EOLPodcast

Ep. 487 Addressing Inequity in Palliative Care with Dr. Kelli Stajduhar

Learn about research being done in Canada to improve access to palliative care for marginalized populations.

My special guest Dr. Kelli Stajduhar is is a professor in the School of Nursing and Institute on Aging & Lifelong Health at the University of Victoria and the Canada Research Chair in Palliative Care, Aging and Community Health. She has worked in oncology, palliative care, and gerontology for 30+ years as a practicing nurse, educator, and researcher.  She discusses her clinical work and research which have focused on health service needs for those at the end-of-life and their families, and on the needs of marginalized and vulnerable populations.  Learn more at the website:

equityinpalliativecare.com

YouTube Channel

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • Loss and grief after the fires in Los Angeles
  • Obstacles to receiving palliative care for marginalized communities
  • How the palliative care system fails to meet the needs of these populations
  • The value of mobile palliative care teams as demonstrated in research
  • Why trust is a huge issue for people in marginalized communities
  • Models being studied in Canada to improve access to palliative and hospice care for vulnerable populations
  • The need for an equity-informed advance care planning tool for unhoused people
  • The importance of supporting community workers who are providing services to marginalized populations on the street
  • Why we need to continue to evolve and adapt our systems of palliative and hospice care
  • The value of authenticity in our provision of care

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 Chris Rogers and Jan Wiebking and thanks to Robin Bissell for buying me 3 cups of coffee! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 469 Podcast Playlist: Death Education with Karen Wyatt MD

Learn about some helpful episodes from the EOLU Archives that can show you how and why to start teaching others about death and dying.

This week I’m sharing another “Podcast Playlist” which is a topic-focused deep dive into the archives of EOLU. I have created several anthologies of episodes that deal with specific subjects 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 Death Education and you’ll learn a lot about why we all need to be death educators in our communities right now, tips for creating our own classes or events, and various resources and trainings that are available to help you start to teach others. 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. There’s a lot of content here – this playlist should help you choose the episodes you want to listen to!

Listen here:

This episode includes:

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 Margie Blanchard and Bonnie! 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. 451 Filling the Gaps in End-of-Life Care with Kaishauna Guidry MD

Learn how a physician creatively meets the needs of patients who don’t qualify for hospice services.

My guest Dr. Kaishauna Guidry is an author, podcaster, healthcare advocate, mentor and educator. She came to medicine and hospice later in her career and founded Mourning Dove Medical as a private mobile medical practice, serving home-bound patients at the late stages of life and she is the author of The Real Deal About Hospice: Short Stories Highlighting the Advantages of Hospice Care for Patients and Families. She discusses her path to this work, her books and podcast, and how she coaches physicians who want to begin working with hospice. Learn more about her work at her website:

mourningdovemedical.com

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • Why Dr. G started a mobile medical practice
  • Why some patients get discharged from hospice
  • How Dr. G provides continuity of care for people who no longer qualify for hospice care
  • How she guides people who are “pre-hospice” to do advance care planning and to be prepared for hospice when the timing is right
  • How Dr. G educates physicians about working with hospice and palliative care
  • What the book The Real Deal About Hospice teaches patients and their families
  • Why we still need more education about hospice for the general public and the medical community
  • What is the “hospice lifestyle”

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 newest donors James Reinders, Karen, and Susan Wright. Also thank you to Frederick Marx for buying me a coffee! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 447 Compassionate Communities and End-of-Life Care with Elizabeth Johnson, Erin Collins and Qwynn Galloway-Salazar

Learn about a powerful international model that calls for a public health approach to end-of-life care and how we are championing it in the U.S.

This week I am hosting three guests who are my collaborators in a “think tank” on the Compassionate Communities Model: Elizabeth Johnson and Erin Collins of The Peaceful Presence Project and Qwynn Galloway-Salazar, creator of the Caring for Veterans Through the End-of-Life Series. We discuss the need for a Compassionate Communities approach to end-of-life care here in the U.S. and offer resources and ideas for spreading this model throughout the country. Learn more at:

compassionatecommunities.us

View handout below or download here

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How the four of us came together as a “think tank”
  • What is a Compassionate Community
  • Brief history of the compassionate community model
  • How this model could benefit end-of-life care in the U.S. in general
  • How the compassionate community approach can help us address specific issues: community death education (especially in rural areas), veteran care, caregiver crisis
  • “End-of-Life Friendly Criteria” as a simple tool to assess and map our communities
  • Public Health Palliative Care International (PHPCI) as a resource
  • FREE presentation on Compassionate Communities Model available May 1, 2024 (email with May 1st in the subject line: info@thepeacefulpresenceproject.org)

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 newest donors Penny Amyot and Amy Wilson. Also thank you to Anonymous for buying me a cup of coffee, Paullette MacDougal for sending a donation by mail and to everyone who has joined the $10 for 10 Years Campaign! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 425 Omega Homes: Community Homes for Dying People with Kelley Scott RN

Learn how social model hospice homes are changing communities and improving end-of-life care for everyone and how you can start one where you live.

My guest Kelley Scott has been caring for dying people throughout the 37 years of her nursing career. She is the founder and executive director of Clarehouse, a “social model” hospice home in Tulsa OK. Kelley also serves as the president of Omega Home Network and provides consulting and mentoring to aspiring social model hospices. She discusses the Omega Home model and how other communities can implement it to improve end-of-life care for everyone. Learn more at the websites:

www.omegahomenetwork.org

www.clarehouse.org

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • What is a “social model hospice” or Omega Home
  • How Kelley first got interested in hospice and palliative care as a nurse
  • What inspired Kelley to found Clarehouse
  • Why Omega Homes are important to our communities
  • Advice for those who want to start an Omega Home in their community
  • Barriers to the Omega Home movement
  • How Omega Homes are funded

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 those who’ve bought me a coffee! Also many thanks to all of you who joined the $10 for 10 Years Campaign! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 421 Caring for Veterans Through the End of Life with Dr. Qwynn Galloway-Salazar

Learn about a groundbreaking new educational series about end-of-life care for veterans and their loved ones.

My return guest this week is Dr. Qwynn Galloway-Salazar, an Army veteran, end-of-life doula, educator and the founder of In Their Honor, LLC, an organization dedicated to re-imagining end-of-life care for veterans and their families. Qwynn recently collaborated with PsychArmor Institute to launch Course 1 of the “Caring for Veterans Through the End of Life Series,” which provides online education for veterans, their loved ones, caregivers and healthcare providers around compassionate end-of-life care for veterans. She’ll discuss her own journey to realizing this goal and why this series is a game-changer. Learn more about Qwynn’s work and the course at these websites:

www.intheirhonor.info

www.psycharmor.org

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • What inspired Qwynn to create this course
  • Her remarkable 2 year journey to realize this goal
  • Why some of the issues facing veterans at the end of life and unique and need to be recognized
  • Who can benefit from this free course
  • Why end-of-life education is important for veterans and their loved ones
  • Why healthcare providers in all specialties could use additional training in working with veterans in a compassionate manner
  • The importance of developing “compassionate communities” for everyone

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 my newest donors on PayPal Kimberly James and Gaja Andzel! Also many thanks to Ann Hyland for buying me coffee! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 400 The Value of Death: The Lancet Commission Report with Dr. Libby Sallnow

Learn about the important recent report from the Lancet Commission in the UK on the value of death and what each of us needs to do to help bring death back into life.

My guest Dr. Libby Sallnow is a palliative medicine consultant and honorary senior lecturer at St. Christopher’s Hospice and the UCL Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Department, UK. She is also the co-author of The Lancet Commission Report on the Value of Death: Bringing Death Back Into Life. In addition her PhD explored the translation of a model of compassionate communities from Kerala, India to London, UK. She discusses the creation of the report on The Value of Death and its key takeaways that can form a roadmap for the reform and rebalancing of death and dying in our societies. Learn more about her work at the website:

www.ucl.ac.uk/health-of-public/news-and-events/spotlight/spotlight-dr-libby-sallnow

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • What inspired Libby’s interest in end-of-life care
  • The Lancet Commission on the Value of Death and what lead to their recent report
  • Why we need to rebalance death and dying
  • The “5 principles of a realistic utopia” as described in the report
  • Why we need to focus on death literacy first as we try to improve end-of-life care in our societies
  • The compassionate communities approach (to be covered in a future episode)

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 patrons Jeff Black and Lindsay Compton, and to Brittany Ellis for your donation on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 350 Meeting the End-of-Life Needs of Your Community with Elizabeth Johnson and Erin Collins RN

Learn how this non-profit organization is working to solve gaps in end-of-life care in their community.

My guests Elizabeth Johnson and Erin Collins are the founders and creators of the non-profit Peaceful Presence Project with a mission of helping communities live well, age well and die well by reimagining the way we talk about, plan for and experience the last stage of life. They have created Endnotes, a roadmap for end-of-life planning an will discuss the genesis of their organization and how they take a community-based approach in their work by meeting the gaps that exist in end-of-life care. Learn more at their website:

www.the peacefulpresenceproject.com

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How Elizabeth and Erin were inspired to start this organization
  • The Compassionate Communities model of care that informs their work
  • The importance of integrating palliative care into daily life
  • How to reclaim deathcare as a social event with a medical component
  • Surveying the community for strengths and weaknesses around end-of-life issues to determine areas of need
  • Thoughts on improving the medical model to move from a curative focus to a healing focus by increasing education around palliative and end-of-life care
  • Reasons why our advance care planning has not been “successful” so far
  • High quality conversations about EOL choices are essential and they should start outside of healthcare first
  • Why advance care planning is important for those experiencing homelessness
  • The needs for increased access to palliative care in rural communities
  • Exploring who is too poor to die well

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.