A New Place for Death With Dignity

Abstract

In this article, the authors consider how professional nurses can strive to advance death and dying to the next level in our evolution of compassionate end-of-life practices. The authors focus on describing the development of a place for dying that allows for a peaceful, profound experience that honors and respects human dignity and elevates the human family. Actual places called the Golden Room or Golden Room Centers are proposed to accommodate dying persons and their loved ones at end of life as they make the transition from physical life. The authors detail and propose a return to the sacredness of death and dying through access to a place for the physical transition.

Dignity‐conserving care in palliative care settings: An integrative review

“…Aoun et al (2012) also discussed how care aides (to assist registered nurses) helped people to maintain social contact with friends. Having a special 'Golden' room, providing a homely environment, where loved ones could stay with the patients was recommended by Keegan and Drick (2011). If this is not feasible with limited resources, alternatively, patients could be encouraged to bring personal effects into the care environment (Kellehear et al 2009), to help nurses gain insight into the person behind the illness.…”

Social, Economic, and Political Issues Affecting End-of-Life Care

“…At the beginning of the 20th century, Americans embraced death as an inevitable outcome of life. Individuals died predominantly in the home cared for by family, followed by a communal mourning to acknowledge that person's life (Callahan, 2005; Elder, 1973; Keegan & Drick, 2011). Longevity was recognized as one's good fortune in not having succumbed to any acute infectious processes such as tuberculosis or pneumonia, which were the primary causes of death in the early 1900s (Fontana & Keene, 2009).…”

“…Early 20th century public health enhancements in sanitation, water quality, and housing contributed to improved patient and population health outcomes. Medical practice also progressed through standardized training, new medications, and treatments (Fontana & Keene, 2009; Keegan & Drick, 2011). With the introduction of antibiotics in the 1930s and 1940s and ongoing medical advances to treat illnesses, expectations of living longer healthier lives than in the past flourished.…”

The Golden Room: an innovative choice for end of life care (or) Changing the culture to allow for more end of life care options

“…To that effect, it was about a decade ago that myself and another professional colleague conceived of a new term and concept for the evolution of hospice into an expanded fullness. We termed this new housing and way of caring for EOL people The Golden Room [9][10][11][12][13]. This room or group of rooms is akin to hospice and is for any EOL individual with a terminal prognosis from a long-term disease or an acute, unexpected illness or event.…”

“…Once we better understand this natural process the fear of what is happening is greatly reduced and we are able to better receive comfort, compassion and care as the body performs its final task of closing down. The better we understand this natural progression, the less upsetting and alarming it is as we experience death our self or support a loved one's dying process [9][10][11][12][13].…”