I hope you and your families had a safe and fun Halloween. I know I did. It was great.
I woke up this morning and for some reason this particular memory came to mind: my stupidest interaction with a criminal.
In a nutshell, this man tried to rob me. He had a weapon. It was a rake. Yes, a rake just like the one you might use on your leaves around this time of year. He brandished it at me like a villager confronting Frankenstein’s monster and demanded my wallet.
Oddly enough, this didn’t strike terror into my heart. I simply reached out and pulled it out of his hands, and he ran off.
That’s kind of a funny story. Crime in the hospice world absolutely is not funny, and it got me thinking about the uphill battle that many providers need to maintain and rebuild trust as fraud tarnishes the reputation of their community.
Now that Halloween is over, we’ve moved on to another observance – National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. And in that spirit, please allow me to thank and congratulate all those who have the courage and compassion to care for the dying and for people who suffer. The word “patient” is derived from a Latin term that means, “one who suffers.”
The National Alliance for Care at Home has dubbed this observance National Care at Home Month, which works for me too.
This is a celebration of who you are and the work that you do, and a time for the communities you serve, and our nation, to recognize the significance and value of the care you provide every day.
But this month is also a call to action, a time to make your voices heard both in the halls of government and among the public. We have to change the narrative that hospices have been plagued with during the last few years. Hospice is not a “hustle,” as some have claimed. (Like ProPublica, for instance, I had some words to say about that.)
Even without the shadow of fraud, hospices already had to contend with families’ fears and a general lack of understanding of what they do. Without education, many people may not receive holistic, patient-centered care at the end of their lives. Hospices need to fight that battle too.
And maybe that’s not fair. Maybe hospice should be allowed to focus on patient care, rather than public relations, educating communities and government advocacy. But things are as they are, and this work is necessary.
Happy National Hospice and Palliative Care Month – or National Care at Home Month. Celebrate the impact you make on so many families every day and raise up your voices for the sake of your patients, current and future.
How is your organization marking this observance?