Hospice care is a somewhat misunderstood medical practice in this country.  People often think it’s all about dying, or the opposite- keeping a dying patient alive.  Neither of these perceptions are accurate.  In this episode, we are focusing on what hospice care entails by sitting down with the people who provide it – hospice nurses.

Rural areas have a higher need for hospice care as there are simply more people over the age of 65 living here.  The benefits of having hospice care available to a community are surprisingly large, even for the nurses who work there.  Hospice nurses learn to treat for quality of life rather than quantity of life and, therein, reevaluate their own healthcare directives.  They spend a good part of their practice educating and communing with families. They even experience mental and  spiritual growth in their own lives from performing these services.  And the remarkable events that take place around the time of a death have given many of these women a deeper sense of faith.

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @middleofeverywherepod and on Twitter @rural_stories.  Learn more about us at middleofeverywherepod.org. Subscribe wherever you get your podcast.