Hospice celebrates first year

By Mark Baker November 21, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Hospice San Miguel thanks those who have supported us generously—in volunteer time, spirit, monetary or in-kind donations—since we opened on November 16, 2007. The Board of Directors voted in May 2008 to make all Hospice services free of charge to patients in urban San Miguel. It is hard to believe a year has passed already!

In that time, we have provided service to 29 patients in the comfort of their homes. Of the 23 hospice patients, 16 were Mexican and 7 were American. Fifteen suffered from cancer, three from heart disease and the rest from other life-limiting illnesses. We also supplied care and/or equipment to an additional six patients. We currently have two patients, with a possible third coming soon from the US.

To date, our average length of stay is 26 days, which is good, but we strive to bring people into service sooner. Early service allows time for our medical team to bring the patient’s pain and symptoms under control. Our social workers can counsel the patient and family members on accepting their situation, and our spiritual counselors can work on life-review with the patient and pray with the family, should they desire. We inform doctors of the need for early admission, but because the hospice concept is new to Mexico, many are reluctant to certify patients until they are almost at death’s door.

We just started our pilot Child Bereavement Program at the Carrusel School to the overwhelming support of its teachers and parents. The idea emerged from our realization of the need to educate children about life, loss and death—including loss of a toy, a pet, or even a parent or sibling to immigration. The 4-week, 12-hour course explores the family’s feelings of loss and the spiritual side of loss. We are excited that this pilot program will become a welcome addition to all the schools in San Miguel, and may even be a model for export throughout Latin America.

This winter we offer presentations on Advanced Directives/Living Wills, Health Support Groups/Care Share Teams and Choosing International Insurance Plans. We are also completing comic books geared to the national community. Many Mexicans love to read comic books, so our staff and volunteers have created a series of six issues that explore what happens when hospice is asked to help a tienda-owning family whose grandfather is dying of cancer.

Hospice San Miguel also is exploring hosting a national conference on hospice and palliative care, as well as projects that may help us become self-sustaining.

We could not have gotten this far without your help and support. Hospice San Miguel is about life and how you live! ¡Mil gracias, San Miguel!