As COVID-19 cases soared and visitor restrictions went into place across the nation\u2019s hospitals in 2020, health care workers faced yet another tragedy \u2014 patients dying alone when family and staff couldn\u2019t be by their side.<\/p>\n
This was not a new occurrence, of course.<\/p>\n
A patient could be alone for any number of reasons, explains Brittany Zimmerman, RN, a charge nurse in MultiCare Valley Hospital\u2019s critical care unit (CCU). Their family could live out of town or have conflicting work schedules. Some patients have estranged relationships with their family. Some family members may also just need a break.<\/p>\n
Staff try to be with these patients as much as they can, she says, but when units get busy that\u2019s easier said than done.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is so heartbreaking to me when a nurse has five or six patients under their care and a comfort care patient who is passing away, and I know that nurse wants to be in there with the patient but physically they just can\u2019t,\u201d Zimmerman says. A comfort care, or hospice, patient, is a patient receiving comforting measures to improve their quality of life as they near death.<\/p>\n
Watching patients die alone in increasing numbers during the pandemic, Zimmerman says, \u201cI couldn\u2019t stand by anymore and continue to see people die alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when a team of Valley nurses and staff teamed up with MultiCare Inland Northwest spiritual and volunteer services to develop the No One Dies Alone (NODA) program, aimed at providing a bedside companion for comfort care patients, regardless of their situation or condition. It also provides extra support and resources to families.<\/p>\n
Through NODA, staff at Valley and MultiCare Deaconess hospitals now receive an updated checklist for comfort care patients, which includes notifying NODA if a volunteer is needed to sit with a patient and a reminder to provide family and caregivers with an updated resource packet.<\/p>\n
Valley medical-surgical health unit coordinator Debbie Hardwick says the formalized program has been an important step forward for patients and families and improves staff\u2019s ability to provide the best care possible.<\/p>\n
Hardwick has been offering patients this kind of support on her own for 40 years. During her breaks, after her shift ended or if she had time to spare, she would sit and hold a patient\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think anybody really wants to die alone,\u201d she says. \u201cI think everybody has that want to know somebody cares and will be there.\u201d<\/p>\n
She says having better guidance and a pool of volunteers to pull from has been the biggest benefit of NODA. To help grow that volunteer roster, Hardwick signed up as one herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wear my heart on my sleeve. I truly feel that I was put on this earth for this. To just be that warm hand, that beating heart that\u2019s with them as theirs slows to a stop,\u201d she says. \u201cI still remember the first patient I ever sat with. It sounds weird to say rewarding, but it was an honor to see that last breath and to know that they were comforted to have me there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beverly Parker, a retired VA physician and fellow NODA volunteer, brings decades of experience specializing in geriatrics to the program.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I retired, one of the things I had on my bucket list was to work for hospice,\u201d Dr. Parker says. \u201cDeath doesn\u2019t offend me or make me upset, so I thought it was something I could do for others.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI almost never changed how long someone lived,\u201d she says of her time as a practicing physician. \u201cBut I had a big impact on how they lived. People die on their own terms, and death is not a bad thing in my world. Part of it is just being present.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of us don\u2019t know what is happening in that moment,\u201d she continues. \u201cA lot of experts agree that the last things to go are hearing and touch. While some people may want privacy to die, for others just your hand on their arm or holding their hand and speaking can be soothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patients may not always hear or understand, she says, but they know they\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n
Dr. Parker sat with one NODA patient and recalls how thankful the staff on the floor were for her presence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey would say \u2018oh thank God you\u2019re here, I can relax that someone is with them,\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
For a patient\u2019s family, Hardwick says NODA can also ease some of the stress or guilt they feel at what is already an emotional time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t have to be afraid to ask for help,\u201d she says. \u201cIt is there. It\u2019s not a weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n
As part of the program, new comfort care carts were developed to come equipped with handmade quilts, teddy bears donated by local law enforcement, jars to collect mementos, a bereavement tray and an updated NODA resource folder. The folder includes information about regional funeral homes and grief counselors, articles to help families process their loss and guidance on what to say to their loved one. It also includes FAQs on death certificates, mourners\u2019 rights, how to memorialize a Facebook page and other topics.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want families and patients to take away that this hospital cares about them,\u201d Zimmerman says. \u201cIt\u2019s not just a business. MultiCare is part of this community, and we care about every part of their life \u2014 birth, illnesses and death.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parker adds that she hopes this program helps to ease the fear most people have around death, whether they sign up as a NODA volunteer or appreciate the benefits it brings.<\/p>\n
\u201cDeath is not our enemy, it\u2019s something we all do once,\u201d she says. \u201cI hope we can focus less on \u2018They\u2019re dying\u2019 and more so on how we can make the time that is left as easy and as pleasant as possible. It\u2019s not when you die, it\u2019s how you live.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re interested in learning more about becoming a NODA volunteer, please visit multicare.org\/volunteers<\/a> and complete a volunteer application and select NODA under \u201cassignment preferences\u201d or contact Jennifer Tucker, director of volunteer services for the MultiCare Inland Northwest region at 509-473-7675 or Jennifer.Tucker2@multicare.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As COVID-19 cases soared and visitor restrictions went into place across the nation\u2019s hospitals in 2020, health care workers faced yet another tragedy \u2014 patients dying alone when family and staff couldn\u2019t be by their side. This was not a new occurrence, of course. A patient could be alone for any number of reasons, explains […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":115,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n