Hi Pooka
I have been a Hospice Resident Support Volunteer for 2 years now. I am in awe of hospice as a concept, the hospice environment and especially the hospice workers. Here are my personal observations, in a nutshell:
The Concept
•The concept of holistic, palliative, hospice care is probably the most “personalized” experience that you will ever encounter in our vast Canadian health care system.
•The reason for this is that the entire focus is on providing high quality, personalized care to the individual at end of life. All else is secondary to that goal.
•I love the idea that whether someone is a wealthy person or a poor person, that there is no cost for hospice care, and that top quality care is given to each and every one.
The Hospice Environment
•People are referred to as residents, not patients. The hospice is their home. Great effort is made to provide a homey atmosphere.
•People who come to hospice, whether they are a resident, worker, volunteer or visitor are pleasantly surprised to find that it is not a sad gloomy environment. Quite the contrary, it is an environment steeped in positive energy, love and yes, lots of smiles.
Why? Some people look at a hospice as a place to die. It is more correct, I believe, to view a hospice as a place to live. Dying occurs in a fraction of a moment. People come to hospice and experience living, and life, over an extended period of time. The focus is on helping to maintain a high quality of those living moments.
The Hospice Staff, Medical Professionals, Workers and Volunteers
•At our hospice I see staff working very long hours without any form of extra pay or compensation. Why do they do this? Yes they are acting professionally. Yes they pride themselves in doing a great job. But so do many other people in other jobs in society – and oftentimes are compensated well for doing so. I believe that the extra ingredient is love – a love for the people that they are serving. I see this love every day in both the smiles and the tears.
•The medical professionals are outstanding. Their skills with pain management for instance are truly amazing. It is wonderful to see the residents living with either no pain or with as little discomfort as possible. Other forms of care are outstanding as well. The other day I happened to say to a couple of nurses, “You know, I have never heard the term ‘bed sores’ mentioned here, even once.” They kind of beamed with pride and told me how they prevent them. Yes they pride themselves in doing a great job. But why is the quality of care so outstanding at hospice? I believe that the extra ingredient is love – a love for the people that they are serving. I see this love every day in both the smiles and the tears.
•I have witnessed on more than one occasion, a janitorial person, drop what they are doing to sit with a resident in their final moments when no family could be there. No one scolded them for neglecting one of their chores. Yes they pride themselves in doing a great job. The hospice is always sparkling clean. But why do they go the extra mile with the residents? I believe that the extra ingredient is love – a love for the people that they are serving. I see this love every day in both the smiles and the tears.
•Being a volunteer, I cannot “sing our own praises”. It cannot be done and maintain a spirit of humility. I will say that, if I had set out with the goal of meeting the nicest people in the world, I could have found none better than the kind souls that I have met at hospice. Volunteers are not paid. They do not wish to be paid. They give of themselves and become attached to those that they serve. They must learn to cope with repeated losses, week after week. Why do they volunteer? I believe that the extra ingredient is love – a love for the people that they are serving. I see this love every day in both the smiles and the tears.
I hope you have noticed a recurring theme here – love, or perhaps loving-kindness if you find love to be too strong a word.
I have noticed that every time I arrive at hospice that I am enveloped in an overwhelming atmosphere that is palpable. I’ll call it love – that is not too strong a word for me.
It is the love that is seen between residents and their families, between family members, and yes even between various families who are all there for the same reason.
The love is there in the face of the stressed staff person, trying to do one last task before leaving after a hard day.
The love is there in the tear on the cheek of the nurse as she leaves the resident’s room.
The love is there on the plate of food presented so beautifully by the kitchen staff.
The love flows from the hand of the volunteer through to the hand of the tearful family member.
It is my belief that as the hundreds and hundreds of people pass in and out of hospice, they each leave a small measure of their love behind. It is real. It is palpable. This love oozes its balm from the very pores of the hospice. It is the loving atmosphere that I feel each and every time that I enter the hospice doors. This is what sustains me.
I know that this is a very subjective viewpoint. My only hope is that you can experience this loving essence. And through this difficult time, that you may find in it, some peace.
- eKim