As more and more people age and die in U.S. prisons, little thought is given to what can be done to make dying and death better for the patients, their families, and the health care and correctional staff. This presentation introduces a model that can work for all involved by training incarcerated individuals to act as hospice caregivers to their dying brothers/sisters. Attendees will view "Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall," a moving cinéma vérité documentary that breaks through the walls of one of America's oldest maximum security prisons to tell the story of the final months in the life of a terminally ill man and the hospice volunteers, they themselves prisoners, who care for him. Viewers will be able to recognize the compassion, love, and respect demonstrated by hospice volunteers and staff, understand the practical and economic benefits of prison-based hospice care, and appreciate its rehabilitative nature.

Educational Objectives

• Describe the potential benefits of hospice for terminally ill incarcerated patients, hospice volunteers, and families
• Review the technical, logistical, and sociopolitical difficulties of setting up a hospice program in a maximum security prison
• Differentiate between the care provided by trained prison hospice volunteers and the alternative

Level Basic