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- Hospice Chronicles
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- Long Haul Productions
It's been forty years since St. Christopher's Hospice - the first modern hospice -- opened in a suburb of London. Since then, millions of people around the world have used hospice at the end of their lives, with many choosing to receive care in their homes. Hospice programs often depend on volunteers who serve as a "friendly visitor" or give family members a break from their caretaking responsibilities. Producers Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister followed hospice volunteers in southwest Michigan on their first assignments into patients' homes. Their story is called 'Hospice Chronicles.' It begins as the volunteers are trained to prepare them for what they'll encounter "on the job.?
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Related Pieces
Piece Description
It's been forty years since St. Christopher's Hospice - the first modern hospice -- opened in a suburb of London. Since then, millions of people around the world have used hospice at the end of their lives, with many choosing to receive care in their homes. Hospice programs often depend on volunteers who serve as a "friendly visitor" or give family members a break from their caretaking responsibilities. Producers Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister followed hospice volunteers in southwest Michigan on their first assignments into patients' homes. Their story is called 'Hospice Chronicles.' It begins as the volunteers are trained to prepare them for what they'll encounter "on the job.?
Broadcast History
National debut
Timing and Cues
Includes :60 tease at top (optional) followed by 3:00 silence for newscast to fit hour-long segment. Can also air without tease and newsbreak at 55:00.
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| More Yellow Birds | Sparlehorse | It's A Wonderful Life. | Capitol | 2001 | 01:00 |
| The Way | Bonnie Prince Billy | Master and Everyone. | Palace Records | 2003 | 00:30 |
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Yolette Garcia
Posted on December 20, 2006 at 04:32 PM | Permalink
Review of Hospice Chronicles
As our population grays and larger questions about health care and palliative medicine grow, "Hospice Chronicles" attempts to shed light at least on how we face death with community support. The producers, Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister, follow two hospice volunteers--Joe and Betty--as they are trained and placed with clients. Their stories are divergent, but give us glimpses not only of the clients, but especially of Joe and Betty. It takes particular character to spend volunteer time with people who are dying.
Betty had worked in social services and was her husband's caregiver, so as a volunteer she had a sense of purpose and clarity. Joe didn't: all he knew is that he wanted to do good, and was a Buddhist on a journey. The surprising twist is that Betty understands impermanence better than Joe, but Joe has a secret he doesn't disclose till the end. The sum of this documentary is who actually helps whom.
The voices are brutally frank, vivid and moving, from Joe and his assigned client, Roger, to Betty and her 97 year-old client Mamie, who shuts down before us. As this documentary shows, human frailty and vulnerability deserve mounds of compassion. After hearing "Hospice Chronicles," we know that death with dignity starts with the acceptance of life in all of its transmutations.