Pictured below is Pearl Masciotra (left) with Helene Zukanovich (right), who is a registered nurse and leads the Heart Failure Treatment Department at St. Catherine Hospital.
March 12, 2012
Blues Skies Hospice Participates in St. Catherine Hospital Heart Health Fair
On February 25, 2012, Blue Skies Hospice volunteer coordinator Pearl Masciotra held a booth at the St. Catherine Hospital Heart Health Fair for the second annual year. Pearl enjoyed speaking with community professionals and residents about the wonderful services offered at Blue Skies, along with the vast volunteer opportunities.
Pictured below is Pearl Masciotra (left) with Helene Zukanovich (right), who is a registered nurse and leads the Heart Failure Treatment Department at St. Catherine Hospital.
Pictured below is Pearl Masciotra (left) with Helene Zukanovich (right), who is a registered nurse and leads the Heart Failure Treatment Department at St. Catherine Hospital.
March 11, 2012
Learning to Live with "Dying Well"
Hospice and Palliative Care is, unfortunately and in some cases tragically, considered controversial. Misinformed critics accuse hospice of ending life, when in reality, palliative care treats pain for terminal patients, while hospice enables those patients to die peacefully, comfortably, and with dignity. The families of the patients also benefit from palliative care and treatment, because it help their healing begin. Blue Skies Hospice works with terminally ill patients, and uses its dedicated staff of nurses, social workers, clergy, doctors, and volunteers, to respect the wishes of dying patients, and bring love and companionship to them and their families.
Dr. Ira Brock, interviewed by USA Today, dispels some of the myths about hospice and describes its importance, along with its medical, psychological, and spiritual benefits. Dr. Karen Wyatt also weighs in to advocate for more palliative care and hospice:
Medical advances help people live longer and longer, but too few physicians help people understand that longer is not always better, according to two new books.
Dr. Ira Byock MD counsels patient David Plant and wife Bette Jean Plant. Most doctors have been trained to treat diseases and not deal with end-of-life issues, according to Byock.
Ira Byock says he wants "to raise people's expectations" about the end of life and to to change the conversation about dying in America about dying.
"It's not easy to die well in modern times," says Byock, director of palliative medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., and author of The Best Care Possible, a Physician's Quest to Transform Care Through the End Of Life.
Karen Wyatt, physician and author of What Really Matters, 7 Lessons for Living from the Stories of the Dying, describes a "horrifying night" she experienced as a resident at a hospital.
"A man came into the hospital and his heart arrested fives times in the course of the night," she says. "We resuscitated him four times before he finally died with us pounding on his chest. It was so sad, and what makes me so passionate about hospice care, where people can die very comfortably at home with their loved ones around them."
Byock says the needless suffering at the end of life is partly a result of a current political climate that accuses palliative care doctors and hospice physicians of promoting a "culture of death" or "death panels." Rather, he writes, he is one of the compassionate experts who are "pro-life" and insist people get the best care possible — basically what they want for themselves — and no extra care.
"Most doctors have been trained to treat diseases and not deal with end-of-life issues," he says. "American medical prowess is wonderful, but we have yet to make a person immortal. At some point, more disease treatment is not better care."
People have to think about quality of life but also quality of death, he says, adding that it's important that doctors don't give up too soon on someone while also knowing the limitations of treatment.
"I think physicians have really fallen short on that obligation," says Wyatt. "They haven't been as helpful to patients as they could have been."
Byock writes that throughout the ages people have held common fundamental values: to live as long and as well as possible, and eventually, to die gently. In his book, he shares poignant, complex conversations he has had with families and patients about knowing when to say "enough is enough," and letting health care professionals help keep a dying person comfortable with medications.
Additionally, he calls for changes in how doctors are educated (most medical schools do not require hospice or palliative care rotations, he notes) and changes in letting patients guide their own care at the end of life — Medicare and Medicaid, for instance, don't allow older people to have hospice care until they drop medical treatments.
Wyatt says her goals are to help people learn how to live and to face death. She offers spiritual lessons she learned while director of a hospice program in Ogden, Utah, from 1992 to 1999. One lesson centers on impermanence.
"Everything around us is going to have an end," she says. "Once we know that, as the dying person does, we savor life more, instead of focusing on what will happen down the road. It can be such a peaceful, beautiful passing."
Dr. Ira Brock, interviewed by USA Today, dispels some of the myths about hospice and describes its importance, along with its medical, psychological, and spiritual benefits. Dr. Karen Wyatt also weighs in to advocate for more palliative care and hospice:
Medical advances help people live longer and longer, but too few physicians help people understand that longer is not always better, according to two new books.
Dr. Ira Byock MD counsels patient David Plant and wife Bette Jean Plant. Most doctors have been trained to treat diseases and not deal with end-of-life issues, according to Byock.
Ira Byock says he wants "to raise people's expectations" about the end of life and to to change the conversation about dying in America about dying.
"It's not easy to die well in modern times," says Byock, director of palliative medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., and author of The Best Care Possible, a Physician's Quest to Transform Care Through the End Of Life.
Karen Wyatt, physician and author of What Really Matters, 7 Lessons for Living from the Stories of the Dying, describes a "horrifying night" she experienced as a resident at a hospital.
"A man came into the hospital and his heart arrested fives times in the course of the night," she says. "We resuscitated him four times before he finally died with us pounding on his chest. It was so sad, and what makes me so passionate about hospice care, where people can die very comfortably at home with their loved ones around them."
Byock says the needless suffering at the end of life is partly a result of a current political climate that accuses palliative care doctors and hospice physicians of promoting a "culture of death" or "death panels." Rather, he writes, he is one of the compassionate experts who are "pro-life" and insist people get the best care possible — basically what they want for themselves — and no extra care.
"Most doctors have been trained to treat diseases and not deal with end-of-life issues," he says. "American medical prowess is wonderful, but we have yet to make a person immortal. At some point, more disease treatment is not better care."
People have to think about quality of life but also quality of death, he says, adding that it's important that doctors don't give up too soon on someone while also knowing the limitations of treatment.
"I think physicians have really fallen short on that obligation," says Wyatt. "They haven't been as helpful to patients as they could have been."
Byock writes that throughout the ages people have held common fundamental values: to live as long and as well as possible, and eventually, to die gently. In his book, he shares poignant, complex conversations he has had with families and patients about knowing when to say "enough is enough," and letting health care professionals help keep a dying person comfortable with medications.
Additionally, he calls for changes in how doctors are educated (most medical schools do not require hospice or palliative care rotations, he notes) and changes in letting patients guide their own care at the end of life — Medicare and Medicaid, for instance, don't allow older people to have hospice care until they drop medical treatments.
Wyatt says her goals are to help people learn how to live and to face death. She offers spiritual lessons she learned while director of a hospice program in Ogden, Utah, from 1992 to 1999. One lesson centers on impermanence.
"Everything around us is going to have an end," she says. "Once we know that, as the dying person does, we savor life more, instead of focusing on what will happen down the road. It can be such a peaceful, beautiful passing."
March 7, 2012
Listen to Blues Skies Director, Lisa Guzman, Live On The Radio
Blues Skies Director Lisa Guzman and Karen Lansdowne, RN at Blues Skies, will speak with Jed of Jed in the Morning on WJOB 1230 AM at 7:00 am on Thursday, March 8th. Jed, Lisa, and Karen will discuss the services that Blues Skies offers the community. The conversation will likely be informative and helpful to those seeking knowledge about Blue Skies and hospice in general.
You can also listen and watch the broadcast at the official website for WJOB.
You can also listen and watch the broadcast at the official website for WJOB.
February 26, 2012
Blue Skies Hospice Hosts Elvis Day
On Wednesday, February 15th, Blue Skies Hospice organized and hosted an Elvis concert screening for residents at Kindred Care of Dyer. Residents were able to watch the Elvis Presley: Aloha from Hawaii concert, enjoy refreshments, and sing along with their favorite tunes. The event made for a wonderful and fun afternoon. Elvis was in the building!
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Kindred Care resident Michele poses with Elvis Kindred Care residents filled the dining room to watch The King.  Blues Skies volunteer Julie Hancin, Breanne Bizon, and Blue Skies volunteer coordinator Pearl Masciotra take their picture with Elvis. |
February 22, 2012
Call For Volunteers at Blue Skies
Blue Skies Hospice is looking for volunteers interested in providing support and companionship to patients and families at the facility, 2712 169th St. Volunteers will receive training. Pearl Masciotra is the volunteer coordinator. Call (219) 554-0688 or visit http://www.blueskieshospice.com/
February 12, 2012
Writer and Episcopal Priest: Hospice Assists a "Good Death"
Michael Gemignani, a writer and Episcopal priest, writes an informative and moving essay about the importance of hospice. He relates his theological and philosophical thoughts to the experience of losing his wife, Carol. Gemignani writes:
Read Gemignani's essay to discover his "three criteria" and why he believes the "hospice movement" is so vital to the health of America.
The role of hospice is to educate society about dying and a to make the three criteria outlined above a reality. When hospice workers are clear in their own minds what constitutes a good death, they can help their patients achieve it.
Read Gemignani's essay to discover his "three criteria" and why he believes the "hospice movement" is so vital to the health of America.
February 6, 2012
Dealing With Anger
When people face a terminal diagnosis or learn of that a loved one has received a terminal diagnosis, anger is a natural response. Anger is a universal emotion that if understood properly and channeled effectively can become useful during the grieving and coping processes. Blue Skies Hospice has a staff of trained and compassionate professionals dedicated to caring for patients and their families as they run the gauntlet of emotions, fluctuating from anger to sadness to despair and to acceptance.
Louisa Rogers, a counselor and communication consultant in California, writes about some of the important ways to deal with anger when terminal or bereaved:
1. Identify destructive expressions of anger. If you express your anger in ways that hurt other people and inculcate feelings of guilt, you are likely expressing your anger in an overly aggressive, overly passive, or indirect fashion. Identify those moments and expressions, and self-critically work to correct and curtail them.
2. Express you anger assertively. State clearly and firmly what is upsetting you without attacking the other person.
3. Give yourself time. Slow down and take a moment of reflection before expressing yourself impulsively and angrily. This step is especially important for the bereaved, who are often operating in an emotional state and should reflect in a number of ways for a number of reasons.
4. Practice detachment. Detachment is not always synonymous with cold and insensitive. Detachment is often necessary for emotional health and intellectual sanity. If a person or series of circumstances is the cause of undue anxiety and anger, it may be wise to momentarily remove yourself from the situation.
Louisa Rogers, in her writing on anger, includes an instructive quote from the great Athenian philosopher Aristotle that summarizes the power of anger and the power to control it:
"Anybody can become angry - that is easyl but to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way - is not easy."
Even if it is not easy, everyone can work to accomplish it. During moments of pain brought on by death, Blue Skies Hospice can help those deal with their anger and find the right way.
Louisa Rogers, a counselor and communication consultant in California, writes about some of the important ways to deal with anger when terminal or bereaved:
1. Identify destructive expressions of anger. If you express your anger in ways that hurt other people and inculcate feelings of guilt, you are likely expressing your anger in an overly aggressive, overly passive, or indirect fashion. Identify those moments and expressions, and self-critically work to correct and curtail them.
2. Express you anger assertively. State clearly and firmly what is upsetting you without attacking the other person.
3. Give yourself time. Slow down and take a moment of reflection before expressing yourself impulsively and angrily. This step is especially important for the bereaved, who are often operating in an emotional state and should reflect in a number of ways for a number of reasons.
4. Practice detachment. Detachment is not always synonymous with cold and insensitive. Detachment is often necessary for emotional health and intellectual sanity. If a person or series of circumstances is the cause of undue anxiety and anger, it may be wise to momentarily remove yourself from the situation.
Louisa Rogers, in her writing on anger, includes an instructive quote from the great Athenian philosopher Aristotle that summarizes the power of anger and the power to control it:
"Anybody can become angry - that is easyl but to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way - is not easy."
Even if it is not easy, everyone can work to accomplish it. During moments of pain brought on by death, Blue Skies Hospice can help those deal with their anger and find the right way.
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