End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC)

Dr. Tom Klemond, director for Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Hennepin Healthcare, says COVID-19 has brought an added layer of emotional heaviness because families are separated by visitation restrictions. He and his team try to channel these emotions into love, provide help with suffering, and use technology to help connect family members who are far away.

Being able to muster empathy may feel difficult amid the relentless stress brought on by the pandemic, but it's important to find ways to show compassion, which can build connection and promote healing, says social worker Kelsey Crowe. Relying on the ways we're inherently kind to others, such as through mindful listening, can make helping others feel less draining, Crowe says.

End-of-life doulas help the dying and their loved ones overcome fear and provide nonmedical services at the bedside to comfort families. Vigils usually are held in the last four or five days of life, when doulas spend more time with families, creating a soothing atmosphere that may include massage, soft music, aromatherapy, or other complementary services.

A pediatric clinic providing in-home and hospice care has opened in Idaho. The need for home health and hospice care for children has "skyrocketed," according to Dr. Aaron Gardner, co-founder of Just 4 kids Home Health & Hospice in Idaho Falls.

On the evening of November 2nd, families gather in their local graveyard all night to visit with the souls. Family members’ graves are decorated with candles, marigold flowers and food. Unlike the spooky connotations of Halloween, Día de los Muertos is a bright, cheerful celebration.

Hospital staff found that smart devices can help critically ill isolated patients with COVID-19 communicate with their families, and six women have responded by creating COVID Tech Connect. The nonprofit finds and distributes smart devices to facilities across the country, providing comfort to those that may be nearing the end of life and their families.

Are you or your colleagues working with pediatric patients who have COVID-19? Check out this presentation from Cheryl Thaxton on conducting goals of care discussions with caregivers and other best practices at the bedside. Cheryl Ann Thaxton, DNP, is an Associate Professor and DNP Program Director at The Houston J & Florence A Doswell College of Nursing at Texas Woman's University.

Great read! Preparing Advanced Practice Registered Nursing Students to Provide Primary Palliative Care. by ELNEC's very talented faculty; Mazanec, Polly; Ferrell, Betty; Malloy, Pamela; Virani, Rose; Cormack, Carrie

Please join the ELNEC faculty and staff in congratulating our humble and brilliant leader, Dr Betty Ferrell, on her induction into the National Academy of Medicine at the virtual 2020 #NAMmtg. This honor is well deserved! #hapc #womeninstem #palliativecare City of Hope

Visit our website for Part 8 of A Voice for Nursing: Some days it feels like a war zone here Dorothy Wholihan, DNP, is a Clinical Associate Professor at the NYU Meyers College of Nursing and the Director of the Palliative Care Specialty Program.

A study that included almost 4,400 hospital patients in Portland, Ore., who were transferred to nursing facilities showed 7 in 10 received an opioid prescription at discharge. The study, published in the journal Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, showed most of these patients were over age 65, which researchers noted was an age group that is vulnerable to opioid-associated harm.

A physician writes about the experience of self-recognition in seeing a son absorb the bad news of his mother's cancer recurrence. "I knew exactly what he was doing -- he was etching her image, her heartbreak, her attempts to be strong at this very moment, into a memory that would remain with him until the end of his days," the physician writes.

A study published in JAMA Network Open found only 54% of Medicare patients who received a referral for home health care after leaving the hospital received that care. The findings, based on analysis of national data from October 2015 to September 2016, showed Black and Hispanic beneficiaries and those living in disadvantaged neighborhoods were less likely to receive home health care than white patients or those in more affluent areas.

A 31-year-old shares 5 lessons before dying. Eliot Dallen, adrenocortical carcinoma who died the day this article was published, wrote about preparing to die, how he defined the things most important to him and what he wanted to share with those he was leaving. Among his lessons: a life, if lived well, is long enough; do something for others; and find opportunities for gratitude.

Memorable Journey, a new program offered by Alabama-based ABC Hospice, aims to support patients with advancing dementia and their families by providing comfort kits with sensory interventions, feeding tools and supplies to support caregivers. About 1 in 6 hospice patients has dementia as a primary diagnosis, and almost half have some form of dementia.

CMS has launched Care Compare, a tool for consumers to compare quality information, merging eight quality comparison tools, including Hospice Compare, into one site. According to CMS, having the quality tools in one place will be easier for consumers and patients.

The experience of supporting her daughter during a long illness and inevitable death led Toula Saratsis to become an end-of-life doula. "I strongly feel my daughter's spirit in this work. Repurposing lessons learned from caring for her influences how I speak my truth and inspire others to find their own voice," Saratsis writes in an article excerpted from the Pediatric E-Journal.