The Patience and Care Hospice Provides

We would like to remind everyone about the importance of honoring and investing in the unseen care our medical professionals are giving those whose time may be short.

The New Yorker recently brought to light the daily work of a hospice worker and how comprehensively they work to care for patients. The incredibly moving piece focuses on hospice workers and what they bring to the table in caring for our loved ones at the end of life.

Hospice workers take great care to attend to the physical, psychological, and spiritual needs of those in their last days. One of the crucial details pointed out is that some patients pass within days of meeting the hospice worker and some take many months. The time varies greatly depending on the diagnosis. In any event, the hospice worker takes her time so that the absolute maximum time with each patient is reached. According to the piece, an insufficient relationship with patients in end-of-life care can often lead to a misjudgment or incomplete assessment of the whole patient’s needs.

This article also points out the unique and special idiosyncrasies of each worker. The hospice worker gives a personal and comfortable setting to death and even allows for the person to live out the rest of their time, which is typically longer than the physician has estimated, in comfort.

A truly powerful and memorable exploration of hospice, we encourage everyone to take the necessary time to read this piece. We know that our work only continues, and this will help us point to alternatives for actually improving end-of-life care.

(If you haven’t already, please sign up to receive email updates from MD Against PAS.)