SHARING HOSPICE: OPTIMIZING THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE TERMINALLY ill @BrethrenVoices
SHARING HOSPICE: OPTIMIZING THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE TERMINALLY ill  @BrethrenVoices
Uploaded July 2023 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
Combines Part 1 and Part 2 into a 58 minute show.

The “Brethren Voices” of March 2023 featured , “It All Started . . . With an Idea,” the story of Dan West and the idea known as “Heifer Project.” His efforts assisted the survivors of war-torn-Europe with livestock, to revitalize the agricultural needs of Europe, following World War II.

With this edition of “Brethren Voices,” we welcome Barbara West, Dan’s granddaughter, to tell her story of serving as a “Hospice Nurse” for 27 years, with individuals who are experiencing a terminal illness.

Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms, attending to their emotional and spiritual needs. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by reducing pain and suffering. It provides an alternative to therapies focused on life-prolonging measures that may be arduous, likely to cause more symptoms, or are not aligned with a person's goals.

Barbara West has served as a Hospice Nurse in California and Oregon and shares her experiences as well as some of the stories of those that she has served.

In this culture, death is rarely discussed, but, Barbara West, shares that death can be compared to "taking off a tight shoe." In this life we have struggles in so many areas. When we finally come to the moment of death, it's just about "ease."

Barbara shares her experiences with children who are dealing with a terminal illness. "Often, it is most difficult for the parents and relatives of the child who is dying." Barbara states, "Generally, the hospice patients, themselves, tend to have less issues with death than the people around them who are having trouble, letting them go."

Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by reducing pain and suffering. It provides an alternative to therapies focused on life-prolonging measures that may be arduous, likely to cause more symptoms, and possibly, not be aligned with a person's goals.

Barbara West shares that the hospice team approach provides support not only for the patients, but often for those providing care.
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TAGS: Palliation, Terminally ill, Quality Care, Hospice Care, Team Care For The Terminally ill, Death Experiences, Children's Experiences With Terminal Illness, "Death Is Like Taking Off A Tight Shoe," Terminal Illness Experiences.
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SHARING HOSPICE: "OPTIMIZING THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE TERMINALLY ill

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