May 2019
Kyla
Wright
,
RN, HPN
Palliative Care
Providence Centralia Hospital
Centralia
,
WA
United States
An elderly Native American woman was at the end of her life and hospitalized. She was a mother and grandmother. She and her family were members of the Sioux Nation in North Dakota. The family wanted to perform a traditional smudging ceremony before she passed. Kyla and the Palliative Care Team did everything they could to fulfill this last wish for the patient and her family. They contacted facilities to see if there was any way this ceremony could be performed in the patient's room without setting off alarms and sprinkler. Finding this not to be an option, they bundled their patient and wheeled her bed to the porticos, the covered area by the helicopter pad. The entire family was able to be with her while the ceremony was performed. The family sent a thank you note to the Kyla and the team expressing that they were very pleased and grateful to have their traditions honored.