Hospice

I commend this investigation into the Hospice Industry and the information it provides.

At a most crucial time of life, the end of life care and those that are the care givers and the family and friends of those at this crucial time the both the best and the worst of human nature is displayed.

Dedicated hospice workers, care givers and family and friends that selflessly devote themselves to ease the transition to end of life are the heroes of goodness.  Those that prey upon this end of life situation personally and institutionally are absolutely vile.  They should be publicly exposed and excoriated. 

Hospice assisted me in caring for my loved one until the end.  Those that assisted me are my heroes.

Hospice is a community entity.  People generally die locally more often than not and generally have friends and/or family in the community.  Many do not.  In either case I feel that it is a community responsibility to monitor the care that Hospice provides the community. 

What established entity provides such general monitoring?  On one hand it would involve "Watchdog" aspects, on the other hand assurance that the best possible care is being provided.  Searching the internet I find numerous references to community in connection to Hospice but none that indicate that any community entity fills a role of......what might it be called?.......Community Advocate Board?...for those in Hospice care. 

The situation involving Hospice care is to say the least a sensitive one.  One that involves all of us.  While the best of care is sought, there must be protection from the worst of care.  Institutionally, those paying the bills monitor the care indirectly through financial indicators of problems requiring investigation.  At the other end of the spectrum are those closest to the person in terminal care to assure that things are being done right.  At that point monitoring is variable. 

I wish I had a good solution to the problem of assuring that the best of care is provided at end of life.  More than simply saying it is a personal responsibility of the caregiver. 

At a time when something is vitally important a fail safe situation is required.  If that fail safe measure is not invoked by those closest to the person in a Hospice situation then the conscience of the community invested in a formally designated community entity should operate.

The professional media as well as the general media that we are all becoming agents of as we read and express ourselves on the web and publicly elsewhere is a fail safe protection measure.  Fail safe to the extent we all undertake our social responsibilities.  The idealistic cure all, of course.  The one that is not fail safe, of course.  Maybe it all depends on many or most of us doing the right thing and that is the best that can be done to protect from the evil that would prey upon the end of life situation.

Not much of a real solution but in the end, the best we can do. 

I salute the investigators that participated in the link that brought this to my attention as well as the efforts of those that they wrote about.  It is a reminder of my own responsibilities.  A reminder of social responsibilities we all share as the best nature of our goodness to address and resolve somehow the worst of human nature.

Whatever results from that is the best we can do.  End of life always has been and always will be one of the most important things in life that life hands us the mandatory situation where we must do the best we can. 

One of the parades in my relatively small community includes and celebrates various community organizations.  Among them is Hospice.  Used to be the flag at the beginning of the parade gave me an emotional bump.  Now it is the Hospice vehicle and I am sure that many others feel the same.  It gets a special recognition as it passes.  A special respectful applause that comes from the heart.