Social model hospice conference strengthens national movement

Karen Pearson, our resident care manager, recently met with more than 70 representatives of 22 care homes from across the nation.  The occasion was the Third Annual Social Hospice Network Conference, held July 15-18, 2015 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Showing the strong growth of this movement, the attendance was more than double that of the 2014 event.

“Social Hospice” and “Social Model Hospice” are terms used to describe community-supported homes providing 24-hour care for terminally ill individuals and their loved ones, when dying at home becomes unmanageable.

• Social Model Hospices are places, distinct from the medical hospice services that visit them and their residents.

Karen came home from the conference even more energized than usual, and told us “I was immediately overwhelmed with the strong bond among all of us connected by doing such a heartfelt and important mission.”

Through the four days Karen worked and connected with colleagues from homes that are already serving residents and families, and from homes that are very new or now in the visionary process. Sharing, mentoring and support were a strong constant. Help, encouragement, education and inspiration were everywhere you turned.

Kudos to the Clarehouse team. They did an amazing job organizing the conference, which included keynote speakers on end-of-life culture and care, tours of Social Hospice homes, and breakout sessions. At the end, attendees were exhausted with soaking up so much information and having endless discussions, but all agreed that every minute and every discussion was valuable.

Karen brought home to Caring House pages of notes and handouts, as both a record for her and learning for the rest of the Caring House team. We look forward to next year’s conference, when we plan for Caring House to be one of the established homes sharing our stories of serving residents and families and paying it forward to those whose passion is to do the same.