1 00:00:00,900 --> 00:00:02,469 >>Hospice is about living. 2 00:00:02,469 --> 00:00:04,170 How can we make this moment 3 00:00:04,170 --> 00:00:07,707 as good as possible before anything else changes? 4 00:00:07,707 --> 00:00:12,512 We just are here for today to make life worth living now. 5 00:00:12,512 --> 00:00:15,448 >>I don't know what people did without hospice. 6 00:00:15,448 --> 00:00:17,317 And I have great respect for Werner. 7 00:00:17,317 --> 00:00:21,154 He actually died, his hospital was right there on this ward. 8 00:00:21,154 --> 00:00:23,857 I have great respect for he insisted that he wanted 9 00:00:23,857 --> 00:00:28,862 to die the way he thought he should die at home. 10 00:00:30,030 --> 00:00:33,466 And not taking drugs and just be taken care of 11 00:00:33,466 --> 00:00:36,236 until he expired. 12 00:00:37,670 --> 00:00:40,306 >>There is a misconception that the focus of hospice care 13 00:00:40,306 --> 00:00:44,511 is on dying but really it is about quality of life. 14 00:00:44,511 --> 00:00:47,547 Join us today as we visit Hospice of the Piedmont 15 00:00:47,547 --> 00:00:50,316 to find out what this important organization is doing 16 00:00:50,316 --> 00:00:52,685 to help people with terminal illness 17 00:00:52,685 --> 00:00:56,723 live out their lives in comfort with respect and dignity. 18 00:00:56,723 --> 00:00:57,524 Come on. 19 00:00:59,559 --> 00:01:02,896 Tell us, what is the mission of Hospice of the Piedmont? 20 00:01:02,896 --> 00:01:05,799 >>For 35 years now our vision 21 00:01:05,799 --> 00:01:07,634 or our mission has remained the same. 22 00:01:07,634 --> 00:01:10,970 That no one would have to die alone or in pain. 23 00:01:10,970 --> 00:01:12,472 And that's no one. 24 00:01:12,472 --> 00:01:16,042 Regardless of age, race, what country you're from, 25 00:01:16,042 --> 00:01:17,944 what your citizenship is. >>Right. 26 00:01:17,944 --> 00:01:19,379 >>So that's our passion. 27 00:01:19,379 --> 00:01:20,313 >>It absolutely is. 28 00:01:20,313 --> 00:01:21,881 It's definitely not about death. 29 00:01:21,881 --> 00:01:24,551 It's about a person who's been diagnosed 30 00:01:24,551 --> 00:01:27,887 with a terminal illness who has the right 31 00:01:27,887 --> 00:01:30,590 to make decisions as to how to live out 32 00:01:30,590 --> 00:01:32,425 the rest of that time. 33 00:01:32,425 --> 00:01:34,928 Usually prognosis of six months or less 34 00:01:34,928 --> 00:01:35,995 is what they're facing. 35 00:01:35,995 --> 00:01:37,230 >>Right. 36 00:01:37,230 --> 00:01:38,465 >>One lady told me, you know she said, 37 00:01:38,465 --> 00:01:41,801 "I haven't talked to my daughter in 17 years." 38 00:01:41,801 --> 00:01:44,037 So we made the phone calls. 39 00:01:44,037 --> 00:01:46,439 In other words it's really about living. 40 00:01:46,439 --> 00:01:48,007 It's not about dying. 41 00:01:48,007 --> 00:01:51,077 It's about living your final days and weeks 42 00:01:51,077 --> 00:01:53,012 and months to the fullest. 43 00:01:53,012 --> 00:01:56,349 And when you do that you tend to celebrate life in general. 44 00:01:56,349 --> 00:01:57,650 >>Who does hospice work with? 45 00:01:57,650 --> 00:01:59,252 Does it matter where you come from? 46 00:01:59,252 --> 00:02:02,222 Does it matter your financial situation? 47 00:02:02,222 --> 00:02:03,022 How does that work? 48 00:02:03,022 --> 00:02:04,491 >>None of that matters. 49 00:02:04,491 --> 00:02:08,328 There's no discriminatory factor in hospice whatsoever. 50 00:02:08,328 --> 00:02:13,333 We take ages 18 to infinity at this point. 51 00:02:14,734 --> 00:02:16,836 And it's just people who are looking to have quality of life 52 00:02:16,836 --> 00:02:18,638 who are not seeking treatment any longer 53 00:02:18,638 --> 00:02:20,406 or that treatment's not available. 54 00:02:20,406 --> 00:02:22,775 >>And who pays for hospice? 55 00:02:22,775 --> 00:02:25,678 >>Hospice was established back in 1983 56 00:02:25,678 --> 00:02:28,047 through a Medicare benefit but that doesn't mean 57 00:02:28,047 --> 00:02:31,050 that you have to have Medicare to have hospice. 58 00:02:31,050 --> 00:02:34,687 Commercial insurances will pay for hospice. 59 00:02:34,687 --> 00:02:39,559 But again, financial status is not an issue. 60 00:02:41,261 --> 00:02:43,496 If you don't have money, if you don't have insurance, 61 00:02:43,496 --> 00:02:45,331 you're not turned away from Hospice. 62 00:02:45,331 --> 00:02:46,833 >>Talk about the different places 63 00:02:46,833 --> 00:02:48,067 that the patients are seen. 64 00:02:48,067 --> 00:02:50,270 >>They are seen anywhere that they call home. 65 00:02:50,270 --> 00:02:53,039 It could be in their private residence, their private home, 66 00:02:53,039 --> 00:02:55,608 in assisted living, a nursing facility. 67 00:02:55,608 --> 00:02:58,611 I've even cared for patients who lived in a hotel 68 00:02:58,611 --> 00:03:00,380 and in a correctional facility. 69 00:03:00,380 --> 00:03:02,482 >>And today we're here at the Hospice House 70 00:03:02,482 --> 00:03:04,517 so talk about the Hospice House. 71 00:03:04,517 --> 00:03:06,920 >>Well, the Hospice House has been here for 11 years. 72 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:08,922 It's a very, very special place. 73 00:03:08,922 --> 00:03:12,125 It's as close as you can get to home 74 00:03:12,125 --> 00:03:14,227 and yet not be in your own house. 75 00:03:14,227 --> 00:03:15,428 It is very personal. 76 00:03:15,428 --> 00:03:17,330 We have home cooked meals. 77 00:03:17,330 --> 00:03:19,832 But it's a place where you can have this, 78 00:03:19,832 --> 00:03:22,535 where your memories and your family can be family 79 00:03:22,535 --> 00:03:24,103 instead of a caregiver. 80 00:03:24,103 --> 00:03:26,739 It's just a very, very special place. 81 00:03:26,739 --> 00:03:29,075 >>I just thought of the story that you told me 82 00:03:29,075 --> 00:03:32,245 about the Hospice House, and you were talking about 83 00:03:32,245 --> 00:03:34,747 the great beds that are in the rooms now 84 00:03:34,747 --> 00:03:35,949 and where they came from. 85 00:03:35,949 --> 00:03:37,383 Will you tell me that story real quick? 86 00:03:37,383 --> 00:03:38,218 About the gentleman? 87 00:03:38,218 --> 00:03:39,452 >>Sure. 88 00:03:39,452 --> 00:03:40,386 Well, we have the best beds around 89 00:03:40,386 --> 00:03:42,622 because of a generous person. 90 00:03:42,622 --> 00:03:45,491 So this patient was at our Hospice House 91 00:03:45,491 --> 00:03:48,161 and he was a professional organist. 92 00:03:48,161 --> 00:03:50,730 And when our volunteer was meeting with him he said, 93 00:03:50,730 --> 00:03:55,168 "If only I could play the organ one more time." 94 00:03:55,168 --> 00:03:57,503 So we made arrangements with the church across the street, 95 00:03:57,503 --> 00:04:00,206 First Presbyterian gets a shout out, 96 00:04:00,206 --> 00:04:02,575 and he played for about 45 minutes. 97 00:04:02,575 --> 00:04:04,110 His two kids and wife were there. 98 00:04:04,110 --> 00:04:05,411 They were weeping. 99 00:04:05,411 --> 00:04:06,412 I was weeping. 100 00:04:06,412 --> 00:04:07,747 Everybody was weeping. >>Oh. 101 00:04:07,747 --> 00:04:09,582 >>And then he said. "It's finished." 102 00:04:09,582 --> 00:04:10,750 He's done. 103 00:04:10,750 --> 00:04:12,585 He passed away about a week later. 104 00:04:12,585 --> 00:04:15,021 And he told his wife before he passed away, 105 00:04:15,021 --> 00:04:16,322 you know, this house was perfect 106 00:04:16,322 --> 00:04:18,625 except the beds were getting older. 107 00:04:18,625 --> 00:04:21,127 And she said, "I wanna buy you guys all new beds 108 00:04:21,127 --> 00:04:22,395 "and you pick the ones you want. 109 00:04:22,395 --> 00:04:24,230 "Get the best ones you can find." 110 00:04:24,230 --> 00:04:26,933 And that's how we got the best beds in Charlottesville. 111 00:04:26,933 --> 00:04:28,301 (all laughing) 112 00:04:28,301 --> 00:04:30,870 >>I love that story, I love that story. 113 00:04:30,870 --> 00:04:32,839 Okay, you also have an Education Center. 114 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:34,073 Let's hear about that. 115 00:04:34,073 --> 00:04:36,442 >>A couple cool things about that program. 116 00:04:36,442 --> 00:04:39,045 We have, we do get people donating money 117 00:04:39,045 --> 00:04:42,949 to the education institute, but the coolest thing I think 118 00:04:42,949 --> 00:04:45,852 is we're getting young doctors and nurses 119 00:04:45,852 --> 00:04:48,821 who rotate through, chaplains too, social workers even, 120 00:04:48,821 --> 00:04:50,757 they rotate through our hospice 121 00:04:50,757 --> 00:04:55,094 and they learn how do you take care of the dying. 122 00:04:55,094 --> 00:04:58,331 A critical skill in medicine and nursing. 123 00:04:58,331 --> 00:05:01,100 >>The work that I do with hospice was a calling. 124 00:05:01,100 --> 00:05:04,804 I was drawn to hospice as another way. 125 00:05:04,804 --> 00:05:07,073 When you're in the hospital working as a nurse, 126 00:05:07,073 --> 00:05:09,909 you see so much pain and suffering 127 00:05:09,909 --> 00:05:12,512 and this is a wonderful alternative 128 00:05:12,512 --> 00:05:14,781 because you can be in your home, 129 00:05:14,781 --> 00:05:16,316 have your family members around you 130 00:05:16,316 --> 00:05:18,718 and not be surrounded by all the bells and whistles 131 00:05:18,718 --> 00:05:21,321 and everything in a hospital setting. 132 00:05:21,321 --> 00:05:23,423 >>A lot of the work that I do as a social worker 133 00:05:23,423 --> 00:05:24,891 is grief counseling. 134 00:05:24,891 --> 00:05:27,894 So we're actually grieving from the beginning, 135 00:05:27,894 --> 00:05:30,663 straight through until something happens and afterwards. 136 00:05:30,663 --> 00:05:32,665 And a big thing that's rewarding to me 137 00:05:32,665 --> 00:05:34,233 is getting to work with families 138 00:05:34,233 --> 00:05:36,602 and walking that journey with them. 139 00:05:36,602 --> 00:05:38,838 Grief is a very private emotion 140 00:05:38,838 --> 00:05:41,507 but there's also this process of mourning 141 00:05:41,507 --> 00:05:42,742 and making that public. 142 00:05:42,742 --> 00:05:44,777 And that's what our hospice does. 143 00:05:44,777 --> 00:05:47,647 We have support groups, we have memorials, 144 00:05:47,647 --> 00:05:50,049 camps for children and families. 145 00:05:50,049 --> 00:05:51,718 And it's a way to let it be known, 146 00:05:51,718 --> 00:05:53,753 this was an important life. 147 00:05:53,753 --> 00:05:55,455 We're gonna remember it. 148 00:05:55,455 --> 00:05:59,759 And with the caregiver we're looking at burnout 149 00:05:59,759 --> 00:06:03,896 and preventing that tiredness and that overwhelmed feeling 150 00:06:03,896 --> 00:06:07,533 because they're going on all cylinders 24 hours a day. 151 00:06:07,533 --> 00:06:11,704 >>My role as chaplain is to help them identify 152 00:06:11,704 --> 00:06:14,273 what their spirituality is 153 00:06:14,273 --> 00:06:16,275 and how does their spirituality help them 154 00:06:16,275 --> 00:06:20,546 through the challenges of dealing with a terminal illness. 155 00:06:20,546 --> 00:06:23,516 >>You have a lot of great programs. 156 00:06:23,516 --> 00:06:26,152 Let's talk about the Children's Center. 157 00:06:26,152 --> 00:06:28,254 That's new in the last couple years. 158 00:06:28,254 --> 00:06:29,555 >>So it's the center for children. 159 00:06:29,555 --> 00:06:31,391 It has two parts to it. 160 00:06:31,391 --> 00:06:33,326 One is called Journeys. 161 00:06:33,326 --> 00:06:36,596 The Journeys is the Children's Bereavement Program. 162 00:06:36,596 --> 00:06:38,064 And it is so cool. 163 00:06:38,064 --> 00:06:41,100 I mean we have camps that go on during the year 164 00:06:41,100 --> 00:06:43,302 where children come who have lost a brother 165 00:06:43,302 --> 00:06:45,471 or a sister or a mom and dad. 166 00:06:45,471 --> 00:06:46,706 >>Right. 167 00:06:46,706 --> 00:06:48,574 >>By the end of the day, playing games, hiking, 168 00:06:48,574 --> 00:06:52,145 climbing on ropes you know they've realized, 169 00:06:52,145 --> 00:06:55,448 okay, you know this is sad but I'm not the only one. 170 00:06:55,448 --> 00:06:56,883 >>Yeah, that's huge. 171 00:06:56,883 --> 00:06:58,117 >>You never wanna to be the only one. 172 00:06:58,117 --> 00:06:59,352 >>Oh, that's huge. 173 00:06:59,352 --> 00:07:02,922 >>It allows a child to express themselves 174 00:07:02,922 --> 00:07:05,024 the way they need to express themselves 175 00:07:05,024 --> 00:07:06,325 with dealing with grief. 176 00:07:06,325 --> 00:07:08,027 And that's what makes it so wonderful. 177 00:07:08,027 --> 00:07:09,862 >>And then the other part of the children's-- 178 00:07:09,862 --> 00:07:10,997 >>Is Piedmont Kids. 179 00:07:10,997 --> 00:07:11,931 >>Right. 180 00:07:11,931 --> 00:07:13,399 >>And we have art therapists. 181 00:07:13,399 --> 00:07:15,835 But mainly Piedmont Kids is about a supportive care program 182 00:07:15,835 --> 00:07:18,471 for children now who are dying. 183 00:07:18,471 --> 00:07:20,606 For children who have less than six months. 184 00:07:20,606 --> 00:07:23,810 We work with UVA and their Palliative Care Program on this. 185 00:07:23,810 --> 00:07:26,546 And it's a new program just starting up. 186 00:07:26,546 --> 00:07:29,015 And so that's great for our community 187 00:07:29,015 --> 00:07:31,451 that we can have that full continuum. 188 00:07:31,451 --> 00:07:35,855 >>You also have a Grief and Loss program at the Center 189 00:07:35,855 --> 00:07:38,558 for people dealing with grief and loss. 190 00:07:38,558 --> 00:07:40,860 >>This is a very special place also 191 00:07:42,028 --> 00:07:45,832 because there, whether you're on hospice or not 192 00:07:45,832 --> 00:07:48,367 if you've had loss of any type, 193 00:07:48,367 --> 00:07:49,802 you know we're there to support. 194 00:07:49,802 --> 00:07:52,038 If you're a young man we have breakfast. 195 00:07:52,038 --> 00:07:54,040 We have meetings for widows. 196 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:56,142 We have meetings for older ladies. 197 00:07:56,142 --> 00:07:59,178 In fact we even started one if you've lost your pet. 198 00:07:59,178 --> 00:08:00,413 >>Oh. 199 00:08:00,413 --> 00:08:01,347 >>Yeah, so that center can really, 200 00:08:01,347 --> 00:08:02,582 because you know there's so, 201 00:08:02,582 --> 00:08:03,816 in fact there was a study 202 00:08:03,816 --> 00:08:05,785 in the Journal of the American Medical 203 00:08:05,785 --> 00:08:10,056 which found that if a patient came on Hospice 204 00:08:10,056 --> 00:08:13,192 the chance of their spouse dying in the next year 205 00:08:13,192 --> 00:08:16,629 was remarkedly reduced because of the care 206 00:08:16,629 --> 00:08:19,165 before the death and after. 207 00:08:19,165 --> 00:08:20,900 It makes a big difference. 208 00:08:20,900 --> 00:08:23,369 >>I came to the university in 1963 209 00:08:23,369 --> 00:08:26,339 and Werner was the architect and I was the librarian 210 00:08:26,339 --> 00:08:28,007 and we both were Germans 211 00:08:28,007 --> 00:08:31,010 and we both enjoyed our German culture 212 00:08:31,010 --> 00:08:36,015 and had the experiences of World War II behind us 213 00:08:37,183 --> 00:08:40,253 and loved music and art and traveling 214 00:08:40,253 --> 00:08:44,790 and so we really were a pretty ideal couple I would say. 215 00:08:45,992 --> 00:08:49,996 Werner got diagnosed with prostate cancer 216 00:08:49,996 --> 00:08:51,697 in April of 2014. 217 00:08:54,233 --> 00:08:57,670 And the wonderful things is that these hospice nurses 218 00:08:57,670 --> 00:09:01,173 and the staff became so fond of Werner 219 00:09:01,173 --> 00:09:05,344 and this give-and-take was extremely important 220 00:09:05,344 --> 00:09:10,349 for his recovery and for basically making the end 221 00:09:12,084 --> 00:09:15,588 of life phase easier for him and for me. 222 00:09:16,789 --> 00:09:19,458 And I'm eternally grateful for that. 223 00:09:19,458 --> 00:09:24,130 >>With Mr. Sensbach, I really got to know him as a person. 224 00:09:26,465 --> 00:09:29,101 What he liked to do, what his interests were, 225 00:09:29,101 --> 00:09:31,237 what his life was about. 226 00:09:31,237 --> 00:09:34,507 Where he'd come from, his political beliefs, 227 00:09:34,507 --> 00:09:35,841 his spiritual beliefs. 228 00:09:35,841 --> 00:09:38,744 We really talked about so many things 229 00:09:38,744 --> 00:09:40,112 in the course of my visits 230 00:09:41,514 --> 00:09:46,218 that you make a personal connection with people. 231 00:09:47,620 --> 00:09:49,922 You get really attached. 232 00:09:49,922 --> 00:09:52,124 >>So we were seeing a patient who was 21 233 00:09:52,124 --> 00:09:53,459 who had colon cancer. 234 00:09:54,527 --> 00:09:56,495 And when I talked to the dad, 235 00:09:56,495 --> 00:09:58,965 he was just weeping about this situation. 236 00:09:58,965 --> 00:10:00,967 And he said to me, "Well there's one more thing Dr. Avery, 237 00:10:00,967 --> 00:10:03,836 "my son won't talk to me." 238 00:10:03,836 --> 00:10:06,405 Well I went in to see the patient, this young man 239 00:10:06,405 --> 00:10:09,442 and his two brothers were in the room with him. 240 00:10:09,442 --> 00:10:11,811 And I did my medical stuff, examined him, 241 00:10:11,811 --> 00:10:14,380 and finally I said, "You know your dad says 242 00:10:14,380 --> 00:10:16,282 "you're not talking to him." 243 00:10:16,282 --> 00:10:18,317 And Terri, he looked me right in the eyes and he said, 244 00:10:18,317 --> 00:10:20,620 "I hate that SOB." 245 00:10:21,988 --> 00:10:22,822 >>Okay. 246 00:10:22,822 --> 00:10:24,056 >>Ah! 247 00:10:24,056 --> 00:10:25,758 He felt his dad had been abusive. 248 00:10:25,758 --> 00:10:28,027 My staff wasn't convinced but the dad was sort 249 00:10:28,027 --> 00:10:31,297 of a tough guy in charge, maybe fearful. 250 00:10:31,297 --> 00:10:33,165 Clearly loved the son. 251 00:10:33,165 --> 00:10:35,301 But who we worked on was the tough guy. 252 00:10:35,301 --> 00:10:38,104 All of them, doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains. 253 00:10:38,104 --> 00:10:40,139 And there came a point when he came to his son 254 00:10:40,139 --> 00:10:43,376 and said, "Son, please forgive me." 255 00:10:43,376 --> 00:10:46,612 And the patient, the son ran across the room, 256 00:10:46,612 --> 00:10:49,982 jumped on his dad's neck and said, "Dad, please forgive me." 257 00:10:51,384 --> 00:10:53,486 That's what hospice is about. 258 00:10:53,486 --> 00:10:55,087 >>Well, and you also, a lot 259 00:10:55,087 --> 00:10:56,722 of people get involved with hospice. 260 00:10:56,722 --> 00:11:00,226 You have, you have a 5K race where people get involved 261 00:11:00,226 --> 00:11:02,828 and that's a big fundraiser for hospice. 262 00:11:02,828 --> 00:11:04,864 You have a butterfly release. 263 00:11:04,864 --> 00:11:07,767 And volunteers, you rely quite a bit on volunteers. 264 00:11:07,767 --> 00:11:10,436 So, how do people get involved if they want 265 00:11:10,436 --> 00:11:12,772 to be a part of hospice? 266 00:11:12,772 --> 00:11:15,508 >>They just need to pick up the phone and call us. 267 00:11:15,508 --> 00:11:19,445 We have a huge thriving volunteer department. 268 00:11:19,445 --> 00:11:20,746 We love our volunteers 269 00:11:20,746 --> 00:11:23,315 and we do depend on our volunteers quite a bit. 270 00:11:23,315 --> 00:11:26,686 >>Yeah, almost 20 percent of our care is done by volunteers. 271 00:11:26,686 --> 00:11:28,621 And our community has been so generous. 272 00:11:28,621 --> 00:11:30,523 If you took away our volunteers 273 00:11:30,523 --> 00:11:32,625 and you took away our donors, 274 00:11:32,625 --> 00:11:34,593 we would like be gone in a year. 275 00:11:34,593 --> 00:11:35,428 >>Yeah. 276 00:11:35,428 --> 00:11:36,929 >>So we are, we totally, 277 00:11:36,929 --> 00:11:39,665 our community has been so gracious and generous to us. 278 00:11:39,665 --> 00:11:44,303 So I have to pinch myself every day and say this is amazing. 279 00:11:44,303 --> 00:11:45,705 >>I think the most rewarding thing 280 00:11:45,705 --> 00:11:47,907 is letting people know that they have 281 00:11:49,375 --> 00:11:51,777 realized whatever dream they had for end of life. 282 00:11:51,777 --> 00:11:54,313 That they wanted to have an art exhibit 283 00:11:54,313 --> 00:11:57,883 or wanted to publish a book or finish a painting 284 00:11:57,883 --> 00:12:00,953 or take a trip to the beach or Las Vegas 285 00:12:00,953 --> 00:12:03,322 that those things are possible even with Hospice 286 00:12:03,322 --> 00:12:05,391 and we make that happen. 287 00:12:05,391 --> 00:12:10,196 >>Gilda Radner talked about delicious ambiguity. 288 00:12:10,196 --> 00:12:12,098 That all poems don't rhyme, 289 00:12:12,098 --> 00:12:16,102 all stories don't have a beginning, a middle and an end. 290 00:12:16,102 --> 00:12:18,537 That having a terminal diagnosis 291 00:12:18,537 --> 00:12:21,040 doesn't make your life any less meaningful 292 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:24,210 than it was the day before you got that diagnosis. 293 00:12:24,210 --> 00:12:26,779 (upbeat music)