Just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I continue to be awed by the fact that God came to earth, and continue to prove that I am not worthy of the gift He has given us. (Of course, that's the whole reason he came.)
May God bless you this weekend!
Friday, December 23, 2005
Friday, December 16, 2005
The ?Bogus? Happy Holiday Theory
I just finished a discussion with a friend about the "fact" that the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a hospice dead zone. The "Happy Holiday Theory" goes like this, very few people are referred to hospice during the holiday season because doctors don't want to break the bad news during what should be a happy time.
I think it's a load of you know what. My experience has been that there is no holiday lull. In fact, my experience is that the days immediately before and after Thanksgiving and Christmas are some of the busiest days of the year, because families get together and are forced to deal with the reality of how sick their loved ones really are. Kids come home to find that mom has been lying about how good she feels. . . I've talked to more than one person who refused to return home from the holidays until they had gotten help for their parent. I can tell you for sure that I didn't get to eat much turkey this Thanksgiving because I was on-call and dealing with families who were facing reality.
I don't believe in the Happy Holiday Theory. I've never seen it. I think there hospices who have employees who don't work as hard during the holidays, don't try to get referrals because they have so many staff members taking vacation, or just don't try to admit new patients because they have bought into the bogus Happy holiday Theory. If this is you or your hospice, just remember that there are people out there who need your help even if Santa is busy checking his list twice.
As for those of you who go home to face a stark reality this Christmas. Read the series on this site about how to pick a hospice, and then call your local hospice. Call them on Christmas day! That's one way to find out which hospices really work 24/7/365 and which ones don't.
It's good to be back blogging!
I think it's a load of you know what. My experience has been that there is no holiday lull. In fact, my experience is that the days immediately before and after Thanksgiving and Christmas are some of the busiest days of the year, because families get together and are forced to deal with the reality of how sick their loved ones really are. Kids come home to find that mom has been lying about how good she feels. . . I've talked to more than one person who refused to return home from the holidays until they had gotten help for their parent. I can tell you for sure that I didn't get to eat much turkey this Thanksgiving because I was on-call and dealing with families who were facing reality.
I don't believe in the Happy Holiday Theory. I've never seen it. I think there hospices who have employees who don't work as hard during the holidays, don't try to get referrals because they have so many staff members taking vacation, or just don't try to admit new patients because they have bought into the bogus Happy holiday Theory. If this is you or your hospice, just remember that there are people out there who need your help even if Santa is busy checking his list twice.
As for those of you who go home to face a stark reality this Christmas. Read the series on this site about how to pick a hospice, and then call your local hospice. Call them on Christmas day! That's one way to find out which hospices really work 24/7/365 and which ones don't.
It's good to be back blogging!
It's been a while
Sorry for the long absence. I got a bit of burn out and quite a bit of frustration and decided to take a break. I don't anticipate ever writing as often as I have in the past or working nearly as hard to get this blog recognized or read. I do feel there are many things that need to be said about hospice in America today, and intend to give my thoughts, opinions, and expertise from time to time.
Sorry for the long silence. I'll be posting every once in a while, and will try to keep up with my e-mail to help those of you who have specific questions.
Sorry for the long silence. I'll be posting every once in a while, and will try to keep up with my e-mail to help those of you who have specific questions.
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