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Reflections of a hospice chaplain


Reflections of a hospice chaplain
By Joel Carmer, Chaplain at Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care

Reflections of a hospice chaplain:

Winning the fight of being dormant

Today, I am void of the volume of peace that I would like to have. I know many of us have experienced losses and various sorts of emotional, relational, spiritual, physical and other hurdles. These may rob us of peace and connectedness.

As hospice workers, we shoulder the burdens of others on a daily basis, while often we ourselves are broken. We gift others with kindness, compassion, and generosity of spirit. In contrast, we often don’t feel like we can offer that same gift to ourselves.

Today, I encourage us all to honor our struggles, weaknesses  and burdens. I encourage us all to embrace our gifts and talents. Accordingly, let us “walk in the moccasins of another” and embrace the journey toward wholeness.

We are so fortunate to work in an environment where we can view life through the lens of our patients, families and loved ones as to what is important, and what can be left behind.

As we observe from nature, the emergence of new life from a long winter is winning the fight of being dormant.

Let us find new life in ourselves and each other as we live each day, a gift indeed.

About Us

 
The mission of Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care is to bring expert care, peace of mind, comfort, guidance, and hope to people who are affected by life-limiting illness or by grief. Our vision is that each person in our community is valued from life through death and each family is supported in their grief.

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Our Programs

Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care provides comprehensive, expert care for all ages at all stages of serious illness.

Hospice Care

When the focus shifts to comfort instead of treatment, care comes to your home or nursing facility with a plan tailored to your needs, including emotional and spiritual support for the whole family.

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Hospice Care

Palliative Medicine Fellowship

Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care is the community clinical site for the University of Kansas Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship. We're committed to developing physicians with specialty-level training in caring for patients with serious or terminal illness.

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Palliative Medicine Fellowship

Community-Based Palliative Care

Beginning as early as diagnosis and at any stage of serious illness, our nurse practitioners make home visits as needed to help coordinate your care and provide expert pain and symptom management.

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Community-Based Palliative Care
Hospice House

Hospice House

When symptoms cannot be easily managed at home, two hospice houses provide 24/7 expert care in comfortable home-line settings where family members can be relieved of caregiving duties to focus on loved ones.

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Carousel Pediatric Care

Carousel provides palliative and hospice care for perinatal and for babies through young adults with a dedicated team of pediatric nurses, social workers, chaplains and other specialists.

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Carousel Pediatric Care
Solace House

Solace House

Our center for grief and healing supports individuals and families who have been impacted by the death of a loved one, whether anticipated, or sudden and unexpected. We provide opportunities to share, listen, learn and heal with peer group support from age 3 through adult.

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