To be quite honest, each time I try to start writing this post, it feels cheap or dishonest. Today was quite frankly very hard. It was also moving and inspirational and beautiful, but that is mostly in retrospect. This morning we visited two community health clinics, which were doing absolutely amazing work with communities of people who often have nothing. It was impressive how they grew such strong ties to the community and the lengths to which they would go to serve others.
When we went to a hospice facility, I genuinely had no idea what to expect. I thought of the butterfly pictures I find on the fifth floor of Mercy hospital, where I work, when a patient is “Comfort Measures Only,” as a miniature type of hospice care. I thought of the cold lights and sterile environment that they try to cover up with a “soothing” channel on the hospital TV. I thought of the raspy end stage breathing one of my patients had and being told for the first time that I should only take their temperature, pulse, and respiration rate, rather than a full set of vitals. I also thought of those patients being confined to their beds, hardly waking, and the tired eyes of family members who sat along the bed side.
This is the exact opposite of the care provided at the Hospice Bueno Samaritano, or Good Samaritan Hospice facility. As Dr. Matías Najun spoke to us, he described the way in which they bring their “guests” into their home (as the facility is literally a home that was donated) and make them apart of the family. I had the honor to meet three of the four guests that were being hosted at the facility, two of whom were up and about, speaking to us about how we liked Buenos Aires.
The work that the Good Samaritan is going is, quite frankly, astounding. The entire facility is run on volunteers and donations. It also made me realize the massive deficit the entire world has when it comes to palliative care. As Dr. Najun mentioned to us, the sooner palliative care is able to intervene, the longer and higher quality of life the patient has. Rather than shush death away, we must find a way to move past our own uncomfortable feelings to treat people with compassion and empathy.