Learn about important resources for caring for loved ones and patients at home and far away.
My guest Merilynne Rush is a former hospice nurse who now practices as an End-of-Life Doula mentor, Home Funeral Guide, Green Burial Educator, Death Cafe host and more. Merilynne joins me today to talk about safe practices for home funerals during the COVID-19 pandemic, how to stay connected to our ill and dying loved ones, and she offers many resources for eol doulas at a distance, as well. Learn more at her website:
This episode includes:
- What a home funeral consists of and why consider one now
- Home funeral resources:
- National Home Funeral Alliance
- New Hampshire Funeral Resources and Advocacy (Facebook page)
- OregonFuneral.org
- Undertaken With Love
- Crossings Resource Guide
- Sacred Crossings
- Final Passages
- How to conduct a safe home funeral during the COVID-19 pandemic
- The option of live-streaming Virtual Wakes, Visitations, or Funerals
- Tips for staying connected to our loved ones at a distance
- Legacy projects
- Leave written instructions for distributing possessions after death
- Voice recording of messages for loved ones
- Window visit
- Technology
- Why early hospice admissions are important for hospital and long-term care patients
- Tips for EOL Doulas to stay in touch with patients when visits aren’t possible (download handout below)
- Why Advance Care Planning is essential right now
- Advance Care Planning facilitator training
Other links mentioned in this episode:
- FREE Course on Advance Directives here
- Hospice News article about Telehealth
- Next Door App
- NHPCO COVID-19 Shared Decision-Making Tool
- NEDA Webinar with Merilynne Rush and Diane Button (become a NEDA member to view the webinar)
- Merilynne’s The Dying Year website (learn about weekly discussion group for doulas, doula training, and ACP Facilitator training)
- The Dying Year Facebook page
- Observe the Ninth
- Leave a message for me at SpeakPipe.com/eolu and I’ll include it in a future episode!
- Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and get access to the EOLU mug: “Mind if we talk about death?” (only Patrons can purchase it). PLUS get our new bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!
If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes! Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu! Your contributions make all the difference!
