out to patients in times of serious or terminal illness

Compassionate Care: prog

BY MARY BROLLEY

Gale Smith sat at her desk typing a news release for distribution when the phone rang.As a public relations manager with The Methodist Hospital System,she often receives urgent phone calls from the media requesting an interview with a physician or patient.

Smith knew she had to respond immediately, but this call wasn’t a media request. She needed to visit a patient at The Methodist Hospital, and she needed to get there quickly.

Smith drove to the hospital, clumps of traffic making the minutes drag. Nevertheless, within a half hour she was at the bedside of a dying woman.

For several hours, Smith sat with the patient, speaking gently and reading Bible verses. She remembered from previous visits that the Book of Psalms was one of the woman’s favorites. When the woman struggled to breathe, Smith touched her hand and quietly said, “If you need to go now, it’s okay.”

Shortly after, the patient took her last breath.

Smith will never forget this poignant experience. For the past year, she has volunteered for two innovative Methodist programs designed to provide companionship and human comfort for hospitalized patients, even in their final hours.

Established by the hospital’s Spiritual Care and Education Department, the No One Dies Alone program offers a human touch for terminally ill patients who may be isolated from family and friends. Specially trained Methodist employees and other volunteers provide a bedside presence for these patients.

Volunteers comfort patients by offering reassuring words, playing soothing music or reading aloud. These caring expressions create a calming atmosphere, which can lessen a patient’s fear, loneliness or anxiety.

Gale Smith is a volunteer with the No One Dies Alone program.

grams lend encouragement and support

Because Smith had been the woman’s Patient Partner, she knew the patient’s family lived several hours away. Although they tried to visit regularly, it was difficult for them to maintain a regular schedule of visits as the patient’s illness wore on. When the patient took a turn for the worse, no family members were near.

Smith empathizes with families who are scattered in different cities or parts of the country. An only child whose parents live in Louisiana, she is increasingly concerned about being far away from her own parents as they age. If one or both of them had a health crisis before she could get there, “I would so want someone to be with them,” she said.

“In extreme circumstances, when families can’t be with their loved ones in their final hours, No One Dies Alone is the bridge,” said Denice Foose, bereavement program manager.

She says sometimes family and friends aren’t able to be there, or patients outlive their friends and family. “There’s a term for them — elder orphans,” she said. “Ultimately, it doesn’t matter why these patients don’t have family near them in their final hours. We do our best to ensure that they’re not alone.”

No One Dies Alone was adapted from a 7-year-old program that began in the northwest United States. Since Methodist adopted the program a little more than a year ago, 23 patients have been served.

The success of No One Dies Alone spurred the creation of Patient Partners, in which staff visitors befriend patients who must remain hospitalized for longer periods of time. The volunteers for this program, called Patient Partners, are trained to be active listeners to gauge the patient’s needs. They engage patients in meaningful conversation and explore their interests and hobbies. More than 200 patients have been served by Patient Partners.

Methodist is the first hospital in the Texas Medical Center to implement these programs.

Patients in both programs are referred to the Spiritual Care Department by medical staff. When a physician or nurse sees that a patient is lonely or could use a visit, he or she contacts Foose or bereavement coordinator Ramon Olachia, who selects a partner from the ranks of Methodist employees who have signed up and gone through the required training session.

There are 135 volunteers in the Compassionate Companion programs — nine out of 10 of them are employees, Foose says. “At first we thought we might need to go out into the community to recruit volunteers,” she said. “But we’ve had an overwhelming response from our staff.”

Volunteers range from hourly staff to executives. The one-on-one training for both programs emphasizes sensitivity to the patient’s religious preferences and a nonjudgmental approach to patient interactions.

The Rev. Ted Smith, director of Spiritual Care and Education at Methodist, advocates for both programs. “They are a concrete example of our I CARE values (Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Excellence),” he said. “We respect this person in extremis (at the point of death); we are accountable to meet these human needs.”

Smith says she is not surprised that employees from all religious backgrounds are eager to volunteer for these programs. “Methodist is the first place I’ve worked where values are more than just words on a mission statement. I CARE is truly what people here are expected to live by.”

Being a Patient Partner and Compassionate Companion has been gratifying and valuable for her. “It’s the right thing to do,” she said. “I’m glad I could be with a patient who’s ill, who’s dying, and let them know that someone knows and cares about them.”

To find out how you can refer a patient to one of these programs, call 713.441.6297.