Compassion and community: aging with pride in modern healthcare

Compassion and community: aging with pride in modern healthcare

By Cassandra Cotton, Nathan Adelson Hospice Community Outreach Manager

Everyone living with a terminal illness should have access to high-quality palliative care, and be treated with dignity and respect. Being diagnosed with a terminal illness and approaching the end of life can be extremely difficult for all patients. People who identify as LBGTQIA+ have specific experiences, needs and preferences that health and social care professionals should be aware of so that they can provide the best end of life care.

Understanding that LBGTQIA+ people have all the palliative care needs that other people have — including pain management, spiritual enrichment and emotional care — Nathan Adelson Hospice seeks to break down the barriers between different cultures needing information about and access to hospice and palliative care in our community. One way we do this each year is through our educational Multicultural Symposium & Luncheon.

Nathan Adelson Hospice’s Multicultural Education Symposium & Luncheon is designed to educate and inform diverse communities, consumers, caregivers, medical professionals and the public about unique needs at the end of life and how these special needs can be met. The symposium presents an opportunity to explore ways in which to promote a culturally responsive health care and social services system for all communities.

On Wednesday, March 16, nurses, social workers, discharge planners, administrators, medical directors, chaplains, volunteers, therapists and bereavement coordinators will come together to discuss how to improve end of life care for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

The delivery of high-quality palliative, hospice, and end of life care starts with an understanding of the cultural framework that has shaped the life course of the LBGTQIA+ population and the minorities within the minority’s subgroups. An esteemed panel of healthcare providers, community leaders and advocates will convene a discussion regarding the LBGTQIA+ community’s unique challenges faced when requiring care, understanding the range of needs of LGBTQIA+ patients, identifying and developing strategies for addressing multi-level health disparities for LBGTQIA+.

The LGBTQIA+ community has been among the groups historically underserved by hospices, with the mistrust of the health care system at large and provider bias as leading roadblocks to quality end-of-life care. Transitions in care raise particular challenges for LGBTQIA+ patients — including provider communication, perceptions of safety and acceptance, and assessing and respecting patients’ definitions of family and spirituality. Hospice providers are increasingly working to better understand the LGBTQIA+ population and improve access to care.

Diversity and inclusion initiatives are a priority here at Nathan Adelson Hospice. Our organization is committed to serving patients and families with dignity and compassion. It is our vision that no one ends the journey of life alone, afraid or in pain.

Nathan Adelson Hospice is the hospice of choice, employer of preference, training center of excellence and the community’s trusted partner for comprehensive end-of-life care. Please join us on March 16 at our conference. For more information about our Multicultural Luncheon and Nathan Adelson Hospice’s services, Contact Stephanie Forbes at Nathan Adelson Hospice at (702) 787-3575 or email: sforbes@nah.org.