by Nick Jacobs

This is neither the first nor the last time that my passion regarding hospice and palliative care will be iterated here. Hospice is the RIGHT WAY for the transition to occur in an impending death situation. It is about dignity, healing for the families and the patient, and, most importantly, it is about providing the bridge to help us move to the next reality.

Every physician should be encouraged or better still, required to participate in continuing medical education directed toward end of life considerations. Death is not wrong. It should not be considered failure when a patient reaches the beginning of the end of their life.

Each family should be given concrete information regarding the actual probability and statistics of the effectiveness of any exceptional treatments, treatments that typically reduce the quality of life for the patient and their family and rob the loved one and the family of their chance to have lucid, meaningful transitional interactions. It is up to the primary care physician to be open, honest and forthright with each family. Your loved one should not be tucked away in a semi-private hospital room with a stranger's family, limited visiting hours, and continuous interruptions for meaningless tests that no longer warrant the time, attention, or the uncomfortable disruption that accompanies them.

We are born, we live and we leave our earthly bodies. Regardless of your religious belief, it is as significant a transition as birth. Death should be appropriately recognized. It should be thoughtfully acknowledged. It should be a time of positive transition for the family and their loved one.

Look into hospice. Support hospice. Volunteer for hospice. It is beautiful. It is noble, but most of all, it is the right thing to do.

Perhaps the soul does not die but moves on,

And just as a newborn child is welcomed into this world,

So should a soul be welcomed into its death.

Whatever the health-care provider believes,

By caring for a dying patient in this way,

Using familiar smells and gentle touch,

The transition from life as we know it,

Is celebrated in the most supportive and holistic way possible.

Health-care providers are privileged to be midwives and facilitators of this transition.

Dorothea Hover-Kramer 1993