Despite all my experience in nursing, I avoided getting involved in Hospice care for terminally ill patients. Knowing myself, I was concerned about being too emotional for that sort of a role. To work in primary care for patients, we can make that adjustment, but end-of-life? I didn’t know whether I was prepared for that type of nursing.
I had thought about this for years, never forgetting the services and the comfort that the Aleda E. Lutz VA Hospice had provided back in 1995 during the final weeks for my father, Napoleon Lewis Sr., who passed away at age 71. He received extraordinary care during his time in their Palliative and Hospice Unit.
I have led SVSU study abroad students to Third World impoverished communities, or to domestic disaster sites such as New Orleans, post-Katrina. But Hospice was an entirely different dilemma.
When the COVID-19 outbreak sidelined some of my activities three years ago, I found renewed motivation to finally enroll in an online Palliative Care and Hospice Nurse Practitioner Certification program through University of California at San Marcos. My certification was under the mentorship of a Hospice veteran, Dr. Eugene Seals. We first made connections via his daughter and co-practitioner, Dr. Delecia Pruitt, who now is medical director for the Saginaw County Department of Public Health.
My certification will enable me to join Hospice teams that include a nurse, a social worker, a chaplain, and anyone else who is needed to assist. Concerns may range from providing end-of-life care, to finances and inheritance, all the way to what to write in the obituary.
Dr. Seals told me he took an interest in Hospice when he encountered patients who lacked support. In a few cases, they had no children. In other scenarios, the offspring had moved out of town and/or were not as attentive as they could have been.
“Or maybe the patient simply needs somebody to talk with them,” he said. “When someone feels nobody is there, regardless of their health, that’s when the real suffering takes place.”
In addition to attaining a Ph.D from Michigan State University, I studied sociology along with nursing. Sociology teaches us how to relate to people from all populations, and also how to develop as good leaders. Being able to relate to people and families where they are in life is very important in hospice.
Many African Americans and other ethnic minorities bear an historic distrust of the U.S.A.’s medical system. That’s why fewer families place elders into hospitals and nursing homes. One of my goals is to help build trust and inclusion, so that challenges for patients and for loved ones may become less burdensome.
There is a perception that by placing a loved one in Hospice, family members are ‘putting them there to die,’ and nothing could be farther from the truth. Hospice care is designed for people who are nearing the end of life, this is true. However, the services are there to maximize comfort for the patient who is terminally ill by reducing pain and addressing physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs. These services also assist and serve as a resource for family and caregivers during the patient’s transition at the end of life.
While some patients may be within weeks or even days of passing away, others may live on for months or even a few more years. Everyone could use a helping hand now and then, even when they resist and don’t feel a need, even as they are entering their closing times.
Hospice care generally is covered by Medicare or other insurers. An array of providers are available, with info online or via hospitals and nursing homes.
Dr. Ava Lewis is coordinator of the family nurse practitioner program at Saginaw Valley State University, part of her family’s SVSU connections for more than 50 years. Her nursing career began at St. Luke’s Hospital, prior to the Covenant merger, and continued through U-M Hospital in Ann Arbor. She previously taught at Eastern Michigan University and at Delta College.
