Keys to Compassionate Care
The multiple facets of healthcare In most conversations about healthcare, we talk about the clinical side first.Did the doctor order the right tests?Was the surgery successful?What did the scan show? Those questions matter, of course. But if you’ve ever been the patient in the bed – or the family member sitting in the hard chair next to it – you know there’s another part...
Despite the clear benefits of hospice care, many patients are referred very late - sometimes in their final days of life - limiting the opportunity to benefit from its full scope. Two of the most commonly cited reasons for this delayed referral are: Clinician-related delays: Research shows that physicians often struggle with prognostication, lack of training in hospice...
The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a Perspective titled “What Is Hospice?” - a piece that captures, in striking detail, what hospice truly means beyond the policies, programs, and checklists that are so often discussed in healthcare. It begins with a familiar question from a patient: “What is hospice?” The physician’s answer is the one that is often...
A shift is unfolding across the United States as more states are enacting Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) laws. This legislation allows terminally ill, mentally capable adults with a prognosis of six months or less to request medication to end their lives peacefully. As of 2025, twelve U.S. jurisdictions have legalized this option in some form. Each has its own requirements,...
Loss is inevitable when working in end-of-life care. But the grief that follows is not simply the family’s burden alone. The way care is delivered before, at, and after the death of a loved one significantly influences whether bereavement becomes a manageable process or a complex, prolonged struggle. Qualitative research highlights three influential domains: personal...
A friend of mine recently celebrated her 70th birthday. In our conversation, she shared something that surprised and inspired me: about 20 years ago, she went back to school for over a decade. She earned a second bachelor’s degree, a master’s in gender studies, and even a law degree. Now, at 70, she says she would love to go back again - this time to study philosophy....
For the past two years, I’ve spent every Sunday volunteering on a family farm. The farmer had lost many of her laborers, and the business - built over decades - was under real strain. Farming is far outside my area of expertise, but I felt strongly that it was important to help. If giving up one day a week meant helping preserve a family business, then it was worth it....
When hospice patients have no family or stable home, care gets complex. This blog explores how teams can respond with compassion, ethics, and creativity.
When we talk about healthcare, we usually focus on doctors, nurses, agencies — more broadly, on healthcare providers and clinicians. But there’s another group quietly holding up the entire system — caregivers. These are the family members, friends, and neighbors who step in when someone is seriously ill. Whether by choice or by necessity, caregivers act as the...