Santa's Compassionate Care

(Originally published on Bedside Manner at Everyday Health)

This recent USA Today story shows that compassionate care comes in all forms. And it’s one more example of how the hospice movement is steps ahead of the rest of the health care system when it comes to treating the spirit as well as the body.

Happy holidays!

Has a Caregiver Made a Difference in Your Life?

(Originally published on Bedside Manner at Everyday Health)
Have you received compassionate care from a nurse, a doctor, a social worker, an aide, a hospital patient transporter, or anyone else? Have they offered a comforting word, held your hand, remembered an important detail of your life, or lingered when they needed to be somewhere else? Have you wanted to show your appreciation, but weren’t sure how, or simply never got around to it? Now comes the appeal, and I hope you will interpret this not as shameless self interest, but rather as a request for a cause I am passionate about.

The Kenneth B. Schwartz Center, the nonprofit I am the executive director of, has devised a way to say “thank you” to exceptional caregivers, through our Honor Your Caregiver program. By paying tribute to this person, you are also helping advance compassionate care, what the Center is all about.

To participate, all you have to do is send a donation of your choice to the Schwartz Center, and we will send that person a very handsome certificate and include his or her name on a caregiver honor roll that appears on the Schwartz Center Web site and in two upcoming newsletters. Click here to donate and be sure to write the name of the caregiver in the space that says “Honor Roll: In honor of a compassionate caregiver,” and include his/her address in the spaces that follow.

And for inspiration, watch this video about singer-songwriter Jason Crigler’s long journey back to health after suffering a brain hemorrhage while performing. He tells his story at Schwartz Center Rounds, a program taking place at 182 hospitals and health care facilities across the country. Rounds help caregivers process the difficult emotions that come up in their daily work, an important step toward better connections with patients. Jason knows the power of compassionate care and urges support of the Schwartz Center.

A Tough Guy Opens Up to His Compassionate Caregiver

(Originally published on Bedside Manner at Everyday Health)
Leon Kibbett was a tough guy from New York City who spent a lot of his life doing things he wasn’t proud of. Alcohol destroyed his body, ruined many of his relationships and ultimately killed him. But at the end of his life, he worked hard on himself and his relationships and gained a lot of wisdom in the process. He spent his last months at a medical respite care facility run by Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, where he saw his social worker Kendall Jones regularly. The two formed a very deep bond, which they talk about in this short video, part of a series called Stories of Inspiration. The series is produced by Phillips Dipisa (www.phillipsdipisa.com), a health care executive search firm with a keen interest in compassionate health care. Let me know what you think of the video.