At This Hospital Coronavirus Patients Don’t Have to Die Alone
![](https://i0.wp.com/madmikesamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1293545-11-20200419200408.jpeg?resize=654%2C368&ssl=1)
In New Orleans, a sad testament to the dying: the nation’s first pop-up hospice center for hospitalized coronavirus patients. The state’s biggest hospice provider, Heart of Hospice, teamed up with East Jefferson General Hospital to let loved ones be there for dying relatives, provided visitors wear protective gear.
The 15-bed facility accepted its first patients Thursday regardless of whether they could pay, the Biloxi Sun Herald reports. “No one has ever ‘popped up’ an inpatient unit [before],” Heart of Hospice CEO Carla Davis says in this video. “Normally when you decide to develop an IPU, you have to go through regulatory approval, you have to go through securing a space … equipment, all of these things.”
Heart of Hospice stepped in amid heart-breaking stories of fatally stricken COVID-19 patients dying without loved ones, the Times-Picayune reports. Tom Dempsey, a former New Orleans Saints kicker, died with coronavirus at 73 in a nursing home without his daughter, Ashley, to comfort him. “We just wanted to be there so he knew we hadn’t left him, hadn’t forgotten him,” she said moments after learning of her father’s death.
The ward, which also lets patients spend their last days at home, plans to run through June with its cadre of staffers. “We asked our staff across all of Heart of Hospice if they would be interested in volunteering … and so many people raised their hands,” Davis says through tears. “Literally from all over.”
Edited via Newser.
Be sure to ‘like’ us on Facebook
More Stories
What in the World Happened to the Ginger Kitten?
The abrupt sound of multiple barks pierced the stillness of the night. It was an unsettling deviation from their customary...
Warning: Be Careful When Walking Your Dog In Alligator Country
Mike McCoy has read up a bit on alligator attacks and he knew what to do if you find yourself in one—and good thing too.
MadMikesAmerica To Remain Open For Business
We are staying open. MMA may not be as active as it once was, but why close this one, with all those articles still available to read, and maybe more to come?
Fox News Guest: Ghoulish Trump Has Blood On His Hands
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) told Fox News on Sunday that former President Donald Trump is guilty of a “ghoulish” attempt to undermine the economy by downplaying the need for Covid-19 vaccinations.
Disgusting Ted Cruz Forgets History of Conservatives Like Elvis Promoting Vaccines
Recently, the beloved Sesame Street character Big Bird went on television and social media to promote COVID-19 vaccines. For anyone who has been conscious for at least a few years, celebrities—especially ones with larger fanbases amongst the youth of the country—promoting public health initiatives is not surprising. It has been going on forever and ever.
Crazy Louie Gohmert: Climate Action Would Force Us To Brush Our Teeth With Bark
[caption id="attachment_187456" align="aligncenter" width="615"] Getty images[/caption] by Aldous J. Pennyfarthing How the hell did Republican Louie Gohmert of Texas ever become...
Thank you, as a former RN retired now, I know the sadness of people that die alone, and the comfort it has been to be with someone as they are departing this earth. This is beyond an act of comfort, it is a blessing to those that are there for their loved ones, or even as an RN I stayed with dying patients myself, I learned a lot about death and learned not to fear it, and that in the end it can become a friend to those that are so very sick that, death is a release. Bless all of you for the love and care you give.
I think death can bring about sweet release Stephen, especially for those who are suffering. Thanks for your kind words and thanks for all you do for those in need.