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:
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:
- What Really Matters Podcast on Apple Podcasts
- Previous episode with Dr. Naheed Dosani
- Penny’s book
- Link to Penny’s article: When Do We Get to Cry?
- Penny’s email address: pennyindy@comcast.net
- Sign up for the 2021 online reading group A Year of Reading Dangerously at this link
- Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul
- Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
- Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
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In Part 2 of this discussion I’ll look at the major “threats” to the advancement of improved care for the dying and dead in our society and how we might overcome them. Be sure to listen to 
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