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On this page, I'll answer your questions
and provide some nuggets of wisdom.
There are so many fun uses for the stories. One storywriter wrote her
sons' stories for high school graduation and gave them to all of the guests at the party. It seems I am always
writing them for special birthday celebrations--my own mother's 80th birthday, or my mother-in-law's 94th birthday.
At Memorial Hospital we try to write a story on each and every new employee. We write them for service awards or retirement
celebrations.
In 2006, I presented a program on the stories for my sisters in Beta Sigma
Phi and then wrote stories of all 21 of them. The program was featured in Beta Sigma Phi's magazine, "The Torch".
The sisters loved their stories and it's a great way to welcome new members.
Since the very beginning, I
have been pondering other uses for the program. Churches have contacted her about using stories in place of
a generic church directory that only has a picture of a family. In the 2005-06 school year, I partnered with a
friend and wrote stories for all of the kindergarten children. Their teacher then measured the impact of the stories
on self-esteem, sense of belonging and classroom participation. The results were dramatic.
Families
are always using stories for development of obituaries. Many have asked that the story be used for visitation and on
more than one occasion, the storywriter has been invited to read the Living History at the visitation or funeral.
One storywriter formed such a strong bond with the family that he was asked to be a pall bearer at the patient's funeral.
If you have ever read an obituary of someone you care for and thought, "why didn't I know that about
them before they died?", then you know my motivation. That is exactly how I felt for years. I would care
for patients for long periods of time and perhaps for several admissions, and I would think that I knew them. Then they
would die and I would read something that amazed or surprised me. I would ponder how in the world I could get that kind
of information before they died. So many times I had remorse about the conversations I did NOT have,
and now COULD not have.
When one of my very favorite patients died and I learned something so moving about
her that I vowed I would make my dream a reality. I wanted to find a way to deliver care to the heart and soul of the
patient instead of just the diagnosis or room number. Over the past 8 years I have been a part of writing, reading and
managing thousands of stories and I am constantly amazed by the POWER our life stories hold.
I am convinced
if you make the decision to find out more about the Living History Program©, you will never regret it. Together
we can change the face of health care in America and really put the patient back in patient-centered care.
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