Hospice Care is often misunderstood, feared or delayed – and the cost of waiting is measured in missed moments. In this episode of Living Healthy Together, explore hospice through the deeply personal stories of families and caregivers, and the insights of professionals who guide families and individuals through some of life’s most intimate and ubiquitous experiences. 

Leendert Huisman, whose wife Johanna passed away at McClure Miller Respite House after a long battle with cancer, reflects on his wife’s end-of-life journey. He shares how hospice care brought calm, clarity and dignity along with skilled medical care, emotional reassurance and the presence of health care professionals who knew exactly what to do during the couple’s most difficult moments; underscoring the relief hospice can bring when everything feels beyond our control. 

Annie Meredith-Mitchell, RN, MSN, CHPN, program director of Hospice and Palliative Care at UVM Health – Home Health and Hospice, explains what hospice truly is: holistic, interdisciplinary care for individuals and families going through the end-of-life journey. She addresses misconceptions and makes a powerful case for why we should all choose hospice when it can offer not just comfort, but time, meaning and agency during life’s final chapters. 

Kristy Brown shares her experience as a caregiver supporting her best friend Ann through years of serious illness and, ultimately, hospice and at-home care. For Kristy and Ann, hospice served as a bridge that allowed Kristy to stop being a caregiver in crisis and be present for Ann as a friend through her final hours. She also reflects on the profound impact bereavement support services had following Ann’s death. 

Ezra Lebowitz, MSW, a hospice medical social worker, and Jeannie Sullivan, LCSW, a bereavement counselor and licensed clinical social worker, discuss what families struggle with as they navigate loved ones’ end-of-life journeys; and how hospice helps normalize conversations about death, end-of-life planning and grief. They emphasize that hospice reframes death not as a medical failure but a human experience that deserves care, preparation and compassion. 

Together, these stories reveal hospice not as surrender, but a deliberate, life-affirming choice that honors comfort, dignity and connection until the very end.