I was dying for some good news and found some. In a ranking system posted in the July 14 Economist online, the magazine rates 40, mostly rich countries, by how well they care for the dying. The United States ranks No. 2 for end-of-life care, just behind Britain. Hungary ranks third, which I also thought was cool, as I am of Hungarian decent.
The brief article states, “British doctors tend to be honest about prognoses, the mortally ill get plentiful pain killers and a well-established hospice movement cares for people near death.”
Interestingly, Denmark and Finland ranked lower reportedly, “because those countries concentrate more on preventing death than on helping people die without suffering pain, discomfort and distress.”
I asked Dr. Bob Gardner, medical director of Lake County Hospice Services, how things were going there. He”s been the hospice medical director for nearly a year. He told me it”s an amazing experience for him. He pointed out that no matter who a person is, and what they”ve done in their lives, he gets to share in the experience of them making peace with themselves and leaving the world with dignity. He said a lot of people have lives that don”t have a great deal of dignity and respect and because death is kind of an equal opportunity experience, everyone has the chance to have a respectful, dignified death, which is what Hospice Services of Lake County provides.
Gardner said before hospice services, death was not a commonly talked about subject. He said it wasn”t really broached when he was in medical school. “It doesn”t make sense to die alone and in pain, even economically, it”s not prolonging a good quality of life. Once you get to the point where you have a limited time, familiar surroundings are comforting. It”s better not to be poked and probed too,” Gardner said. He said he believes since the ”70s that the hospice movement has made the difference. Lake County Hospice Services is celebrating 30 years in the county. “I see more and more of my peers passing. The generation ahead of me, too. Life is like a big conveyer belt, it”s only a matter of time until I”m there,” Gardner said. “On a personal level, it gives me a chance to ponder the death and after-life experience. I see it as a really special time. It”s a time of no BS, when people address fears and what”s really inside them. Birth is a real magical time and to see a peaceful death is a real magical experience, too.”
I asked my brother Steve about his take on the hospice process. He”s the chief of staff at a hospital and I often confer with him about medical issues. He agreed with Dr. Gardner and said, “I think it”s impressive that many healthcare systems have incorporated hospice into mainstream medical care.”
MedicalNet.com defines hospice care as, “Care designed to give supportive care to people in the final phase of a terminal illness and focus on comfort and quality of life, rather than cure. The goal is to enable patients to be comfortable and free of pain, so that they live each day as fully as possible. Aggressive methods of pain control may be used. Hospice programs generally are home-based, but they sometimes provide services away from home ? in freestanding facilities, in nursing homes, or within hospitals. The philosophy of hospice is to provide support for the patient”s emotional, social, and spiritual needs as well as medical symptoms as part of treating the whole person.
Hospice programs generally use a multidisciplinary team approach, including the services of a nurse, doctor, social worker and clergy in providing care. Additional services provided include drugs to control pain and manage other symptoms; physical, occupational, and speech therapy; medical supplies and equipment; medical social services; dietary and other counseling; continuous home care at times of crisis; and bereavement services.”
To learn more about Lake County Hospice Services, visit lakecountyhospice.org. To inquire about patient referrals, contact Connie Mullings and for volunteering opportunities, contact Linda Laing at 263-6222.
“A dying man needs to die, as a sleepy man needs to sleep, and there comes a time when it is wrong, as well as useless, to resist.” ? Stewart Alsop
Mandy Feder is the Record-Bee news editor. She can be reached at mandyfeder@yahoo.com or 263-5636 Ext. 32.
