Encouraging Chronicling Lives Toward Responsible Hospice and Elderly Care

Delphi Health Products, Inc. Recognizes National Hospice and Palliative Care Month

Encourages chronicling lives toward responsible hospice and elderly care

Los Angeles, CA – By 2020, the number of 65 to 74 year old Americans will increase by a staggering 75 percent (since 1990*). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there will be more than an estimated 9.6 million individuals over the age of 85 by the year 2030. As the senior population surges, so does the need for responsible hospice care and family caregiving.
In recognition of National Hospice and Palliative Care Month in October, National Mature Media Awards recipient and the intergenerational experts of Delphi Health Products, Inc., encourage hospice caregivers and other healthcare professionals who serve this population as well as parents and loved ones of older adults to go through the life interview process to preserve legacies, validate life experiences, pass on important health information and solidify family ties.

Debby Bitticks, co-author of BioBinderä Cherished Memories—The Story of My Life, knows the importance of this all too well. Both her farther and father-in-law received hospice care toward the end of their lives and after losing her own mother and mother-in-law without getting their life stories, she vowed this would not happen to them.

“Part of responsible caregiving is not only for the quality of hospice care, but also chronicling important health information and life events,” said Bitticks. “Knowing a person’s life story can only promote a more sensitive and caring relationship between patient and caregiver.”

After writing BioBinderä Cherished Memories—The Story of My Life (recipient of a 2008 Mature Media Award) with her daughter Lynn Benson MSW, she interviewed her father and father-in-law, and their stories are family treasures. This product allows individuals to organize and chronicle the story of their lives, leaving future generations cherished memories, values, wisdom, life lessons, and even a personal health history, all in one album with thought-provoking questions and a place for pictures and memorabilia.

“Completing the questions and discussing your life story serves as a springboard to meaningful conversations that you might have never otherwise had,” said Bitticks. “It truly brings you closer to the ones you love, and celebrates a life’s journey which bring the generations together.”

Cherished Memories includes separate sections for: childhood, teen years, adult years, values and philosophies (ethical will), my favorites, family tree, health history, and a place for pictures and treasured keepsakes.

"Knowing and understanding the life story of the person in your care is so important - who they were in the past can often influence their behavior and actions in the present,” said Ann S. Morrison PhD., RN with The Copper Ridge Institute. “If you have taken the time to speak with your loved one about their life story, you will better understand their actions while you care for them."

For more information or to order Cherished Memories—The Story of My Life, visit www.biobinders.com.

To schedule an interview with intergenerational experts Debby Bitticks and Dorothy Breininger, or receive media information, contact: Babs Chandrasoma, catie@prbythebook.com 512.289.4339.

*http://savingourparents.com/
** http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/usinterimproj/natprojtab02a.pdf