When contracting with a hospice agency, communication can be limited. My routine is to contact the primary caregiver the day before my visit to ensure the scheduled time still works. Recently I reached out to the wife of a patient I have seen on a...

By Patty Brennan Adapted from THE DOULA BUSINESS GUIDE: How to Succeed as a Birth, Postpartum or End-of-Life Doula, 4th Edition Throughout time and in cultures all over the world, there have always been those individuals—usually women—who care for birthing mothers and the sick and...

My heart fell when I opened my email this morning. The new patient I was scheduled to see at 10:45 AM had passed away in the night. This has happened to us too many times to count and it always hurts. If we’d only known,...

Massage therapists in hospice care face undeniable challenges, including finding work, keeping work, and getting paid for what we do. Despite these challenges, the two of us have enjoyed more than 40 years of combined experience in this field. Let’s talk about the challenges first....

We touch people all day long. But the truth is that we ourselves are often the ones touched by this work! Take yesterday, for example . . . Touching Story #1. I arrived at the room of one of our young patients. She was lying...

It can be difficult to determine if you should enlist and enforce a cancellation policy in your practice.  The reality is, No Shows are No Fun! They are inconvenient, costly, and can erode goodwill between client and therapist very quickly. Let’s look at it from...

Touch therapists working in clinical environments (hospice, palliative care, or hospitals) may be required to provide care plans for the patients we see. Care plans let other team members know what issues are being addressed by massage therapy. They also help the agency meet compliance...

1. Dallas has two major airports, DFW International (large airport) and Love Field (small airport). They are roughly the same distance from the training center, about 20 minutes’ drive. Pick the airport with the best fares and departure times to suit your needs. 2. Schedule...

You’ve found your passion – providing massage for those in hospice/palliative care. You’ve taken the courses and you’re ready! Then… why is receiving payment for the work you love sometimes challenging? Many of us struggle to find our way into a hospice setting. It took...