Tikkun Olam

Tikkun Olam is a Hebrew term and it means to repair the world, or as i prefer to think of it, to heal the world.

Hospice brings about a state of Tikkun Olam, because our Team reaches out to connect with human beings in need. It does not matter their background or our background, and it does not matter that we cannot cure them. What matters is that for a moment in time, they are struggling with a part of life, and we are reaching out to connect and to help. Caring can occur even when their is no "cure," and that is the essence of "healing."

During my time as Medical Director of Seasons i have been very moved by the caring of the whole Team, reaching out to the patient at home. While some of our patients receive "in patient' care, most by far are at home.

Because of my own commitments to caring for disabled patients in nursing facilities, i have not had adequate time to make home visits. The home visits Dr Rajapakse or Dr Burton or myself have made have always been very moving, but we have not been able to make enough.

Recently, Dr Gary Applebaum agreed to join our Team, and not only help in Team meetings, but also to do home visits.

Dr Applebaum for those who don't know is an experienced Geriatrician, was one of the first Geriatric fellows to train at Johns Hopkins in Geriatrics, and was the chief medical officer of Erickson communities. He did not require a position of this type, and accepted this mission only as an act of caring for other people, a desire to make the world a better place, an act of "Tikkun Olam."

I wanted to in this Blog, thank Gary for joining Seasons, and most of all thank him for doing the home visits he is doing. And to thank the social workers, chaplains, music therapists, home health aids, volunteers, bereavement counselors, nurses, pharmacists and all the Team members who reach out to allow patients to live meaningful days in comfort at home. We neither prolong nor shorten life, but we make sure that patients are not alone, know that someone cares, and relieve pain and suffering.

Everything in the world is connected, when we give caring and compassion to even one person, we help to heal the world - we bring light to combat loneliness and hatred, worry, anger and despair.

This is what Hospice care is all about. Thank you all for being a part of this Journey, to help to heal the world.