198 Hospice Explained: Eric Horwith on End-of-Life Planning and Navigating Grief

198 Hospice Explained: Eric Horwith on End-of-Life Planning and Navigating Grief Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, interviews Eric Horwith, a social worker and UPMC regional director of business development who focuses on improving timely access to hospice, palliative care, and home health services and teaches at the University of Pittsburgh. Eric shares how his father's unexpected death forced urgent end-of-life decisions without advance planning, reinforcing the need for earlier conversations and legal documents. He describes his mother's peaceful death at 83 and his subsequent intense grief, which led him to write the Amazon-available guide, "Grief Exists Because Love Persists: Navigating Life After Loss," emphasizing grief as individualized and something to move through while honoring a loved one's legacy. Eric outlines his university course covering hospice, palliative care, organ donation, autopsy, cultural considerations, and advance care planning. He advises researching hospice providers, noting hospice is a benefit regardless of ability to pay and highlighting publicly reported quality metrics. 00:00 Welcome and Disclaimer 00:41 Meet Eric Horwith 02:33 Eric's Story and Calling 04:56 Sudden Loss and Planning Ahead 07:41 Mom's Peaceful Passing 09:23 Why He Wrote the Grief Guide 10:06 Grief Exists Because Love Persists 12:28 Grief Nuggets and Marathon Metaphor 15:37 Honoring Barbara's Legacy 16:42 Teaching Death and Dying 24:07 Hospice Access for Underserved 28:13 Final Takeaways and Goodbye 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 [email protected] 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.