March 2, 2018

by Patti Moore

I was in Washington D.C. recently for the winter meeting of members of the National Partnership for Hospice Innovation group. A vibrant lineup of speakers was there to share their insights on the current state of healthcare and hospice.

 

            One surprise speaker was Brian Blase, Special Assistant to the President on Healthcare Policy. I admit it – I was initially skeptical of this young person who I assumed could not possibly have any meaningful insights about our work of caring for the frail and dying citizens. That’s what happens sometimes when we are “experts” in our field; too often, we’re not open to new ideas or others’ points of view, because, after all, we’re the ones with the years of experience and/or education and maturity under our belts.

 

            But something magical happened that day. This young man, who is a part of what must be the most unconventional administration in our nations history, had done his homework.  Mr. Blase began his comments with a description of his beloved grandparents, both of who had died in the recent past, but who’d had very different death experiences.  He told us first how his grandfather had been diagnosed with a serious illness.  He’d had various doctors, each of whom had given the patient and family a different version of what to expect.  He’d had surgery, had contracted a MRSA infection while in the hospital, and continued to endure surgeries, treatments, and unending confusion about his prognosis from his many physicians, until finally dying in a nursing home in pain and suffering.  Blase described his grandfather’s passing as a “tragic experience” for his family.  Then, his grandmother was diagnosed with cancer.  She refused treatment and asked instead for hospice care.  Her experience was very different from his grandfather’s, and he described a far more humane and comfortable end; at home with her family, at peace and in charge until she died with her loved ones around her, all having said their goodbyes.

 

            He seemed genuinely interested in exploring the issues facing our group of not-for-profit hospice leaders. He told us that the White House is all for getting rid of unnecessary regulations, and that he would take our input on the topics we’d discussed back for the administration’s consideration. Dismantling the ACA, “updating” Medicare, and a focus on innovation; these were this administration’s targets for healthcare, Blase told us. I left feeling a bit more hopeful and heartened.

 

            What a lesson to me this encounter was; to stay open-minded, to avoid passing judgment in advance, and to be willing to listen to others’ points of view, free of limiting assumptions.  It’s where we find ourselves in this world so often, it seems – stuck at “I’m right, you’re wrong; shut up”. But by taking that attitude, we may waste an opportunity to expand our ideas and possibilities. 

 

            If I had decided to leave and not listen to this representative of a White House with which I don’t always agree, I would have missed an opportunity to learn something, and to realize that good hospice care is important to all of us, regardless of political, religious or cultural differences. We share a common desire to make this experience of life until death as meaningful as possible.

 

Brian Blase, Special Assistant to the President on Healthcare Policy

  

 

 

This wonderful tribute to HopeWest Hospice’s dynamic leader Christy Whitney Borchard is an inspiring read:

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO/KJCT)-- The number of women running top companies in the U.S. and abroad is still very small. There are only 23 female CEOs of S&P’s top 500 companies. That's not even 5 percent.  Those numbers are according to the women’s nonprofit Catalyst.

 

Christy Whitney Borchard is the president and CEO of HopeWest Hospice.  She says over her lifelong career, she’s often been the only woman in the boardroom.

            She’s managed to turn the dream of opening a hospice into opening several locations in 5 counties.  "I've been extraordinarily lucky to have this career,” she said.

 

And at Gilchrist Hospice of Baltimore, they’re looking for new ways to serve their Jewish community:

            “Sensing that Jewish families have been slower than Christians to use hospice services, the largest hospice organization in Maryland is reaching out to Jews with a new program in Towson aimed specifically at them.

            Gilchrist Hospice Care, which serves patients in Baltimore City and Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties, has announced a new initiative to expand the hospice program at its 34-bed Towson campus, Gilchrist Center Towson, at 555 W. Towsontown Blvd., by building a new Jewish chapel, family room, courtyard and kosher kitchen. No additional patient rooms would be built, however.”

 

Agrace Hospice of Madison, Wisconsin is part of a new program to offer nonviolent offenders a place to perform their required hours of community service as volunteers:

            “Beginning next month, adults found guilty of minor crimes in Dane County Circuit Court could face punishments other than fines or jail time — say, dozens of hours of pulling weeds at Olbrich Botanical Gardens, or maybe stocking shelves at a local food pantry… 

            So far, 14 agencies have agreed to provide volunteer opportunities — including Agrace Hospice, Special Olympics, Olbrich Botanical Gardens and the Clean Lakes Alliance— according to Kim Landry, who will serve as program coordinator.”

 

What’s your hospice doing to create alliances and awareness in your community? I’d love to hear about it!  Send your stories, press releases, and announcements to: [email protected]

Last week I spent an exhilarating five days with 200 people from across the globe being trained to be a Certified High Performance Coach by Brendon Burchard.  Brendon, one of the top coaches in the world today and author of the NY Times best-selling book High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way spent 5 days training us on his science based, outcome oriented, results guaranteed framework on how to help people achieve the next level of advancement in all areas of their lives.

 

It was an intense week with lots of 1:1 coaching practice, training on how to apply the 5 High Performance Habits of Clarity, Energy, Courage, Productivity and Influence in all aspects of our client’s lives and also in our own lives.  I stretched and grew and laughed and cried and gave deeply and received deeply. 

 

Coaching can change people’s lives.  It has changed mine.

 

To learn more about my VIP High Performance Group Coaching program click HERE!

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