Tag: Resources
Resources to help you stay comfortable at home longer, as well as support for those who aren’t ready for hospice care.
Compassion Crossing, LLC
Guiding Life's Journey with Care
Compassion Crossing, LLC
Guiding Life's Journey with Care
Helping Children Grieve: What Every Age Needs From You
Grief does not look the same in a toddler as it does in a teenager. This guide walks through six age ranges, from infancy to the teen years, showing how kids actually grieve and giving adults concrete, nature-friendly ways to help them heal without rushing the process.
How Advance Directives Shape the Care You Receive at the End of Life
Planning ahead for a good death is an act of love, just like planning for a good birth. This article shows how complete advance directives, including dementia and mental health planning, guide real end-of-life care, protect your values, and ease the burden on the people who love you.
Understanding Grief: A Compassionate Guide to Healing After Loss
Grief is a natural response to loss that affects everyone differently. This guide explores the grief process, the differences between sudden loss and expected death, and why losing a child carries unique pain. Learn practical coping strategies including the 3 S's framework, understand the difference between grief coaches and counselors, and discover why asking for help shows strength, not weakness.
Every Clinician’s Job: Why Palliative Care Belongs in Every Room
A patient in pain doesn't stop hurting because they're in the wrong department. This article makes the case that palliative care principles belong in every specialty, shows why the conversation at the bedside is everyone's responsibility, and gives clinicians real tools to begin.
Finding the Right Care at the Right Time: A Dementia Care Road Map for Families, Caregivers, and Clinicians
Choosing care for someone with dementia feels overwhelming. GUIDE, PACE, palliative care, and hospice each serve different stages of the disease. This guide helps caregivers, families, and clinicians understand what each program offers — and when to use it.
Early Palliative Care in Cardiovascular Disease: A Path to Comfort and Quality Living
Palliative care for cardiovascular disease alleviates symptoms, reduces stress, and enhances quality of life for patients and their families. Discover why early adoption—at any stage—provides essential support, comfort, and improved outcomes for individuals living with heart conditions.
Beyond Treatment: The Essential Role of Palliative Care and Advance Planning in End-Stage Renal Disease
Advanced kidney disease requires more than medical treatment—it needs comprehensive planning and support. Discover how advance care planning, life transition coaches, palliative care, and hospice services work together to improve quality of life for patients and families facing end-stage renal disease.
Staying Home as You Age: How Naborforce and PACE Support Independence
Most seniors want to stay in their own homes as they age, but many families don't know all their options. Naborforce provides flexible, on-demand help with errands and companionship, while PACE offers comprehensive medical and social services. Learn how these programs work separately or together to support aging at home.
Making Home Death Possible: What Research Reveals About Dying Where You Want
Most people prefer to die at home rather than in hospitals, but only about 30% achieve this wish. A groundbreaking McGill study reveals what makes home death possible: caregiver respite, timely medical support, and comprehensive planning. Learn how palliative care, hospice, advance directives, and end-of-life doulas work together to honor end-of-life wishes.
When Love Meets Resistance: How to Care for an Aging Parent Who Wants None of It
Family caregivers face unique challenges when aging parents refuse help. Learn three proven strategies—including PACE programs and Health and Life Navigation Specialists—to break through resistance while honoring dignity. Plus, discover why ensuring your parent's advance directives are current and you have medical access is critical.
Finding Your Way Through Traumatic Loss: A Compassionate Guide to Emotional Coping and Healing
When trauma and grief collide after suicide, homicide, or sudden accidents, the pain can feel unbearable. This guide offers practical coping strategies, self-care techniques, and professional resources to help you navigate traumatic loss. Learn the difference between grief support options and discover pathways toward healing.
Understanding PACE: A Complete Guide to All-Inclusive Care That Keeps Seniors Home
The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) provides essential support for seniors who require nursing home-level care but wish to remain in their communities. This comprehensive guide outlines eligibility requirements, available services, associated costs, and how PACE’s team-based approach helps older adults maintain their independence while receiving quality healthcare.
Aromatherapy for Life’s Challenges: Supporting Anxiety, Grief, Loss, and End-of-Life Care
Explore how aromatherapy and essential oils relieve anxiety, grief, loss, and critical symptoms like pain and nausea across all stages of life. Practical, safe use tips are provided for caregivers, doulas, and health professionals to support holistic well-being.
Healing Touch: How MNRI Transforms End-of-Life Support for Grief and Trauma
End-of-life doulas play a crucial role in supporting families through grief and trauma. Learn how Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration (MNRI) offers powerful, gentle techniques to help clients process difficult emotions and find healing during life transitions.
When Time Becomes Finite: Navigating the Emotional Aftermath of a Terminal Diagnosis
A terminal diagnosis sends shockwaves through the lives of patients and their loved ones. This article delves into the trauma experienced by all involved, examining the intricate challenges faced by hospice and palliative care providers in offering compassionate support while navigating the complex emotional landscape of end-of-life care.
Staying Connected Through Health Journeys: A CaringBridge Guide for Families and End-of-Life Doulas
Discover how CaringBridge helps families and end-of-life doulas stay connected during health journeys. This free platform offers privacy controls, easy updates, and community support for chronic illness, terminal illness, and life transitions.
When Goodbye Isn’t Clear: Understanding and Healing from Ambiguous Loss
Ambiguous loss is a type of grief that happens when loss feels unclear or unfinished. Unlike traditional grief, this emotional pain lacks closure, making it harder to process. Learn to recognize the signs of ambiguous loss and discover practical healing strategies to help you move forward with hope.
When Love is Not Enough: Addressing the Hidden Crisis of Hospice Family Caregivers
Caring for a terminally ill loved one at home is an incredibly challenging and emotional journey for family caregivers. This guide acknowledges the struggles you may face and offers compassionate solutions. It explores valuable resources, such as end-of-life doulas, PACE programs, and professional home care services, all designed to help ease your burden and provide support during this difficult time. You are not alone in this experience; there are ways to find relief and comfort as you navigate these profound challenges.
Navigating Care Options: A Family Guide to Acute, Palliative, and Hospice Care
Discover when and how acute, palliative, and hospice care can help patients and families navigate serious illness. This comprehensive guide explains the differences between care types, eligibility requirements, and how to choose the correct option.
Beyond Traditional Support: Role-Playing Games as Therapeutic Tools in Hospice Bereavement Care
Blue Ridge Hospice's "Adventures in Grief" program uses tabletop role-playing games to help bereaved adolescents and young adults process loss. This article examines this innovative approach, its benefits for grieving individuals and caregivers, and how gamification principles could transform various aspects of hospice care.
The Heart of Hospice: Navigating Attachment and Detachment in End-of-Life Care
This article delves into the intricate dynamics of hospice nurses’ relationships with patients, examining the benefits and challenges of emotional investment versus professional detachment.
RUSH Medical Center’s Caring for Caregivers: Supporting Those Who Support Others
RUSH Medical Center's Caring for Caregivers (C4C) program offers vital support to those caring for adults 60 and older at home. Learn about the program's comprehensive approach, including skill-building sessions, planning assistance, and care-team coordination. Discover how C4C makes a difference in caregivers' lives and improves patient outcomes.
Understanding and Avoiding Caregiver Burnout when Caring for a Loved One with Dementia
Caring for a loved one with dementia can be a rewarding experience, but it can also be physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting. Family caregivers often neglect their own well-being while focusing on the needs of their loved ones, leading to burnout. Caregiver burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that can happen when caregivers don't get the help they need or try to do more than they are able to do. In this article, we will discuss how family caregivers of a loved one with dementia can avoid burnout and recover if they are already experiencing burnout.
Fall Reduction – Reducing Falls in Personal Care Homes and Private Homes
Falls among the elderly can have severe consequences, including hip fractures, which can be life-threatening. As an experienced hospice registered nurse case manager, I understand the importance of fall prevention, especially in private homes, personal care homes, and assisted living facilities. This article aims to provide practical tips for reducing falls in these settings by following the nursing process: assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation.