Show notes-

Mourning Dove Medical Presents Dr. G at the Heart of Healthcare 

Special guest Gerard Soucy, RN, CHPN

😂Joke: A nurse and doctor went to a bar…

Nurse Gerald a husband and caregiver shares personal experience from 5 years caring for wife who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. She was the most important patient he had. Jeanne Soucy lived February 18, 1946-January 14, 2016 “The happy heart is true” She was a nurse educator, wife, and mother.

Insights from our conversation:

Caregiver may have constant anxiety and self doubt

- Suffer from Loneliness

- Caregivjng comes at Great Costs: Emotional, Financial, Physical. Many challenges occur with healthcare system, even to healthcare professionals.

Mission-Educate & Empower in three parts, helping listeners ‘SEE’ what’s needed to navigate the healthcare system.

1. Story (theme) “Please don’t…” conversations between a loving husband and wife was documented in an Advance Directive form MOLST in Boston, Massachusetts.

Timeline

- 2010 diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment MCI

-Advance Directive MOLST

-Jeanne attended adult day program and Nurse Gerard attended a support group.

- Jeanne died peacefully at home while receiving hospice care January 10, 2016 (same week as David Bowie)

-Green burial

2. Educate (Teaching point) 🍦 Functional decline measured with ice-cream; decision points for full-time caregiving needs and decision point for hospice care are crucial. As Alzheimer’s disease trajectory continued, Nurse Gerard’s wife’s health declined to need hospice care, and she had a peaceful death at the age 69.

3. Empower -Valuable a resources: 05/01/2017 “A death I nursed” Death Nurse Blog http://www.deathnurse.com/2017/05/a-death-i-nursed.html?m=1 Center to Advance Palliative Care CAPC Dementia Designation https://www.capc.org/training/best-practices-in-dementia-care-and-caregiver-support#:~:text=CAPC%20Designation,-Take%20all%20seven&text=Designation%20can%20be%20added%20to,best%20practices%20in%20dementia%20care. BOOK “The Story of Nursing and Its Power to Change Our World” by Sarah DiGregorio https://a.co/d/4ww58Ab Chapter 5 'Endings' includes Gerard Soucy Taking Care:

Website info https://mourningdovemedical.com

VIDEO podcast https://youtu.be/s5Q-P9Vze5s #hapc #EducateAndEmpower #PeaceOfMind #Alzheimers #Dementia #Caregiver #Caregiving #mandateCAPC #Nurse #Spouse #Husband #Wife