Literature Review

Eagle Scout keeps hospice patients warm ABC News KAALTV, by Rachel Mantos; 2/23/24A service project for one Rochester Eagle Scout ended with a heart-warming friendship after a kind gesture to Mayo Clinic hospice patients. Lars Ingram got the idea to help out hospice patients for his Eagle Scout project from his father, a Mayo Clinic hospice physician. ... After the blankets were delivered to 100 patients, Ingram received word one of them was also a former Eagle Scout.

Petals for Patients blossom smiles to hospice patientsKNWA & KFTA News, northwest Arkansas, by Elena Ramirez and Brad Horn; 2/15/24When Becky Davis decided to retire, she wanted to help those in hospice in some capacity, and she found it in Petals to Patients. Volunteers of Circle of Life, a hospice center, put together bouquets from donated flowers for hospice patients every week.

The Last Portrait: Local photo exhibition captures different takes on dyingUtica Observer Dispatch, by Amy Neff Roth; 2/9/24... The 26 black-and-white photos, taken by local photographer Mark DiOrio, all capture moments in the life of someone who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness.  “I wanted to photograph them because they’ve been given news that nobody wants to hear,” DiOrio explained. “They’ve been given the news that it’s going to be their time soon. And when you’re given that kind of news, you have choices to make on how you handle it. I felt that these people, what they had to say and the emotions that they communicated in that moment were invaluable.”

Craft a memorial pillow for your loved one at this DeKalb workshopShaw Local News Network; 1/22/24The DeKalb Public Library will partner with Northern Illinois Hospice to host a workshop for patrons to create pillows out of a loved one’s shirt. ... Attendees can create up to two pillows out of a T-shirt or button-down shirt. Sewers will be available to assist. Participants should not bring denim, jackets or thick fabrics. Bereavement information and support will be provided.Editor's Note: Explore this lovely, meaningful activity for your hospice's bereavement care, volunteer services, and community outreach.

MV residents serve on MLK Day of GivingMega Valleys Progress, by Vernon Robison; 1/16/24

Sanctuary Hospice Volunteers: MLK day of service - Annual cards of caring workshopVolunteerMatch.org; 1/10/24Editor's Note: While this post invites volunteers of Sanctuary Hospice in Independence, OH, it provides a creative service to imagine for your hospice volunteers.Everyone loves to receive cards of encouragement-especially when they are handmade! Do you enjoy using your creative talents and artistic abilities to make someone smile? Join Sanctuary Hospice for a Day of Service on #MLK Day MONDAY January 15, 2024, at our 5th Annual Cardworkshop virtually to help reduce the social isolation of our hospice patients. 

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.