Literature Review

Lincoln County’s man and woman of the year namedLake Norman Media Group, by Michelle T. Bernard; 1/10/24... At one time, there were no hospice services in Lincoln County. [Normand] Lavasseur and a few other individuals got together and in 1987 got a license to operate Hospice and Palliative Care of Lincoln County. “I was on the board of directors and they said they needed a male nurse,” he said. “I told them I could do that and went to community college and got my CNA 1 and CNA 2. This was back when I was still working at Mohican Mill in Maiden. On my lunch hour I used to take off and go and give a bath or some other service to someone who needed it. I worked as a volunteer for hospice for 37 years.”

Young paperboy volunteers for hospice in memory of grandparents BNN, by Ayesha Mumtaz; 1/3/24Jack Hartley, a 14-year-old paperboy, has taken up a noble cause close to his heart. Channeling personal loss into community service, Jack is volunteering his time to distribute leaflets for the East Cheshire Hospice, an organization that holds deep significance for him and his family. Both of Jack’s grandparents, Philip and Olwen Hobson, received care at the hospice before their demise just three months apart in 2015.Editor's Note: I wish the word "demise" had not been used, as it has (to this reader) negative connotations similar to the word "expired," for life's natural processes of dying and death. Otherwise, this story might spark ideas for creative ways to involve younger volunteers--with appropriate parental / adult supervision--for other meaningful ways to contribute toward your hospice mission.

Hospice volunteer rule to return in ‘24 Requirement to resume in U.S., stateArkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR)December 24, 2023On Jan. 1, 2024, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will reinstate rules that, among other things, require volunteers to provide at least 5% of care hours at hospices across the country, including in Arkansas. Those rules were lifted during the first years of the covid pandemic ...

Artist paints ornaments for staff at Hospice after doing many for annual fundraiserOrleans Hub (Albion, NY), 12/22/23Albion, NY—After painting and donating 45 Christmas ornaments for Hospice of Orleans’ annual Light a Life fundraiser, local artist Carol Culhane wanted to do something for the staff at Hospice. Early in her career, Culhane worked in the nursing field and continues to have a lot of compassion for those who are ailing and their caregivers, especially at Hospice. This year Culhane decided to paint enough ornaments for the entire staff at Hospice, and she delivered them on Wednesday. “I’m hopeful this will encourage people to consider a donation to Hospice, perhaps when a loved one dies, instead of sending flowers, send a donation to Hospice or purchase an ornament in their loved one’s name,” Culhane said. “This is a nice way to remember a loved one and help a worthy organization.” [Administrative Assistant Bonnie] Reigle said Hospice is very grateful for what Culhane does for them.

Knitting and crocheting group gets social, donates to projects in St. Clair ShoresSt. Claire Shores (MI) SentinelDecember 19, 2023St. Claire Shores, MI—The Senior Activity Center’s knitting and crocheting group makes projects for those in need, and also provides much needed social time for its members. Judy Wendler, a member of the group, said the group makes lap robes for two hospice groups: Grace Hospice and Compassus Hospice. ... Wendler said it takes a couple weeks to make a lap robe. ... “The feeling that somebody made it for them is the highlight,” Wendler said.

The Language of Hospice Can Help Us Get Better at Discussing DeathTIMEDecember 18, 2023Just because death is inevitable doesn’t make it easy or natural to talk about. In a new study, researchers wondered if hospice workers—experts in end-of-life care—had lessons to teach the rest of us when it came to speaking with patients and families about death. Daniel Menchik, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Arizona who studies the use of language in different fields of medicine, spent eight months sitting in on team meetings at a hospice care facility that were also open to patients’ families. ... In the study, Menchik noticed that hospice workers used three different types of verbs in meetings with family members: predictive, subjunctive, and imperative. Predictive verbs are used to assert things about the future and include words like “will” and “going to.” Imperative verbs carry a similar firmness, but include a call to action; the most common one Menchik encounters in medical settings is “should.” Subjunctive verbs convey some sort of personal stance when talking about the future. “Think,” “feel,” “want,” and many other expressive phrases fall in this category. When a family starts hospice care, “their capabilities to engage in intense conversations [about death] are usually pretty limited,” Menchik says. But he believes that hospice workers help bridge that gap by minimizing their use of imperative verbs. In meetings he observed, imperative verbs made up just 17% of the verb phrases used by hospice professionals. That’s fairly uncommon in medicine. Editor's Note: Use this article to examine the language used in your team meetings; to strengthen your orientation of employees from non-hospice settings; to engage your admissions nurses in a lively dialogue about its applicability to their experiences with patients and families.

Letters of Love—Nonprofit provides emotional support for children in hospitalsWCCO-TV (Minneapolis, MN)December 11, 2023Orono, MN—It’s the time of year for giving and a Minnesotan is doing so on a scale so large, it can’t be measured. It’s a mission one woman started after her greatest gift was taken away. Grace Berbig grew up with so much love, but also a lot of pain. When she was 10, her mother was diagnosed with leukemia and eventually lost her battle with the disease. Editor's Note: Click the title to read more of this inspirational story.

Finding purpose in the journey—Hospice volunteer shares joy of finding life againWest Plains (MO) Daily QuillDecember 8, 2023West Plains, MO—For Kay “Katie” Dowler, volunteering one day a week at Ozarks Healthcare At Home: Hospice has become her way of giving and finding a renewed sense of purpose. The journey with Ozarks Healthcare At Home: Hospice has come full circle, from being patient’s partner to a grateful volunteer.

Franklin resident makes Christmas care packages for hospice patientsDaily Journal (Franklin, IN)December 7, 2023Franklin, IN—The shining silver bell, tied with a red ribbon, was etched with one word—”Believe.” Clarice Duits thought it was perfect. The Franklin resident was searching for special gifts to include in care packages for patients in hospice this holiday season. She had chocolate and candy canes, but needed something to tie the gifts together while showing each patient they weren’t alone. “I started thinking of Santa, and doing good for others, and that made me think of ‘The Polar Express,’” she said. “One idea just led to another, and I looked up Polar Express bells, and lo and behold, there they were.” This holiday season, Duits has crafted more than 60 gift baskets to be distributed to hospice patients. ... She worked with Main Street Hospice in Franklin, which will distribute them to its patients throughout December. The effort speaks to the importance community members hold to the work hospices do, said Cheryl Mioduski, volunteer coordinator for Main Street Hospice.

Hospice Savannah gives patients ornaments to record final messages from loved onesWSAV-TV (Savannah, GA)November 30, 2023Savannah, GA—It’s the gift that keeps giving. Holiday Voices is the only keepsake recordable ornament on the market. Each year owner Savannah Kelly donates boxes of the ornaments for patients to record a final message on for their loved ones to have.