EOLPodcast

Ep. 306 Providing Hospice Care for Those Without a Home with Penny Davis

Learn how a retired hospice director turned a failing hospice home into a thriving charitable organization providing housing for homeless people at the end of life.

My guest Penny Davis is a former hospice nurse who went on to get degrees in business, leadership and wellness management. She served as the executive director of a hospice for a number of years and eventually retired, only to be called to her next “mission” – saving a hospice home that provided care for people dealing with homelessness. She shares with us why it’s important to combine business knowledge with a charitable heart in order to create a successful organization to provide end-of-life care. Penny is also the author of the book PJs, Pearls, and Fishing Poles: Life Lessons of Style and Substance. Learn more at her website:

www.pennydavisbooks.com

Get the book here

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How Penny brought creativity to her work as a hospice executive director
  • Why it’s helpful for hospice directors to have both business knowledge and hospice clinical experience
  • How Penny became involved with a failing hospice home for people who were experiencing homelessness
  • Why community engagement is essential for the success of a charitable hospice organization
  • The “pitfalls” that can undermine a charitable program and how to overcome them
  • Advice for those who want to start a similar hospice home for people without housing
  • Why it is important for other communities to recognize the end-of-life needs of their homeless population
  • How telling stories can help educate the community about the needs of patients and engage their support
  • How to utilize the stories in Penny’s book to inspire staff, volunteers, trainees and community members

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! Your contributions make all the difference!

End of Life, EOLPodcast

Ep. 270 Sustainable Business Skills for the Death-Positive Movement with Kimberly King Wise

Learn why workers in the end-of-life field can benefit from basic business skills whether they practice in a volunteer or for-profit model.

My guest Kimberly King Wise is a certified End-of-Life Doula and Home Funeral Guide and also has years of experience as a business manager and virtual assistant. She discusses how business knowledge and skills can help us create viable work in the end-of-life arena that will enable us to help more people and change our communities. We’ll learn how she can help us get our endeavors off the ground and lessen our stress levels as we navigate the business aspect of end-of-life care. Learn more about her work:

www.deathpositivebusiness.com

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • The challenge of charging money in exchange for sacred work
  • The mindset shift from being an employee to being an entrepreneur
  • Why creating a death-positive business is especially difficult in our death-phobic society
  • The one skill death doulas most need to learn in order to grow their referrals and help more people
  • How to work your way out of your paid job gradually rather than making a sudden career change
  • The importance of the Know-Like-Trust factor in educating our communities about death-positive work
  • Why we need long-term thinking in the death-positive movement rather than short-term
  • How “death’s big tent” has plenty of room for every model of care and service in our field so we need to accept and encourage one another

Links mentioned in this episode:

  • Subscribe to this podcast on AppleGoogleSpotifyiHeart RadioStitcher Radio
  • Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
  • 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!