As a hospice care nurse, Cookie Devine faces death on a daily basis as she helps patients make the transition from this life to the next.
While the job can be difficult and emotionally stressful at times, the Addison resident considers her work to be an honor, not a burden.
‘If you’ve ever been present at a birth, it’s a very private time and it’s very awesome. I find the same thing when people die,? she explained. ‘It’s a very intimate time. It’s a very private time. And there’s just something very powerful about being allowed to be present.?
A Registered Nurse since 1981, Devine’s been working in hospice care since 2002. She’s currently employed at the Genesys Hospice Care Center in Goodrich.
Her primary role is to care for patients, which means helping manage their symptoms, listening as they review their lives and just being there for them in general. She also provides comfort and support to their families while educating them about the dying process.
‘Hospice brings dignity to the dying and peace to the living,? said Devine, noting it can be done anywhere ? homes, hospitals, nursing homes or private facilities like the one she works at.
Hospice is designed to give supportive care to people in the final phase of a terminal illness and focus on comfort and quality of life rather than a cure. The goal is to enable patients to be comfortable and free of pain, so that they live each day as fully as possible.
Institutions dedicated the dying have existed for more than 2,000 years, but the modern hospice movement ? with its emphasis on the dying process and symptom control ? began in 1967 in London, England.
Although the first American hospice was started in 1974 in Connecticut, it wasn’t until 1983 when the hospice movement really took off in the U.S. because Medicare began offering reimbursement for it.
Today, there are more than 3,100 hospice programs throughout the United States, according to Devine, who noted more than one-third of dying Americans utilize the service.
Unlike hospitals where the focus is on treating and healing people, hospice is all about facing the end of life.
‘Hospice doesn’t treat the disease, we treat the person,? Devine said. ‘We treat symptoms from diseases. We manage their symptoms and control their pain.?
As a process that involves the whole family, hospice is an opportunity for loved ones to be a real part of the decision-making process ‘That’s not always the case in regular medicine,? Devine noted.
In addition to physical issues, hospice deals with the emotional, social and spiritual impact of the disease on the patient and the patient’s family and friends.
Devine enjoys educating people about hospice, like she did last week when she gave a general overview of it to the Rotary Club of Oxford. She said the most common misconception about hospice is that it’s only for cancer patients. It’s not.
‘It’s for any life-limiting illness,? Devine said.
It was the difference between her father’s death in 1991 and her mother’s passing in 2000 that led Devine to dedicate her energy and talents to hospice care.
‘My father did not have hospice, my mother did have hospice,? she said. ‘The difference in the dying process for each of them was significant.?
For her father, who ultimately succumbed to multiple systems failure, death was ‘agonizing? and ‘long in duration.?
‘After his death, it really bothered me. I had a lot of angst over that,? said Devine, who noted hospice was never presented as an option for the end of her father’s life.
When her mother was dying as a result of a stroke, hospice was offered to the family and Devine’s grateful they took advantage of it.
‘She died in a very dignified, peaceful way ? quite different than my father,? she said.
Following her mother’s death, Devine decided to devote herself to hospice care, but she had to wait a while.
‘Hospice doesn’t really want caregivers to come into the field until at least one year after the death of a loved one,? she explained.
In a way, being a hospice care nurse is a form of personal therapy for Devine.
‘Maybe it’s a way for me to handle the angst I felt over my father’s death,? she said. ‘If I couldn’t help my dad, perhaps I could help somebody else’s father have a dignified and peaceful death.?
Overall, Devine indicated her job keeps her ‘grounded? and reminds her of what’s truly important in life ? the relationships with family and friends. ‘Everything else you have to leave behind,? she said.