A Hospice Credo

By: Dr. Lynn Euzenas
Director of Spiritual Care & Bereavement Services

We believe that all life is precious. We believe that each human life is unique and sacred. We believe that each human person has an infinitely valuable and beautiful story which must be told. We believe in those stories and those lives and believe that the story and the life continue. We believe in life and that it continues after death, so we are not afraid. We affirm that death is a part of life but not its end.

We have cried over loss and rejoice in life. We have been moved to tears and brought to gales of laughter in sharing life stories with our patients. We are humbled by their strength and grace and wisdom. We believe that we are privileged and gifted by the richness of the sharing of their lives. We are humbled that they are willing to share those precious gifts with us.

We understand that pain can be physical, emotional, and spiritual, and we believe that suffering can be palliated and pain abated. We also believe that when suffering is quelled and pain silenced, that profound healing is empowered and can be realized. We believe that healing care happens when more than one pair of hands is enlisted: this is why we work as a team of care giving professionals. We believe that each patient knows what they need to relieve their pain. We believe that silence, spoken words, touch, expressions, and movement are languages which need to be understood and heard.

We are not afraid to listen. We are not afraid of tears or raw emotions. We are not afraid of receiving hugs, or giving. We dare to touch our own frailty and our own humanness in the cause of healing suffering. We believe that laughter is among the best of medicines.

We understand loss. We affirm that grief is a journey that must be accompanied by embodied caring. We encourage patience and wisdom and gentleness in the grief journey.

Most of all, we know it is love that motivates, love is essential for healing, and indeed, love is the undergirding energy and healing force, for body, mind, and spirit. We believe that it is love that shows us all that life is filled with beauty and surprise, and that the end of life journey has its own vital pathos, wisdom and beauty. We do this work because we believe this can be experienced and shared, because we believe that in hospice care, death is to be accompanied. We believe that no one should die alone.

All life is precious. Each life is sacred. Each one is worthy of love and comfort. Each life and each death has a profound impact upon every one of us. This is why we serve. This is why Hospice of the Valleys exists. This is the work of love.