Aug. 26, 2008
We Who Are About to Die, Salud!
Twice a month, on Friday afternoons, the attending physician at Laguna Honda Hospice dons a smoking jacket and acts as bartender for his patients, who are all nearing the end of their lives.
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Source: Laguna Honda Hospital May Suffer Cutbacks [S.F. Chronicle]
SynopsisIt's Friday afternoon at the hospice at Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco and Dr. Derek Kerr, the attending physician, slips out of his lab coat and into a smoking jacket. Then he heads down the hall to the the community room of the hospice, where he mixes up cocktails -- with real liquor -- for the patients and hospice staff who are gathered there for a biweekly 'happy hour.' Patients are even allowed to smoke in the small courtyard just outside the door. Dr. Kerr explains that, for terminally-ill patients, it makes little sense to emphasize physical 'healing' when the immediate (and attainable) goal is to provide emotional comfort. Interviews with patients and caregivers support Kerr's unconventional approach. |
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