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192: Cynthia Cisneros on Home Hospice, Symptom Management, and Team Support Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, interviews Cynthia Cisneros RN in episode 192 about her nur…

192: Cynthia Cisnero…

192: Cynthia Cisneros on Home Hospice, Symptom Management, and Team Support Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, interviews Cynthia Cisneros RN in episode 192 about her Nursing career and hospice experience. Cynthia describes studying at UCLA, earning a nursing degree in 1981, and working in orthopedics, pediatrics, oncology, and with early AIDS patients before moving into home Health and then hospice, where she was mentored by a pioneer nurse, Margaret, and later worked in palliative care and home hospice evaluations. Cynthia emphasizes that families often wish the…

191 Jack Clifford on EECP, Self-Advocacy, and Supporting Loved Ones at End of Life Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, interviews retired US Coast Guard E9 Jack Clifford,…

191 Jack Clifford on…

191 Jack Clifford on EECP, Self-Advocacy, and Supporting Loved Ones at End of Life Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, interviews retired US Coast Guard E9 Jack Clifford, author of "EECP: The Most Underutilized Therapy in Medicine," about his experience declining emergency triple-bypass surgery after being hospitalized in January 2021 with severe coronary artery disease and instead pursuing enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP). Jack describes researching options, advocating for a pause in urgent medical "pipelines," and traveling to access EECP before financi…

190 Comfort Measures in the Hospital: What They Mean and How They Help Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, explains what "comfort measures" mean when offered during a hos…

190 Comfort Measures…

190 Comfort Measures in the Hospital: What They Mean and How They Help Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, explains what "comfort measures" mean when offered during a hospital stay. Comfort measures begin when curative care stops and the focus shifts to relieving discomfort, pain, and distress for patients nearing end of life through appropriate medications and bedside care. She notes that comfort measures are not a full care program and lack the added support hospice can provide, but they are still valuable, especially when hospice is not offered or available due…

189 Cumulus: Reimagining Digital Memorials and Legacy with Architect-Founder Alexander Josephson Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, interviews Alexander Josephson, creat…

189 Cumulus: Reimagi…

189 Cumulus: Reimagining Digital Memorials and Legacy with Architect-Founder Alexander Josephson Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, interviews Alexander Josephson, creator of Cumulus, a Toronto/New York-based digital memorial platform designed as an immersive "memory cloud" where families can store and experience photos, videos, notes, and other legacy content in VR-accessible spaces, with mapping for gravesites or ash scatterings. Josephson shares how repeated Family encounters with death—his grandparents' passing, his grandmother's Lewy body dementia, and his…

188 The Intersection of Hospice and Palliative Care: A Conversation with Dr. Jill Schwartz-Chevlin, MD, MBA, FACP Host Marie Betcher, RN and former hospice nurse, interviews Dr. Jill Schwartz-Chevlin…

188 The Intersection…

188 The Intersection of Hospice and Palliative Care: A Conversation with Dr. Jill Schwartz-Chevlin, MD, MBA, FACP Host Marie Betcher, RN and former hospice nurse, interviews Dr. Jill Schwartz-Chevlin, an internist and palliative physician with experience in home-based primary care, hospice leadership, and value-based care. Dr. Jill explains value-based medicine as aligning incentives with patient outcomes, especially for people with complex chronic illness, by anticipating needs, supporting symptom recognition, and preventing crisis-driven ER and hospital use that can lead to debility and los…

187 Surviving with Laughter: Angela Nissel Talks Hospice and Healing Host Marie Betcher, a former hospice nurse, interviews writer and memoirist Angela Nissel about her book "Good Grief: Pass the Brea…

187 Surviving with L…

187 Surviving with Laughter: Angela Nissel Talks Hospice and Healing Host Marie Betcher, a former hospice nurse, interviews writer and memoirist Angela Nissel about her book "Good Grief: Pass the Bread, Mom is Dead" and her mother's end-of-life journey. Angela describes a complicated, achievement-focused relationship with her RN mother, who hid advanced breast Cancer and feared judgment for "giving up." Angela brought her to Los Angeles, expecting more treatment, but a doctor recommended hospice; her mother felt relief and was on hospice about six weeks. Angela shares what Caregiving taught he…

186 Staying Independent: Innovations in Home Medical Equipment Host Marie Betcher RN introduces Hospice Explained and interviews Erica Sell, founder and CEO of Harmony Home Medical in San Diego, about…

186 Staying Independ…

186 Staying Independent: Innovations in Home Medical Equipment Host Marie Betcher RN introduces Hospice Explained and interviews Erica Sell, founder and CEO of Harmony Home Medical in San Diego, about Aging in place and home accessibility. Sell explains her high-touch, education-focused approach to home medical equipment and modifications, noting bathrooms as the top fall-risk area and commonly not covered by insurance, with home entry/egress as the next major barrier. She highlights lower-cost safety steps like grab bars, handrails, removing loose rugs, improving lighting, and motion-sensor n…

185 From Suffering to Peace: A Personal Hospice Story Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, shares her father-in-law's hospice experience to illustrate that end-of-life care…

185 From Suffering t…

185 From Suffering to Peace: A Personal Hospice Story Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, shares her father-in-law's hospice experience to illustrate that end-of-life care is not always smooth. As his cancer progressed, he experienced severe, escalating pain at home, compounded by a medication supply breakdown and the family's Stress, including her mother-in-law's vascular dementia. Marie called hospice and then 911, but multiple responders were unable to transport him due to regulations, creating delays until paramedics provided pain medication and a transport tea…

184 Hospice Explained: Lisa Snyder on Legal Psilocybin Facilitation, Grief Support, and Designing End-of-Life Conversations Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, interviews …

184 Hospice Explaine…

184 Hospice Explained: Lisa Snyder on Legal Psilocybin Facilitation, Grief Support, and Designing End-of-Life Conversations Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, interviews Lisa Snyder, a state-licensed psilocybin facilitator in Oregon and member of the Portland Grief House Death Collective. Lisa shares how losing both parents to cancer led her to found the Losing Your Parents online community and to support others through grief, Trauma, and life transitions. She explains why guided psilocybin "journeys" emphasize preparation, trust, and "set and setting," and discus…

183 Creating Digital Legacies with Reflekta AI (with Grief Specialist Dawn DeLaloye) Hospice Explained host and former hospice nurse Marie Betcher interviews grief specialist Dawn DeLaloye about Refle…

183 Creating Digital…

183 Creating Digital Legacies with Reflekta AI (with Grief Specialist Dawn DeLaloye) Hospice Explained host and former hospice nurse Marie Betcher interviews grief specialist Dawn DeLaloye about Reflekta AI, an intergenerational storytelling platform that helps people create a "reflection" of themselves or loved ones—living or deceased—by adding photos, voice recordings, and memories guided by an AI biographer. Dawn explains it takes about 20 minutes to start, has launched seven months ago, and already includes about 15,000 stories; listeners can try it by talking with sample elders Virgin…

182 The Timely Presence: Year-Long Grief Support and Showing Up After Loss Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, interviews Kelly Edmondson, RN, a bereaved mother and certif…

182 The Timely Prese…

182 The Timely Presence: Year-Long Grief Support and Showing Up After Loss Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, interviews Kelly Edmondson, RN, a bereaved mother and certified grief counselor who founded The Timely Presence, a year-long grief support service. Kelly shares formative experiences with death in trauma ICU, including an 18-year-old Dying on Christmas as his family arrived, and later the death of her son Darius in 2023, which led her to focus on supporting people through milestone days. She explains how The Timely Presence provides one-time-purchase colle…

181 Feeling Supported and Prepared for Death on Hospice In episode 181 of Hospice Explained, host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, shares a listener story about a new nurse …

181 Feeling Supporte…

181 Feeling Supported and Prepared for Death on Hospice In episode 181 of Hospice Explained, host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, shares a listener story about a new nurse who felt unsupported and unprepared for his mother's death on hospice and still carries a negative memory 16 years later. Marie reflects on the need for hospice staff to assess families' education and experience levels, ask leading questions, clearly explain what to expect, and ensure people know who to call and feel safe doing so. She also shares her own experience with her oldest brother's death…