Saving vs Prolonging Life
January 25, 2009
Saving a life or prolonging a life, is it only semantics? Read the following article by Craig Bowron, in the Washington Post, 1/11), “The Dying of the Light: The Drawn-Out Indignities of the American Way of Death.”
I have experienced it in my own life and have seen it in my professional life—the feeling of
Rehab in the nursing home
January 18, 2009
Check it out.
There are many things that make up good care in nursing homes. It definitely is a team effort and it takes the whole team to make a really great one. Next to quality care by the nurses and certified nursing assistants (CNAs), is the quality of the rehab department.
When you are looking for a place to take dad, talk to the head of the rehab department. It’s OK to get the tour by the administrator or the admissions/marketing person, but talk to the rehab department head too. Take time to spend with them, ask for an appointment. Go look at the gym. Do your homework; get familiar with the terms and the goals of care for the condition he has. If dad is not currently receiving physical/speech/occupational therapy, ask what it would take for the department to get involved with dad’s care outside of an injury. Ask them what programs they have for residents who are not on what we called “skilled services.”
When it boils down to it, the level of care is pretty much the same wherever you go. You have the same type of care at all of the nursing homes. It’s the quality that makes the difference and don’t let the chandeliers and pretty carpet make your decision for you.
Checking out the rehab department is important whether or not dad got a hip replacement, knee surgery, etc. Nursing homes are now instituting what they call ‘nursing rehab’ programs. These programs are at no cost to the resident. They are not delivered by the skilled therapists, they are delivered by ‘restorative aids.’ These aids are CNAs who have special training by a skilled therapist. I’ve seen very good results with this program.
So even if dad has nothing from which to recover, find out what the nursing home offers to assist dad in maintaining the function he has now.
Palliative Care for Dementia
January 18, 2009
Here’s a great resource for people who are dealing with a family member or patient with advanced dementia–Palliative Care Dementia Resources. It separates the resources by topics and is easy to follow.
To me, some of the most disturbing symptoms of dementia are emotional and mental pain. It can be devastating for everyone, but not as much as for the person who is sitting with that kind of discomfort. Medical professionals are getting better with the physical manifestations but when it comes to emotional anguish, we don’t do so well. The reasons for unsuccessful treatment are varied. People who are close to the person, either personally or professionally, are very passionate in their views about how to handle it. It makes it hard to have an open mind.
The Story of Dr. Balfour Mount
January 18, 2009
Dr. Balfour Mount is to the palliative care movement what Dame Cecily Saunders is to the hospice movement. Of course Saunders came first and introduced Mount to the new philosophy of caring for the dying in 1973; but, it is Mount who is the father of palliative care in the hospital setting. He coined the term ‘palliative’ and it was he who first brought this type of care into a large university teaching hospital, the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
“What has surprised me is how little palliative care has to do with death. The death part is almost irrelevant. Our focus isn’t on dying. Our focus is on quality of living.” —Mount.
I’m sending you to a couple of places to read about him. His influence and dedication is the very beginning of the hospital-based, pre-hospice palliative care movement that has been picking up speed in the last several years.
A Moral Force: the story of Dr. Balfour Mount
McGill University, Whole Person Care
Intensive Care? Home?
January 18, 2009
“At the Edge of Life … “
January 18, 2009
Below is an article in the Dallas morning news (12/31/09) that chronicles the lives of 9 families as they deal with the life-threatening illness of a loved one and the difficult decisions they must confront. At the Edge of Life: life and death in 21st century medicine is a 5 part series with videos and interactive tools.
It is an excellent article that gives an in-depth look at the difference a palliative care team can make in the hospital setting. Keep in mind as you read this article that a person doesn’t have to be dying or accept that death is near for palliative care to be chosen. Palliative care is a treatment that can be added to any other treatment plan a person chooses. It can be in addition to or used as the only form of treatment.
You don’t have to give anything up to receive it.
Melody Chatelle
January 18, 2009
I met Melody one summer when we volunteered for Camp Braveheart, a children’s camp that “ … brings together the fun of a recreational camp with grief support …” that is sponsored by a local hospice. Her kind disposition, warm smile and easy laugh not only blessed the children at the camp, but me as well.
Dr. Melody Chatelle is a well respected veteran of the national and state legislative arenas as well as the author of a book about the personal experiences of young people with life-limiting illness.
Journeys of Heartache and Grace – Conversations and Life Lessons from Young People with Serious Illnesses is a positive, practical and poignant book about a journey we will all face with our loved ones and ourselves: the ending of our lives. Melody approaches this topic from the viewpoint of seriously ill young people who have little to hide or hold back. She hears and writes about their personal journeys, how they want to be treated, what they have to say about their own lives, and how people of all ages can deal with their own pending mortality.Â
More about Melody.
Prior to forming Chatelle and Associates, her own political and communications consulting company in 1999, Melody worked for 12 years as Director and Vice President of Government Affairs for Mariner Post-Acute Network, the second largest post-acute health care company in the country with an operating base in 42 states. Before joining the health care industry in 1987, Melody served for 10 years in the Texas State Capitol as a legislative aide to a former Texas State Senator now serving in the United States Congress, as well as the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.
On the national scene, Melody has served as Chair of the American Health Care Association’s (AHCA) Legislative Subcommittee and was named the 1997 AHCA Outstanding Key Member. Her degrees include a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) from the Department of Communication Studies, University of Texas at Austin; Master of Public Affairs (MPA) from The LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin and an undergraduate degree in Journalism and Business from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, where she was named Outstanding Female Graduate.
