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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 tried to write a story on each and every new employee. We often wrote 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 found it was a great way to welcome new members.
Since the very beginning, I
have been pondering other uses for the program. Churches have contacted me about using stories in place of
a generic church directory that only have 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 as the basis of an obituary. 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 cared for in the hospital 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 10 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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