Saint Terry's Hospice and Palliative Care

 Saint Terry's is a State of Art Hospice located in Las Vegas, Nevada.  I am now on Staff as the Bereavement Care Director. 

I continue to provide assistance to everyone is enrolled into Saint Terry's.  In case you are in Las Vegas, Nevada and you require a loved one to be placed into Hospice Saint Terry's is the Absolute Best. 

Saint Terry's is located at 3824 South Jones Boulevard, Suite F Las Vegas Nevada 89103. Telephone (702) 857-7707. Miriam Kuchakhian, RN Is the Intake Coordinator, who will promptly have a Nurse Case Manager to come out to your home or assisting living where your Loved One is located. 

I will be available when you require Bereavement Care Support. 

Cultures have different ways of coping with death.

Grief felt for the loss of loved ones occurs in people of all ages and cultures. Different cultures, however, have different myths and mysteries about death that affect the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of the bereaved.

Individual, personal experiences of grief are similar in different cultures.

The ways in which people of all cultures feel grief personally are similar. This has been found to be true even though different cultures have different mourning ceremonies and traditions to express grief.

Cultural issues that affect people who are dealing with the loss of a loved one include rituals, beliefs, and roles.

Helping family members cope with the death of a loved one includes showing respect for the family's culture and the ways they honor the dead. The following questions may help caregivers learn what is needed by the person's culture:

What are the cultural rituals for coping with dying, the deceased person's body, and honoring the death?

What are the family's beliefs about what happens after death?

What does the family feel is a normal expression of grief and the acceptance of the loss?

What does the family consider the roles of each family member in handling the death?

Are certain types of death less acceptable (for example, suicide), or are certain types of death especially hard for that culture (for example, the death of a child)?

Death, grief, and mourning are normal life events. All cultures have practices that best meet their needs for dealing with death. Caregivers who understand the ways different cultures respond to death can help patients of these cultures work through their own normal grieving process.

7 Reasons

1.) I believe all persons have the right to the powerful and protective benefits of faith, whatever that may be for them, especially during times of struggle and illness.


2.) I believe all persons deserve well-trained caregivers to be with them just as they are​ as they access and explore their own beliefs to find meaning, peace, and comfort.


3.) I believe that if we fail to provide competent spiritual care then we are subtly engaging in spiritual neglect, because we fail to treat the whole person.


4.) I believe when persons invite a spiritual care counselor (“chaplain”) or other healthcare worker into their home and life to care for them at one of the most vulnerable times imaginable, they deserve that care to come without judgment or coercion, whether unintentional or direct, which can equate to spiritual abuse.


5.) I believe that well-meaning and well-intentioned healthcare workers desperately want to serve patients and families well and simply need the support and training necessary to be able to do so without unwittingly committing either extreme of spiritual malpractice.


6.) I believe when we are personally developed well enough to BE with the suffering of others and trust them to find their way, we will be able to accept them, their path, and their pain without needing them to be different so we can feel better.


7.) I believe the greatest honor, dignity, and act of service we can give others is our ability to sit well-enough with our own pain so that we can be comfortable sitting with them in theirs until they find their own way, their own meaning, and their own answers.

Prop-long Treatments

Prolonged grief is a mental illness that affects the patient physically, mentally and socially. As the disease progresses, the individual is at risk for developing a variety of complications that range from mild to severe.

As grief continues to linger, patients are more likely to slide into a deep, profound depression. They have no motivation to perform any task and would rather not interact with the people around them. In the worst cases of depression, the bereaved individual will turn to thoughts of suicide.Without treatment, truly depressed individuals are at a high risk for attempting to kill themselves.

Prolonged grief places a great amount of stress and tension on the affected person. High levels of stress can cause physical illness, the Mayo Clinic warns. Patients suffering from prolonged grief are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure and heart disease. Cancer rates are also elevated in people who suffered from complicated grief.

Unbearable grief often drives people to substance abuse. At first, they turn to mild substances such as alcohol or nicotine but as the grief lingers, patients graduate to more powerful substances like heroin or cocaine. Initially, the individual may turn to substance abuse to alleviate the symptoms of grief; however, over time, they will become addicted to the substance. Addiction to an illicit substance is a whole other disease that brings its own set of complications and usually exacerbates the effects of a grief disorder.

The most telling complication of prolonged grief disorder (PGD) is the inability to deal with daily living. Even the most mundane chores seem daunting to someone suffering from PGD. They will need care and monitoring from a dedicated caregiver. If the grief is not treated, patients will slowly deteriorate physically and psychologically.

The disease also adversely affects the friends and relatives of a person suffering from PGD. They often feel hurt and helpless when they are unable to help their loved one. Some people react with anger or frustration. In most cases, complicated grief places a massive burden on all of the patient’s relationships. Prompt, comprehensive treatment helps prevent any long-term damage to the patient’s interpersonal connections.

Treatment

There Is No Set Treatment Modaity that works in  every case of prolonged grief disorder. Most Medical Professional will design a Treatment Plan that Best Suits the Patient's Specific Symptoms and Life Situation.

The pharmacological options for complicated grief have yet to be established. Antidepressants are the most often used medications as they help patients deal with the symptoms of grief-associated depression. In most cases, pharmacological treatment is secondary to psychotherapy.The best treatment plans use a mix of psychotherapy and medications. In psychotherapy, therapists guide the patient into the basis and foundation of their grief. Patients are encouraged to explore their reaction to grief, their symptoms and their personal goals. An article in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy recommends that therapists attempt to redirect the patient’s goals from inward-directed goals (making themselves feel better) to outward-directed goals (goals related to outside events). Therapy should provide the patient with coping mechanisms that reduce feelings of blame and grief.

Interventions

While in the midst their grief, most people are unable to even consider treatment. The longer the grief lasts, the less likely they are to seek treatment for their depression. If left alone, people with prolonged grief are likely to suffer severe complications.

Luckily, most grief-stricken individuals are surrounded by friends and relatives who are willingly to support and help them. Most relatives will recognize the symptoms of prolonged grief disorder and suggest the subject seek medical help. This is usually enough, but in some cases, the patient is resistant to treatment. They may believe that their grief is normal, that they deserve to suffer or that the grief is the best way to hold on to what initially caused the grief.

Overcoming this resistance is usually too difficult for most families. Therefore, instead of approaching the patient on their own, families will employ a professional interventionist and stage an intervention. During the intervention, the team is able to vocalize the numerous adverse effects the prolonged grief has caused. Ideally, the patient will then consider the presented information and agree to undergo treatment.

If you have any questions about interventions, or would like help staging an intervention for your grief-stricken loved one, contact Dr. Losito today. Dr. Losito Is here to help.

Grieving Thoughts and Behaviors

Thoughts during grief can vary from “there’s nothing I can do about it” or “it’s my fault, I could have done more” to “he had a good life” or “it wasn’t her time.” They can be troubling or soothing, and people in grief can bounce between different thoughts as they make sense of their loss.  Grieving behaviors run from crying to laughter, sharing feelings to engaging silently in activities like cleaning, fixing, or exercising.  They can involve being with others or by oneself.

The different feelings, thoughts, and behaviors people express during grief can be categorized into two main styles: instrumental and intuitive.

• Instrumental grieving involves doing more physical things such as a hobby, playing, dancing, and working out.
• Intuitive behaviors include sharing feelings, exploring the lost relationship, and considering mortality and meaning in life.

How Long Does it Take to Grieve?

It is helpful to know that grief is natural and time limited.  It can continue anywhere from two weeks to almost two years, and is usually different for each relationship or event.   It is also quite normal to be able to experience joy, contentment, and humor even amidst the worst loss.  Factors contributing to soothing grief include strong social support, optimism, and physical exercise.  Most people recover from grief and can continue with their usual activities, while still feeling moments of sadness, within six months.  Some people feel better after about a year to a year and a half. For others, their grief may be longer lasting, continuing for years without seeming to improve or with any break, and this may be due to factors before the loss such as pre-existing depression or high dependency on the departed.

Everyone grieves in their own way and in their own time.  Some people are more emotional and dive into their feelings while others are stoic and may seek distraction from dwelling on an unchangeable fact of living.   Neither is better than the other, but if at any point one is concerned about whether one’s grief-related feelings, thoughts, and behaviors are “normal” and “healthy,” a consultation with a qualified mental health professional may be advised.