186 Staying Independent: Innovations in Home Medical Equipment

Host Marie Betcher RN introduces Hospice Explained and interviews Erica Sell, founder and CEO of Harmony Home Medical in San Diego, about aging in place and home accessibility. Sell explains her high-touch, education-focused approach to home medical equipment and modifications, noting bathrooms as the top fall-risk area and commonly not covered by insurance, with home entry/egress as the next major barrier. She highlights lower-cost safety steps like grab bars, handrails, removing loose rugs, improving lighting, and motion-sensor night lights, and discusses equipment options including shower transfer systems, sit-to-stand lifts versus Hoyer lifts, ceiling and floor lifts, lift-chair recliners with pressure-relief features, and high-low adjustable beds to reduce caregiver strain. She also describes lateral-rotation mattresses that can reduce nighttime caregiving needs and newer mobility advances such as lightweight lithium-ion power chairs and a LIDAR autonomous-driving power chair.

00:00 Welcome and Disclaimer

00:42 Meet Erica Sell

02:36 Bathroom Safety Upgrades

04:18 Home Entry and Steps

06:46 Low Cost Aging Tips

08:13 Transfer Equipment and Lifts

14:51 Filling Hospice Coverage Gaps

18:28 Lift Chairs and Pressure Relief

22:31 Rotation Mattresses Save Care Costs

26:05 New Mobility Tech Breakthroughs

30:10 Final Advice and Contact Info

31:54 Closing and Subscribe

https://harmonyhomemedical.com

https://www.youtube.com/user/harmonyhomemedical

If you want to help, you can donate to help support Hospice Explained at the Buy me a Coffee link https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Hospice

Hospice Explained Affiliates & Contact Information

Buying from these Affilite links will help support this Podcast.

Maire introduces a partnership with Suzanne Mayer RN inventor of the cloud9caresystem.com,
When patients remain in the same position for extended periods, they are at high risk of developing pressure injuries, commonly known as bedsores. One of the biggest challenges caregivers face is the tendency for pillows and repositioning inserts to easily dislodge during care.(Suzanne is a former guest on Episode #119)

When you order with Cloud 9 care system, please tell them you heard about them from Hospice Explained.(Thank You)

Marie's Contact
Marie@HospiceExplained.com
www.HospiceExplained.com

Finding a Hospice Agency

1. You can use Medicare.gov to help find a hospice agency,

2. choose Find provider

3. Choose Hospice

4. then add your zip code

This should be a list of Hospice Agencies local to you or your loved one.

185 From Suffering to Peace: A Personal Hospice Story

Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, shares her father-in-law's hospice experience to illustrate that end-of-life care is not always smooth. As his cancer progressed, he experienced severe, escalating pain at home, compounded by a medication supply breakdown and the family's stress, including her mother-in-law's vascular dementia. Marie called hospice and then 911, but multiple responders were unable to transport him due to regulations, creating delays until paramedics provided pain medication and a transport team arrived. A wrong route extended the ambulance ride, and the hospital had not been notified by hospice. In the ER, IV medications and palliative sedation finally brought comfort; he slept peacefully for several hours and died without suffering. Marie reflects on learning from imperfect hospice stories and announces a shift to less frequent episodes for work-life balance.

00:00 Podcast Disclaimer

00:29 Meet Your Host

00:43 Father-in-Law Hospice Setup

02:12 Pain Crisis at Home

03:36 Calling Hospice and 911

07:00 Transport Roadblocks

10:11 Ambulance Ride Gone Wrong

11:06 ER Arrival and Palliative Sedation

13:38 Peaceful Passing

14:38 Lessons and Imperfect Stories

16:44 Listener Invitation and Wrap-Up

If you want to help, you can donate to help support Hospice Explained at the Buy me a Coffee link https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Hospice

Hospice Explained Affiliates & Contact Information

Buying from these Affilite links will help support this Podcast.

Maire introduces a partnership with Suzanne Mayer RN inventor of the cloud9caresystem.com,
When patients remain in the same position for extended periods, they are at high risk of developing pressure injuries, commonly known as bedsores. One of the biggest challenges caregivers face is the tendency for pillows and repositioning inserts to easily dislodge during care.(Suzanne is a former guest on Episode #119)

When you order with Cloud 9 care system, please tell them you heard about them from Hospice Explained.(Thank You)

Marie's Contact
Marie@HospiceExplained.com
www.HospiceExplained.com

Finding a Hospice Agency

1. You can use Medicare.gov to help find a hospice agency,

2. choose Find provider

3. Choose Hospice

4. then add your zip code

This should be a list of Hospice Agencies local to you or your loved one.

184 Hospice Explained: Lisa Snyder on Legal Psilocybin Facilitation, Grief Support, and Designing End-of-Life Conversations

Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, interviews Lisa Snyder, a state-licensed psilocybin facilitator in Oregon and member of the Portland Grief House Death Collective. Lisa shares how losing both parents to cancer led her to found the Losing Your Parents online community and to support others through grief, trauma, and life transitions. She explains why guided psilocybin "journeys" emphasize preparation, trust, and "set and setting," and discusses potential benefits for PTSD, depression, anxiety, and end-of-life anxiety, while noting legal-model limitations and timing considerations for terminally ill clients. Lisa describes death doula training, the importance of normalizing truthful end-of-life planning conversations, and balancing a dying person's wishes with survivors' needs. She outlines Oregon's medical screening process and key contraindications, and provides her website and email for inquiries.

00:00 Welcome and Disclaimer

00:29 Meet Host and Guest

02:36 Lisa's Story and Work

03:36 Who Psilocybin Helps

04:14 Journey vs Trip and Facilitation

05:28 Set and Setting Explained

07:02 Psilocybin at End of Life

09:58 Designing Your Death

14:51 Lisa's Parents and Hospice Memories

17:30 Why Death Doula Training

21:34 Cannabis and Other Supports

23:18 Siblings and Shared Grief

25:49 Starting the Death Conversation

27:37 Advocacy and Family Dynamics

29:49 Funerals Are for the Living

33:09 How to Reach Lisa

33:57 Medical Screening and Safety

37:02 Death With Dignity and Closing

lisa@liberadiate.com

https://liberadiate.com/

If you want to help, you can donate to help support Hospice Explained at the Buy me a Coffee link https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Hospice

Hospice Explained Affiliates & Contact Information

Buying from these Affilite links will help support this Podcast.

Maire introduces a partnership with Suzanne Mayer RN inventor of the cloud9caresystem.com,
When patients remain in the same position for extended periods, they are at high risk of developing pressure injuries, commonly known as bedsores. One of the biggest challenges caregivers face is the tendency for pillows and repositioning inserts to easily dislodge during care.(Suzanne is a former guest on Episode #119)

When you order with Cloud 9 care system, please tell them you heard about them from Hospice Explained.(Thank You)

Marie's Contact
Marie@HospiceExplained.com
www.HospiceExplained.com

Finding a Hospice Agency

1. You can use Medicare.gov to help find a hospice agency,

2. choose Find provider

3. Choose Hospice

4. then add your zip code

This should be a list of Hospice Agencies local to you or your loved one.