Navigating the End of Life: What Hospice & Palliative Care Can Truly Offer

Posted on Thursday, July 24, 2025 by Rosen Beck

When the conversation turns to end-of-life care, many of us instinctively turn away. It’s uncomfortable. It feels too soon. But avoiding it doesn’t make it go away, it only makes the final chapter harder for everyone involved.

In a recent episode of the Sapien Podcast, Dr. Gary Shlifer, internal medicine physician, board-certified hospice medical director, and host of the Sapien Podcast, sat down with Dr. Petra Davelaar, a naturopathic guide in complex care and integrative physiology. Together, they offered a compassionate and clear-eyed roadmap, not just for how to die well, but how to plan, communicate, and find peace at the most vulnerable time in life.

What Is Hospice, Really?

Hospice is not about giving up, it’s about shifting the goal from cure to comfort. It’s a specialized approach to care for patients with a life expectancy of six months or less, focusing on quality of life, symptom relief, and emotional and spiritual support.

Contrary to common misconceptions, hospice isn’t just about morphine drips and whispered goodbyes. It’s a multidisciplinary team,  including physicians, nurses, social workers, spiritual counselors, and volunteers , who guide both the patient and family through the final phase of life. When done well, hospice is an act of reverence.

And it’s not just for the imminently dying. Some patients stabilize or improve with the added support, often living beyond the six-month benchmark. When that happens, care is re-evaluated, and services continue as needed. Because hospice isn’t about an expiration date, it’s about care that evolves.

Palliative Care vs. Hospice: What’s the Difference?

Palliative care and hospice share a core principle: relieving suffering. The distinction lies in timing and treatment goals.

  • Palliative care can begin at any stage of a serious illness and be provided alongside curative treatments like chemotherapy or surgery.
  • Hospice care begins when curative treatment stops, and the focus becomes entirely comfort-driven.

In both settings, symptom management is key. But hospice goes deeper ,  it invites reflection, closure, and legacy-building. It offers an environment where both patients and families can process grief in real-time, with compassionate guidance.

The Power of Advanced Care Planning

End-of-life care isn’t just about where or how we die, it’s about how we want to live until we die.

That’s where Advanced Care Planning comes in. This process includes defining one’s goals of care, discussing code status (e.g. whether to receive CPR or intubation), and completing documents like the POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) or an Advance Directive.

When done early, these conversations can offer patients autonomy and prevent painful, unnecessary interventions. More importantly, they spare families the emotional burden of guessing.

If you’re healthy and reading this ,  now is the time to talk about it. If you’re a caregiver or healthcare professional ,  initiate the conversation. These are the questions that save heartbreak later.

Holding Space for the Spiritual

End-of-life care isn’t just clinical. It’s deeply human, emotional, and spiritual.

And yet, many healthcare systems fail to acknowledge this. Dr. Shlifer noted that in his work with patients across diverse communities, the most meaningful moments often come from spiritual reflection, sometimes guided by chaplains, sometimes through community, and increasingly, through psychedelic-assisted therapies.

Emerging research around psilocybin (a naturally occurring psychedelic compound) is showing remarkable promise in helping terminal patients come to terms with death , not with fear, but with grace. These substances, when used in a controlled, therapeutic setting, can offer patients deep emotional release, acceptance, and even peace.

While these tools are still gaining regulatory traction, forward-thinking providers ,  like those at Shlifer Healthcare and in New Mexico (one of the first states to legalize psilocybin for medical use)  are advocating for their integration into palliative care frameworks.

When Doctors Don’t Talk About It

Despite the essential nature of these conversations, many physicians avoid them,  either from lack of training, cultural taboos, or institutional pressures. Some even view discussing death as a sign of failure.

But silence only creates confusion.

In some systems, patients are rushed through aggressive treatments without ever being told the full truth: that the treatment may not cure, and may in fact lead to more pain. Without transparency, families are left overwhelmed, unprepared, and grieving under the weight of “what if.”

This is why advocacy matters. It’s why hospice physicians like those at Shlifer Healthcare , a physician group serving hospice and palliative care patients across California,  step in to have the hard conversations, mediate family conflict, and ensure the patient’s voice leads the way.

A Path Forward: Dignity, Choice, and Support

The essence of hospice is dignity. It’s about preserving the patient’s sense of self ,  even when the body is failing.

That might mean:

  • Allowing a loved one to die at home instead of in a hospital
  • Holding space for spiritual rituals
  • Helping families write goodbye letters, resolve unfinished conversations, or even plan legacy gifts

It also means offering support to families after death ,through grief counseling, bereavement services, and community.

At ABQ Hospice, serving the Albuquerque, NM area, this philosophy is central. Their motto — “bringing humanity back to healthcare” — speaks to their commitment to providing not just medical care, but comfort, clarity, and compassion through the journey of dying.

Likewise, Shlifer Healthcare (a partner of Evolve Physicians Network) brings that same integrity to California’s hospice ecosystem , combining clinical expertise with emotional intelligence, and stepping in where other providers fall short.

Conclusion: Why This Matters Now

Hospice care is not a failure , it’s a sacred, strategic decision.

It’s what happens when we face reality with courage, when we choose quality of life, and when we honor the truth that death is not the opposite of life , it’s part of it.

If you or a loved one are navigating a serious illness, don’t wait to have these conversations. Whether you’re in Los Angeles or Albuquerque, whether you seek holistic support or clinical guidance, compassionate teams are here to help.

And most importantly, you deserve care that listens, supports, and sees you all the way to the end.

Bold Call to Action: Take the First Step

If you or someone you love is approaching the end-of-life journey, don’t wait. Schedule a consultation with our compassionate teams today:

Stay Connected



source https://evolvehealthcare.com/navigating-the-end-of-life-what-hospice-palliative-care-can-truly-offer/

 

0 Responses to "Navigating the End of Life: What Hospice & Palliative Care Can Truly Offer":

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)