. While caregiving might create isolation for the caregiver, it’s possible to maintain practices that will support spiritual health. Music, nature, connecting to a faith community, and continuing personal faith rituals at home can provide positive influence on the human spirit. Be sure to connect with your faith leader or hospice chaplain f...
2022-01-2813 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastA Self Care Series for Caregivers, Part 3, Heartbeat Episode 273Providing care for a loved one can have long-term effects on mental health. In part 3 of our Self Care Series for Caregivers, we’ve got tips for self care of the mind. When it comes to self care, we have to care for body, mind, and spirit. Caring for one of the parts of our Self means we’re also caring for the other two. If you’re an unpaid caregiver, you put in a lot of work to meet the needs for your loved one. It’s important to remember to care for yourself. When the overwhelm starts to affect men...
2022-01-2113 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastA Self Care Series for Caregivers - Part 2, Heartbeat Episode 272Caregiving can take a toll on the physical health of a caregiver. We’ve got some tips in episode 2 of our Self Care Series for Caregivers! Of course, it’s important to get clearance from your doctor before you start any physical regimen. Then start out low and low. Listen to what your body is telling you. Make your exercise regimen affordable, reasonable, sustainable, and mostly importantly - fun! Do an activity that’s enjoyable for you. Make it a social activity and invite a friend. Having someone to exercise with, having company in the form of an accountability partner is a...
2022-01-1412 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastA Self Care Series for Caregivers, Part 1 - Intro, Heartbeat Episode 271Welcome to part 1 of our series on Self Care for Caregivers! 53 million people across the U.S. are unpaid caregivers for a loved one, and they need intentional self care every single day. Caregiving responsibilities affect the caregiver in almost every aspect of life, taking a big toll on body, mind, and spirit. It’s a hard job, sometimes very solitary, and affects quality of life for the caregiver. Because the caregiving system of a terminally ill or seriously ill person is so fragile, it’s important that the caregiver practice self care on a daily basis. Self care that care...
2022-01-0707 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastEnd of Life Insights from Hospice RN Beth Cavenaugh, Episode 100Hospice nurse Beth Cavenaugh is talking with us today about her passion for end of life care and her book, Some Light at the End. As a Hospice and Palliative Care Certified RN, Beth has 15 years experience in hospice nursing. In her book Some Light at the End, Beth shares the wisdom she’s acquired through the years working with seriously ill and dying patients. Her personal story includes end of life care as well through the care of her mother as she journeyed through a lung cancer diagnosis. Beth was inspired by that personal journey to go into hospi...
2022-01-0150 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastA New Year Brings New Possibilities, Heartbeat Episode 270We’re on the brink of the near year and the possibilities are endless. What do we hope 2022 will bring for the hospice industry? Looking at the year ahead, we hope for good things to come. Above all, we hope for a resolution to the pandemic that has brought so much suffering around the world. Jerry and Helen will be connecting with some awesome guests in the new year- experts in the hospice industry who’ll share their professional experiences along with their personal journeys in end of life care. We’ll be introducing you to new industry trends and reconne...
2021-12-3109 min
The Heart of Hospice Podcast2021 - The Year in Review, Heartbeat Episode 269We’re looking back on 2021 and all the changes it brought for the hospice industry. Some of the changes were good, and some of the changes were challenging. Staffing shortages, waiting lists for patients to be admitted to hospice, regulatory changes, and shortages of PPE were a few of the obstacles hospice teams all over the country face. 2021 also brought some changes that improved the care we provide. Learning to use technology to keep our team members updated and keep patients connected with their loved ones became a strength for end of life professionals. The Heart of Hospice podcast feature...
2021-12-2412 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHow Professional Boundaries Keep Everybody Safe, Heartbeat Episode 268The professional boundaries that hospice teams should maintain help to keep everyone safe - patients and caregivers, as well as the end of life professionals providing the care. It’s important that the boundaries between care providers and care consumers are established from the start of care and continue until the last day care is provided. Unhealthy or blurred boundaries can cause patients or their caregivers to have unrealistic expectations about the kind of care an interdisciplinary team will provide. Connection through social media, engaging deeply within the family life of the patient, or disclosing personal issues to patients and c...
2021-12-1726 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastChasing Life Author Robert Pardi Shares His Story of Life, Love, and Caregiving Lessons, Episode 099Life coach and author Robert Pardi joins us in this episode to share his extraordinary caregiving story. Robert cared for his wife Desiree for 11 years after she was diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer. He became her caregiver, coach, advocate, and eventually her hospice. His book Chasing Life is about the resiliency and meaning they built throughout her illness, and how Robert created meaning in his life after Desiree’s death. As a caregiver, Robert felt honored to be trusted with Desiree’s care. He became a unique advocate for her, receiving all the medical information and test results on his wife...
2021-12-1559 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastSelf Care Lessons We Learned From the Pandemic, Heartbeat Episode 267The pandemic has taught us some lessons in self care. In this episode, we’re talking about what worked, the mistakes we made, and what we should have done differently. Having to change our self care for body, mind, and spirit made us realize how important it is to maintain healthy habits. The stress and restrictions caused by the public health emergency forced changes in our workouts. It was difficult to be consistent in healthy activities. We created a small workout group to increase our accountability and keep each other safe in the summer heat. Self care of mind and spi...
2021-12-1020 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastJerry and Helen Recommend the Fading Memories Podcast, Heartbeat Episode 266The Fading Memories podcast is a great resource for Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers. Host Jennifer Fink provides information, inspiration, and even some giggles. According to the Fading Memories podcast website, Jennifer interviews people who have some of the answers and families currently on this journey. The website features links to the podcast, a blog, even recipes for people caring for loved ones with memory loss. You can listen to the podcast at https://fadingmemoriespodcast.com/category/episodes/ or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you’re caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, remember you’re not...
2021-12-0312 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastHelen and Jerry Recommend Helen Haddick's Blog, Heartbeat Episode 182Our hospice colleague Helen Haddick has a unique blog. Helen shares incredibly transparent and sometimes heart-wrenching stories about her experiences as a hospice nurse. Coming from a background of critical care, Helen has connected with end of life care in a deep way. Her honesty is moving, and her dedication to both patients and families is palpable in her writing. It’s easy to conjure up vivid images of the work of a hospice nurse as you share hospice work through Helen’s eyes. You can find her blog at fromsavingtosending.com. Connect with her on F...
2020-03-1311 min
The Heart of Hospice PodcastFive for Friday episode 004Happy Friday everyone! Helen & Jerry discuss the power of numbers in this Five for Friday episode. Numbers tell a story. From a clinical perspective, numbers reveal the status of the body: blood pressure, respiratory rate, heart rate, blood sugars, etc. It's not all about the numbers, though. Numbers matter, but we have to see the patient beyond just their numbers.
A quote by Dame Cicely Saunders reminds us of the humanity of our patients. She said, "You matter because you are you, and you matter until the end of your life."
Here's a few other quotes...
2016-09-1611 min