EOLPodcast

Ep. 468 Supporting Family Caregivers: Notes from the Field with Gabrielle Elise Jimenez

Learn some tips and tools for offering support to family caregivers tending a loved one on hospice.

My return guest Gabby Jimenez is a hospice nurse, end-of-life doula, death and dying educator, author and blogger. She is the author/co-author of numerous books, including Dignity Day and The Doula Tool Kit and the host of The Hospice Heart community on Facebook. In today’s conversation she shares her thoughts about how to support family caregivers through some of the overwhelming issues they face while caring for a loved one. We address our concerns for the well-being of family caregivers and offer some tips for improving their experience with hospice and easing their subsequent grief after death occurs. Learn more at her website:

thehospiceheart.net

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • Major issues for family caregivers tending a loved one on hospice care
  • How lack of training for caregivers leads to fears of not doing the right thing and lingering guilt after death
  • What to say to reassure a family caregiver
  • The importance of slowing down and listening deeply to the concerns of the caregiver
  • Tools and tips for supporting a family caregiver

Links mentioned in this episode:

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, especially my latest supporters Heather Capuana and Paul, and to Peg Hofmann for joining the $10 for 10 Years Campaign! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 467 A New Twist on Home Funerals: Family Involved Deathcare with Trina Wacasey and David Perfito

Learn how a home funeral guide and an aqua cremation provider collaborate to help families care for a loved one’s body after death.

My two guests this week are collaborators who work together to ensure that their clients can access family involved deathcare: Trina Wacasey is an end-of-life doula, home funeral guide and the founder of Creating Honoring Spaces; and David Perfito is the founder of the first alkaline hydrolysis facility in the state of California, White Rose Aqua Cremation. They share how they came to work together in collaboration and how their model can be an inspiration for others to address gaps in deathcare in their communities. Learn more at their websites:

creatinghonoringspaces.com

whiteroseaquacremation.com

YouTube Channel

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • What a home funeral is
  • Why a family might consider a home funeral (and why it may not be right for everyone)
  • Why families need a guide to help them navigate the funeral process
  • Trina’s “mini mobile suite” for after-death care
  • How aqua cremation works
  • Advantages of aqua cremation (alkaline hydrolysis) over fire cremation
  • How White Rose Aqua Cremation can serve people wherever they live
  • How Trina and David work together even they are located 7 hours apart
  • How home funerals and eco-friendly disposition go hand-in-hand
  • Why this type of collaboration is novel and necessary for forming compassionate communities

Links mentioned in this episode:

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, especially my latest supporters Marie Sutton and Aviva Engel. Also many thanks to Karessa Torgerson for making a donation through Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 466 Listening to Patients Near the End of Life with Christina Gomez MD

Learn about a book of quotes gathered by a compassionate oncologist from deep conversations with her patients.

My guest Dr. Christina Gomez is a gastrointestinal medical oncologist at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is the author of the book Stopped in My Tracks: A Physician’s Collection of Cancer Patients’ Quotes, which she discusses today. She shares her approach to talking with patients about difficult end of life issues, including referring them to palliative or hospice care and the value of listening deeply to her patients. Learn more at her website:

christinagomezmd.com

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • Why Dr. Gomez started to collect the words of her cancer patients
  • What it feels like to be the bearer of hard news for patients
  • Honoring the patient’s choice for how much they want to know about their prognosis
  • How quickly options are changing for novel cancer treatments and what constitutes “realistic hope”
  • Why we need to bridge the divide between oncology and palliative care to ensure that patients can access all the care they need and want
  • The gift of targeted therapies in prolonging life with cancer
  • How Dr. Gomez avoids giving patients false hope and focuses on what is really possible
  • Treating the whole person, not just the cancer and why no one “loses the battle”
  • Learning about the present moment from patients
  • The retreat Dr. Gomez is hosting October 11-12 for patients, providers, caregivers on the cancer journey

Links mentioned in this episode:

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, and to Sue Stuparek for buying me a coffee! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 465 Podcast Playlist: End-of-Life Doulas with Karen Wyatt MD

Learn all about end-of-life doulas from this comprehensive deep dive into the archives of EOLU Podcast!

This week I’m sharing a new feature: the “Podcast Playlist” which is a topic-focused deep dive into the archives of EOLU. I’ve created several anthologies of episodes that deal with specific subjects that might interest you. This is to make it easier for you to take advantage of the wealth of information available from previous interviews on the podcast. This playlist centers on EOL Doulas and you’ll learn a lot about what doulas do, why they are important, and various types of trainings that are available. You can see the slides for this episode if you watch on YouTube at the link below or you can download a handout of the slides and a list of the presenters:

YouTube Channel

Listen here:

This episode includes:

Other links for this show: