Mention the word “hospice” and many people think it means a patient is “giving up the fight.” It’s actually all about making the most of the time a seriously-ill patient has, leading to a better quality, and sometimes a greater quantity, of life.
Hospice and palliative care are the topic on A Good Goodbye Radio Wednesday, December 18 at 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT. Three special guests will talk about what hospice is (and isn’t); why it’s beneficial to the family as well as the patient; who can access these services; and how hospice and palliative care have changed since these services first appeared in the 1970s.
Anita Brikman, NHPCO
The guest in the first half hour is Anita Brikman, Senior Vice President for Strategic Communications at NHPCO, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Her personal commitment to raising public awareness of hospice and palliative care stems from her own life-changing experiences. Her father’s death due to colon cancer in 1998 marked her family’s first encounter with hospice. Download the podcast!
Fran Smith & Shelia Himmel
In the second half of the program, the guests are Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel, co-authors of the new book, Changing the Way We Die: Compassionate End-of-Life Care and the Hospice Movement. They both encountered good deaths and bad deaths in their families, which spurred them to turn their journalistic talents to the topic of hospice. Together, they write the Psychology Today blog, Changing The Way We Die.
Download the podcast!
A Good Goodbye is an entertaining and educational weekly 60-minute online radio show on “everything you need to know before you go.” The program airs live on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. CT / 4:00 p.m. MT / 3:00 p.m. PT.
Each show becomes available as a podcast shortly after each live program. All past program podcasts on A Good Goodbye radio can be downloaded for free from iTunes, Toginet Talk Radio or AGoodGoodbye.com.
A Good Goodbye covers a wide range of critical information most people don’t consider until there’s a death in the family. Host Gail Rubin brings a light touch to a serious subject and presents expert interviews on funeral planning issues with practical insights into the party no one wants to plan. By planning ahead and having a conversation, families can reduce stress at a time of grief, minimize family conflict, save money and create a meaningful, memorable “good goodbye.”
Sign up for a free planning form and get more information at www.AGoodGoodbye.com.
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ABOUT GAIL RUBIN
Gail Rubin, The Doyenne of Death®
Gail Rubin, The Doyenne of Death®, is author of the award-winning book, A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die. Host of A Good Goodbye television series and Internet radio show, she is also a Certified Celebrant, funeral planning consultant, insurance agent and a popular speaker who uses humor and films to get the funeral planning conversation started.
Rubin is a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling and the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association. She is Vice President of the Jewish-Christian Dialogue of New Mexico, helping to start conversations across religions. Her website is www.AGoodGoodbye.com.