Hospice Realities and End of Life Reflections with Patricia Ayers

Seeing Death Clearly

Patricia Ayers is the Director of Clinical Services at Coras Wellness & Behavioral Health and she spent several years working for hospice and home care agencies. Eventually, she found herself teaching hospice at Stockton University for nine years, a role that she thoroughly enjoyed.

In this episode we talk about how people misunderstand hospice, thinking it's a place to go rather than a program that comes to you wherever you are. Learning about hospice sparked her interest because it seemed like a program everyone should know about. She taught it as a general studies course, attracting students from nursing, physical therapy, mental health, psychology, and social work backgrounds. Over the years, the class gained popularity, and many students found it beneficial, particularly nursing students who faced a significant hospice component in their certifications.

A recurring frustration in her work was witnessing clients sent home on hospice without a clear understanding of what they were signing up for. This lack of communication often led to tense situations when the hospice team explained the program, and families were caught off guard. Sometimes, clients were discharged too late, almost actively dying, causing confusion and distress for families.

One crucial point often overlooked is the relationship between pain and survival. Pain can keep individuals alive due to anxiety, and providing pain control allows them to relax, offering a chance for a peaceful passing. Unfortunately, families often misunderstood this, thinking the team had hastened the process.

The lack of clear communication about hospice and the reluctance to address death in our society bothered her. Patients and families were denied the opportunity to have important conversations and prepare for the inevitable. She designed an exercise for her students to simulate doctor-patient conversations about terminal diagnoses, highlighting the difficulty on both sides.

Patients often had questions about their treatment, side effects, and how it would affect their quality of life. However, discussions about timeframes and how to talk to their families remained challenging for both doctors and patients. Our society tends to avoid discussions about death, preferring to place individuals in nursing homes or hospitals rather than allowing the natural process to unfold at home.
This episode emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and accepting the natural progression of life.

https://coraswellness.org/

Support the Show.

Support the show financially by doing a paid monthly subscription, any amount large or small help to keep the podcast advertisement free. https://www.buzzsprout.com/2092749/support
Subscribe to Seeing Death Clearly and leave a 5-star review if you are enjoying the podcast.
I appreciate the support and it helps get the word out to more people that could benefit from hearing the podcast.
Don’t forget to check out my free workbook Living a Better Life.

You can connect with me on my website, as well as all major social media platforms.
Website www.endoflifeclarity.com
Instagram
Facebook
Facebook group End of Life Clarity Circle
LinkedIn
TikTok