(Here's an article I wrote for a health section in the Hickory Daily Record a little over a year ago.)
It has long been recognized that spirituality plays an important role in the care of hospice patients. Not surprisingly, a study by the Gallup Institute showed that people overwhelmingly wanted their spiritual needs addressed when they were close to death. Spirituality gives us transcendent meaning to life. In other words, spirituality helps us to transcend this universe and our time. Spirituality brings us closer to a higher power, that which is sacred to us.
So how does spirituality help hospice patients cope? One answer may be that spirituality offers hope. Hope has been proven to be a very effective coping mechanism. Hospice patients who are hopeful are usually less depressed and therefore maintain a higher quality of life. In the beginning, hope may manifest itself as hope for a cure. As the patient’s condition progresses and a cure becomes unlikely, hope can change into a hope for time - time to finish important projects, spend time with loved ones or connect with lost family members. For many hospice patients, this is a time to make peace with their loved ones, their self and God.
In many ways, hope offers the hospice patient an opportunity for healing. Too many times we think of healing as simply the restoration of the physical body. While a cure for the physical body may not be possible, healing - the restoration of wholeness - can occur to the very end of life. A lot of people have referred to this process as “tying up loose ends” or “putting one’s affairs in order.” The hospice patient’s spirituality, their belief in something more than the physical world around them, helps them to cope and ultimately heal in the midst of suffering and uncertainty.
It becomes critically important then for healthcare providers in general and hospice providers specifically to care for the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of the hospice patient. This is usually accomplished in the hospice setting by utilizing a team approach. Everyone on the team is responsible for making sure the spiritual needs are fulfilled. Leading this team approach is the hospice chaplain. Because of their special training and experience, hospice chaplains become guides for both the hospice patient and their families. Hospice chaplains also work with the hospice patient’s own clergy or faith group to insure their spiritual needs are met.
The goal for a hospice is to make every moment for their patients and families as positive as possible, to insure the highest quality of life. This care for the patient and their family includes fulfilling their spiritual needs to the best of the hospice's abilities.
It has long been recognized that spirituality plays an important role in the care of hospice patients. Not surprisingly, a study by the Gallup Institute showed that people overwhelmingly wanted their spiritual needs addressed when they were close to death. Spirituality gives us transcendent meaning to life. In other words, spirituality helps us to transcend this universe and our time. Spirituality brings us closer to a higher power, that which is sacred to us.
So how does spirituality help hospice patients cope? One answer may be that spirituality offers hope. Hope has been proven to be a very effective coping mechanism. Hospice patients who are hopeful are usually less depressed and therefore maintain a higher quality of life. In the beginning, hope may manifest itself as hope for a cure. As the patient’s condition progresses and a cure becomes unlikely, hope can change into a hope for time - time to finish important projects, spend time with loved ones or connect with lost family members. For many hospice patients, this is a time to make peace with their loved ones, their self and God.
In many ways, hope offers the hospice patient an opportunity for healing. Too many times we think of healing as simply the restoration of the physical body. While a cure for the physical body may not be possible, healing - the restoration of wholeness - can occur to the very end of life. A lot of people have referred to this process as “tying up loose ends” or “putting one’s affairs in order.” The hospice patient’s spirituality, their belief in something more than the physical world around them, helps them to cope and ultimately heal in the midst of suffering and uncertainty.
It becomes critically important then for healthcare providers in general and hospice providers specifically to care for the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of the hospice patient. This is usually accomplished in the hospice setting by utilizing a team approach. Everyone on the team is responsible for making sure the spiritual needs are fulfilled. Leading this team approach is the hospice chaplain. Because of their special training and experience, hospice chaplains become guides for both the hospice patient and their families. Hospice chaplains also work with the hospice patient’s own clergy or faith group to insure their spiritual needs are met.
The goal for a hospice is to make every moment for their patients and families as positive as possible, to insure the highest quality of life. This care for the patient and their family includes fulfilling their spiritual needs to the best of the hospice's abilities.