Alumna creates hospice program for prison inmates, providing support, end of life resources

Alumna creates hospice program for prison inmates, providing support, end-of-life resources

Northwest Missouri State University alumna Lori Palik has established a volunteer-based hospice care program for inmates at the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS) with the knowledge she gained in a Northwest graduate program.

The idea began as a capstone project for Palik, who graduated from the University last year with her Master of Science in Nursing in the nurse executive program. As the director of nursing at NDCS, Palik chose to develop a volunteer hospice program to better the lives of inmates with whom she works.

"I figured if I was going to put this much time and effort into a project, I wanted it to be something that would be useful for the environment that I work in," Palik said.

After completing the project, Palik presented her work to the assistant warden of NDCS, and the program began operating at the facility last June with the support of her peers.

The program consists of a 10-week training course led by NDCS team members where volunteers from the general population of its Reception and Treatment Center learn to address the physical and emotional needs of inmates with terminal diagnoses. Upon completing the training, volunteers spend time with inmates providing emotional support and comfort during their final stages.

While the program is still relatively new, Palik believes the hard work and support provided by volunteers and the NDCS team is already aiding in the comfort of many inmates. She recalls one inmate with a terminal diagnosis who was allowed to have his daughter, who he hadn't seen in eight years, visit his room.

In addition to including the prison population in important conversations surrounding end-of-life plans, the program provides inmates with skills and resources needed to make informed decisions about their final stages of life.

"We've now developed a program where we talk about that here because we aren't scared of it, and their lives matter," Palik said. "I'm here because their lives matter. This program is in place because their lives matter, and I want to do death better for them."

Throughout her time in the nursing program at Northwest, Palik says she felt the trust and support of the nursing faculty. Their confidence in her abilities was paramount to the success of the volunteer hospice program.

"Lori's project is special because of the impacts it is having on so many people - patients, patient families, hospice volunteers, nursing staff and prison staff," Dr. Machelle Skinner, an assistant professor of nursing and the coordinator of the master's degree program, said. "It is wonderful to see the expanded impact the hospice volunteer program is having."

Supplemental to the backing of her faculty, Palik credits the success of the NDCS hospice care program to skills she developed at Northwest. She learned to effectively lead a program in the medical field and strengthened her ability to provide care for the inmates at NDCS.

"I think my coursework at Northwest has really enabled me to be a better leader," Palik said. "I gained tools that I didn't have before. I gained a perspective that I didn't have before, and I think that it really made all of the difference."