Literature Review

[Nebraska Department of Correctional Services] NDCS launches hospice care volunteer program News 2 North Platte, NE; 11/4/24 A new program is aiming to bring transformative change to end-of-life care in Nebraska correctional facilities. The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services recently launched a hospice care volunteer program to ensure terminally ill patients are not alone in their final moments. The first cohort of 16 volunteers selected from the Reception and Treatment Center completed 10 weekly trainings, delivered by healthcare professionals. The trainings covered various aspects of hospice care, including communication skills with patients and families, confidentiality, end-of-life care and stress management. In the program, volunteers work with NDCS team members and healthcare providers a few hours each day to addresses the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of incarcerated individuals who have a terminal diagnosis. This will allow them to maintain employment within the facility and participate in programming, NDCS said.

Rabbi Benjamin Shalva brings comfort, music to hospice patients Baltimore Jewish Times; by Ellen Braunstein; 11/6/24 Jewish songs and prayers offer comfort to individuals nearing the end of their lives and their grieving families. That’s just one of the impromptu services offered by Rabbi Benjamin Shalva, a Jewish musician and chaplain at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Baltimore. He oversees the care and support for Jewish patients and families who come into hospice through Gilchrist, a nonprofit provider of serious illness and end-of-life care. He also manages rabbinic services. “We help guide families and patients on how to approach the end of life in a meaningful and Jewish way,” said Shalva, who joined Gilchrist two and a half years ago.  The 48-year-old Pikesville resident said he brings a guitar and the practice of meditation and mindfulness to patients and families. “It really provides a sphere of comfort and healing in a space that might otherwise be very difficult for folks,” Shalva said. 

Fear of falling: Do you have an emergency plan? Harvard Health Letter - Tribune Content Agency; by Heidi Godman; 11/1/24 You’re doing everything you can to avoid a fall, but sometimes tumbles occur despite best efforts: one in four U.S. adults ages 65 and older report falling in any given year. As common as these accidents are, most of us never consider what to do in the event of a fall. How would you get help? Should you contact your doctor or go to a hospital? What would happen after that? If you haven’t already, it’s time to come up with a basic emergency plan, while you’re healthy and can think calmly and clearly.

CNY Inspirations: Caregiving is redemptive Syracuse.com, Syracuse, NY; by InterFaith Works of Central New York; 11/3/24 I will carry him with me for my life as one of the greatest examples of caring that I ever met. I will be obscure on the details, but he cared for his wife, who was completely immobilized, with a degree of fidelity, creativity, and painstaking love that I have rarely seen and could only hope to imitate. He lived what Arthur Kleinman calls in his book of the same title, The Soul of Care. ... He says, “Caregiving, for me, at its deepest was redemptive. It redeemed me…. in caregiving, there is a common tug of war between the sometimes-bitter feelings that care is a burden and the more heartening certainty that no matter how burdensome, it is ultimately rewarding.” ... My friend never expressed that verbally, but I saw it lived as I watched him over the years through periods of anxiety, weariness, anger, hurt, despair, and through it all, intense, personal demanding caregiving. “And so, in the end, the soul of care pivots to care of the soul.” Inauspiciously, my friend took good care of his soul…and certainly helped mine.

We invite you to listen to our latest podcast: Imagine Heaven, with John Burke TCN Talks (Teleios Collaborative Network); podcast by Chris Comeaux; 10/30/24 In this inspiring episode of TCNtalks, Chris Comeaux sits down with John Burke, New York Times bestselling author of Imagine Heaven and Imagine the God of Heaven, for a soul-stirring conversation on near-death experiences (NDEs) and their profound implications. John shares the overwhelming evidence of the commonalities of near-death experiences (NDEs) and the evidence that supports their validity from across the world and from across many different cultures.  Chris begins by recounting his own transformative experience reading Imagine Heaven over his summer sabbatical, describing it as a refreshing oasis for the parched soul. John delves into the fascinating and consistent patterns found in NDEs worldwide, revealing how people from vastly different backgrounds describe similar encounters of leaving their bodies, seeing with a spiritual clarity—even those blind from birth—and entering realms filled with light, love, and peace. 

How to initiate goals of care discussions with familyExpertClick, Denver, CO; by Pamela D. Wilson; 10/30/24 ... While many adults set these conversations aside until a health diagnosis or other situation occurs, having goals of care discussions early in life allows more effective planning.

80-year-old 'Mom' cares for homeless men in Philadelphia ABC News 7, New York, NY; by Matteo Iadonisi; 10/30/24 Cecelia Robinson has earned the nickname 'Mom' during her two decades of showing motherly love to homeless residents at St. John's Hospice. Her work in environmental services and housekeeping ranges from taking out the trash to developing relationships with clients and making sure their needs are met. Specifically, she works in the Good Shepherd residence at St. John's Hospice, which cares for men who are considered medically fragile. Robinson has helped men like Craig Freeman, who utilized the Good Shepherd for transitional housing and has since moved into his own apartment. Watch the video [here] to see Robinson's story in action.Editor's note: Do you need inspiration? Click here to view this beautiful story about Cecelia Robinson's care for homeless residents at St. John's Hospice.

Terminally ill Illinois woman meets her idol, Jelly Roll NBC WETM 18, Elmira, IL; by Taylor Harris; 10/27/24 An Illinois woman battling terminal cancer fulfilled the dream of a lifetime Wednesday — meeting country music sensation Jelly Roll. Keita Miller, of Granite City, was diagnosed with a terminal illness in February 2022 and given just months to live. She has defined the odds, and now she’s been able to meet her musical hero, country star Jelly Roll. Her favorite Jelly Roll song is “Son Of A Sinner,” and she says his music has been a source of comfort during her illness. But more than just meeting the artist, Miller had one special request. ... The James Bess Foundation, a nonprofit that grants dreams to adults from 21 to 65 years old who are battling terminal illness, is making this dream come true.

Providence Alaska Medical Center tests virtual care model, announces hospice partner Alaska Business - Healthcare, News; 10/28/24 Providence Alaska Medical Center (PAMC) recently launched a new way of caring for patients that combines bedside nursing with a virtual or remote nurse and a dedicated patient care technician or certified nursing assistant. Known as co-caring or virtual nursing, the bedside nurse manages direct patient-care duties while the virtual nurse coordinates other support tasks. Also this month, the Washington-based not-for-profit healthcare system that operates PAMC announced it will partner with Compassus...Co-Caring Model Leverages Skilled Nurses: Virtual nursing is a response to a strained labor market. A study by the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis shows Alaska is projected to lead the nation in nursing vacancies, with as many as 23 percent of openings unfilled, by 2030. The co-caring model helps address the impending shortage while providing added patient care, Providence officials say.

The usage of family audiobooks as a legacy for grieving children — an exploratory quantitative analysis among terminally ill parents and close persons Springer Nature Link - Open Access; by Gülay Ate, Michaela Hesse and Henning Cuhls; 10/25/24Since 2017, terminally ill parents with dependent children under the age of 18 have been able to record an audiobook for their dependent children. This service allows them to narrate how they would like to be remembered in their voice. The family audiobook is a professionally supported, voluntary, free service that is unique in Germany. ... Conclusions: The family audiobook provides a valuable opportunity for terminally ill parents with dependent children under the age of 18 to tell their own biographical story, offer support to the bereaved in remembering, and preserve the voice of the deceased for the children. In addition, this approach could help healthcare professionals to reduce the stress associated with providing end-of-life care for terminally ill parents. Editor's note: While this service and this evaluation are located in Germany, it can be replicated easily with today's user-friendly technologies. First and foremost are patient empowerment, privacy, and ownership of these most personal messages. Examine using your spiritual care, social work, and/or grief counselors to facilitate this project.

Divorce rates among older adults have almost tripled since 1990McKnight's Senior Living; by Lois A. Bowers; 10/23/24New research finds an almost threefold increase in the percentage of divorced older adults compared with three decades ago. And an increasing number of older adults never have married. The investigators at the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at the Bowling Green, OH, educational institution found that the divorce rate among people aged 65 or more years increased from 5.2% in 1990 to 15.2% in 2022. Or, put another way, one in every 10 people divorcing in the United States today is aged 65 or more years. Although reasons for the increase in divorce were beyond the scope of the study, Brown theorized that contributing factors could include increased life expectancy and the fragility of remarriages.Publisher's note: Interesting implications for hospice care and caregivers.

‘Let patients lead the way’: Hospice veterans’ advice for new nurses Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 10/25/24 ... A key barrier to building [the hospice and palliative care] workforce is that, with some exceptions, most clinicians receive little to no exposure to those types of care during their training. Nurses who are new to the hospice space often face a learning curve, according to Briana Hilmer, an Iowa-based admissions nurse for St. Croix Hospice.