Note: This program originally aired July 25, 2023.
When former President Jimmy Carter announced he was entering at-home hospice earlier this year, the public assumed death was imminent and that it would be a matter of days until he passed. But that was back in February.
It’s myths like these that nurse Hadley Vlahos is on a mission to bust. Her goal is to educate the public on what hospice care actually does and the quality of life it provides.
According to a 2019 study released by the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, hospice remains underutilized, especially among individuals with non-cancer illnesses. The journal estimates that annually nearly 1 million individuals who could use hospice die without having taken advantage of its services.
One of the ways Vlahos is reaching the public is through social media. She has 1.7 million followers on TikTok. The New Orleans-based nurse uses her social media presence to answer questions about hospice, share stories about her interactions with her patients and their families, and the lessons she’s learned about death and dying. She was recently featured in the New York Times for her work.
We’ll explore the misconceptions around hospice, the personal story that drew Vlahos to hospice care, answer listener questions, and discuss her new book “The In-Between,” this Tuesday on Charlotte Talks.
GUEST:
Hadley Vlahos, R.N., registered nurse
