Comments on: How to Establish a “Life Stories” Hospice Program. Part Two

By: Dan Curtis

Dan Curtis — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 20:53:34 +0000

@Katheryn. Thank you for your comments and kind words. Much appreciated.

I agree with what you have to say. I would add that from my experience with the Victoria Hospice service, patients and families find the unedited recordings invaluable. In many cases patients are too ill to be able to do more than a few minutes or hours of interview. They can’t sustain the effort required to do an extensive series of interviews required for a book. Victoria Hospice does provide a list of personal historians in the region if people wish to have the interviews edited in some form. The opportunity for palliative-care patients to record their thoughts, feelings, memories, wisdom, and special messages provides a level of comfort to them that is more than simply a “medical” benefit.

By: Katheryn

Katheryn — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:21:31 +0000

Great article, I would just add that while the academic research supports the therapeutic benefits of reviewing ones life at the end, the philosophy of what we do and why we do it does not change. Whether we’re dealing with someone who has been given a terminal diagnosis or not, our objective as personal historians remains the same. The end product should represent the philosophy of our industry by presenting the story in an enjoyable manner for family, friends, and future generations. This differs dramatically from our simply providing an abbreviated (unedited) service for its medical benefit.

Your blog is one of the best! Very professional, thought provoking, and informative. Thanks!

By: Dan Curtis

Dan Curtis — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 00:15:27 +0000

@myhospice. Thanks for your comments, Cecil.

By: myhospice

myhospice — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 00:01:02 +0000

Thanks Dan.

This is great info.

Cecil
http://myhospice.wordpress.com/