|
As a child, Wald had a chronic respiratory problem and spent months in the hospital, leading her to a career: nursing. She rose to become dean of the Yale University School of Nursing. But she is better known for what she did after hearing a 1963 lecture by British physician Dame Cicely Saunders, about her plans to open the world's first hospice, in England. "She blew me away," Wald said later. "Until then, I had thought nurses were the only people troubled by how a terminal illness was treated." At the time, she said, "terminally ill patients went through hell, and the family was never involved. No one accepted that life cannot go on ad infinitum." She resigned as Yale's dean and went to Saunders' hospice for training, then returned to Connecticut to work on bringing hospice care to the United States. She succeeded in 1974, helping to open the Connecticut Hospice. Today, there are more than 3,000 hospice programs in the U.S. which help about 900,000 patients a year. Wald was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1998, named a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing, and received the Founder's Award of the American Hospice Association. She died at home October 8 at 91.
From This is True for 9 November 2008
Suggestions for further reading:
Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications o...
by Maggie Callanan, Patricia Kelley
Amazon Price: $11.56
Customer Review: In the middle of caring for my 50-year-old husband during his dying process my hair dresser gave me a copy of this book. I was so scared that I wouldn't know what to do, how to care for him and I would cause more pain than be a source of strength o...
Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat
by David Dosa
Amazon Price: $16.31
Customer Review: This is an excellent book which I gave as a gift to a friend whose mother suffers with dementia. I actually heard this book on NPR's Radio Reader and bought it specifically for her. It gives insight to families of patients and how they handled thei...
Palliative Care: Transforming the Care of Serious Illness (Public Health/Robe...
Amazon Price: $67.50
Midwife for Souls: Spiritual Care for the Dying
by Kathy Kalina
Amazon Price: $8.76
Customer Review: This book was sent to me by a friend when my mom was dying from cancer, It helped the family with the final steps with the end of her life. It was very good.
Palliative Care Nursing: Quality Care to the End of Life, Third Edition
Amazon Price: $74.97
Newsfeed display by CaRP |
About the HUs
About This is True
Subscribe Free
to This is True
Prev: White House photographer Cecil Stoughton
Next: Comedy writer Irving Brecher
Complete Name List
|
