The Pause

ProvidenceSpokane
ProvidenceSpokane
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Published 2014-02-03
As health care providers who have been in attendance at the death of a patient, we witness one of the most profound moments in a person's life. Unfortunately, the need to continue to provide care to our other patients takes us away from the patient who just died, before we have had a chance to either acknowledge the patient's humanity or the care we provided for the patient.

A "Pause" is a brief acknowledgement of the patient's humanity just after death has been declared.

The Pause can be initiated by anyone in the room when the patient dies. It can be a housekeeper, RN, physician, respiratory therapist or chaplain. It is non-religious based, with the simple goals of acknowledging the humanity of the person that has just died and the work of the staff present in caring for the patient. It can also be done with family members in the room.

The Pause has three simple parts:

1) One person in the room simply says something like, "Let's take a pause to honor the passing of this patient, who was someone's brother (father, mother, son, partner, parent, etc.)."

2) In addition, caregivers recognize their own contribution with a statement, such as, "We all worked to provide the best care possible for this patient and should acknowledge that care."

3) Lastly, everyone simply stands silently at the bedside for 30 seconds or so before going to care for other patients.

The Pause is not mandatory but it is an example of the Providence promise to answer the call of every person we serve to "Know me, Care for me, Ease my way."

Providence Health & Services
Spokane, WA
washington.providence.org
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