Some stories I jump on the second my editor tosses a lead to our crew. Others spark that lizard-brain reaction of “not it!”. It’s the kind you secretly hope someone else will grab. I’ll admit, when the word hospice came up, it landed squarely in that second category. I didn’t type “not it” in the chat, but I did confess that the assignment sounded a little… scary.
When I thought of hospice, I pictured dimly lit rooms, hushed voices, and an overwhelming sadness that clung to the air. It felt like a place people went only to die, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to walk into that reality, let alone write about it.
I admitted as much to my editor, who told me I could back out if it became too uncomfortable. I also shared my hesitation with Sara Olson, Hospice Care Consultant at Moments Hospice in Hermantown, which serves the Northland.
Olson, a social worker who has been with Moments for a year, wasn’t surprised.
“I know that it’s scary, and people tell me all the time it’s nerve-wracking. We sometimes have patients and families ask if we have to call it hospice,” Olson said. “The word ‘hospice,’ people think it means that someone is going to pass away.”
Well, doesn’t it? At first glance, yes. But after talking with Olson and learning more about common misconceptions, I realized hospice is much more than the final days of life. It’s an experience and one that Moments Hospice takes pride in shaping.
“One of [the] number one myths is that hospice is a place where people go to pass away,” Olson said. “Hospice is a service, and we go wherever the patient is that needs us and we look at their care from a holistic point. It’s very patient centered. It’s very much about what they want for themselves at this point in their life. It’s about comfort, it’s about successfully fulfilling final wishes.”
Fulfilling final wishes? I assumed bucket-list opportunities would be limited once someone reached the point of needing hospice, but Olson explained that hospice can begin months before the patient’s final days. Starting earlier allows the staff to build relationships with patients and better understand how to support them. Some patients have even been with Moments for more than a year.
“Our amazing nurse case managers know their patients. They know them in and out,” said Olson. “They get to know what’s normal for them and what’s not normal for them.”
It’s common for families to delay hospice, believing it might hasten the end for their loved one. Olson said that’s another widely held misconception.
“People often say things like if you’re on hospice you’re going to pass away faster,” she explained. “That’s actually the opposite. There’s some good research that shows that people that are on hospice actually live longer than someone with the same diagnosis is without the care. Probably because of all the wrapped around care and TLC we can give those patients on average. I want to say it’s 28 days. People with heart disease live on average 81 days longer with hospice.”
Yet another false belief is that being in hospice means being pumped full of pain meds. Olson clarified, “We very much meet our patients where they’re at. If they’re in pain, we will do what we can to work with them and try to find something that’s going to work.”
That does not always mean more meds.
“There’s nothing comfortable about being groggy and overmedicated,” Olson advised. “Our goal is to make sure their pain is relieved, and we can keep them as functional as possible at the same time.”
Keeping patients comfortable and functional is a major part of hospice care, but Moments Hospice goes a step further. The organization’s nonprofit foundation supports final wishes and practical needs, both big and small, to make the end-of-life experience as positive as possible.
“Through the foundation, we can fulfill items or requests, like outings or events,” Olson said. “An example might be if we have a patient that really needs an item that doesn’t have the financial means or they don’t have family or friends that are available to help get them what they need, whether it be something super simple like a body pillow for repositioning them in bed or a piece of equipment you can’t traditionally get through an equipment vendor.”
The foundation also handles what Olson calls “final wish fulfillment.” Patients and their families have been sent to Twins and Vikings games, and one patient in their 80s, who regretted never getting a tattoo, was able to check it off their list. The foundation has also arranged birthday and anniversary dinners, sometimes even catered, depending on the patient’s condition.
“When you get to write the proposals for these outings, it’s really fun because you see the personality of the patient really shine,” Olson said. “You get a really good feel for their family and what was important to them and the things they used to do that were really important to them. And you get the chance to kind of bring that back.”
Planning these experiences can take forethought, and events sometimes require extra hands, but Olson said approval from the foundation is rarely an obstacle.
“The foundation prides itself on being able to do these things for our patients, so I seldom have them tell me no when it comes to doing something that’s really going to bring value to the end of someone’s life,” Olson said.
Moments Hospice also relies on volunteers, and Olson encourages people to get involved in ways that suit them.
“Sometimes our volunteers sit vigil with patients if being with someone in the final final moments of their life is something they’re comfortable with. That’s not for everyone,” Olson said. Some volunteers read to patients or simply visit with them. “It’s just knowing yourself and knowing what you’re comfortable with and then giving it a shot. We take feedback from any volunteer and try to match them with the patient that we think would be a good fit.”
For Olson, working in hospice is more than a job. It’s a calling.
“There’s something rewarding about serving someone in that incredibly vulnerable time in their life,” she said. “We get to take on their health care needs from a different angle and in a way that I think gives people a lot of dignity and grace at that point in their life. I think it’s just incredibly special. I know it’s not for everyone, but I can say confidently, I feel like there’s a lot more joy in hospice than there is sadness. You kind of have to work in it to know that. It fills the cup.”
I’m grateful our editor encouraged me to take on this story. I went in hesitant and full of misconceptions about hospice, and came out hopeful, reassured that people like Sara Olson and organizations like Moments Hospice are making the end of life dignified, meaningful, and full of care.
To learn more about Moments Hospice and the services they offer, visit momentshospice.com or call 877- Moments or locally 218-520- 0870.
