#32 Three Wishes with Dr. Thanh Neville

On this week’s episode of Critical Care Time, Nick & Cyrus have the honor of hosting Dr. Thanh Neville, MD, MSHS (X @thanh_neville) the director of the 3 Wishes Program out of UCLA. In this moving discussion we explore the importance of dying with dignity when curative intent is no longer a realistic option. We dovetail this with an impassioned exploration Dr. Neville’s incredible work with 3WP which relies on modest funding and the power of humanism to grant priceless gifts - Wishes, if you will - to dying patients and their loved ones in their 11th hour. Please give us a listen and let us know what you think!

Show Notes:

What is The Three Wishes Program?

  • The 3 Wishes Project (3WP) is a palliative care initiative that aims to improve the end-of-life experience for patients, families, and healthcare team members by working to fulfill wishes for a dying patient and their loved ones.

  • The 3WP provides individualized acts of kindness such as decorating the room, providing favorite foods, facilitating events such as birthday parties and weddings, and creating keepsakes.

    • These wishes have included complex events like weddings or bringing in a mariachi band.

    • By far the most common wish provided is keepsakes for the family. This can be a keychain containing a fingerprint, a lock of hair, an EKG strip, a recording of the patient’s heartbeat, or something that is more elaborate–such as a sculpture of a husband and wife holding hands for the final time.

  • The 3WP at UCLA was established by Dr Neville in 2017. Since then they have provided over 6800 wishes for dying patients and their loved ones.

  • The direct cost of doing 3WP for a dying patient and their family has been $32.

What are the benefits of 3WP?

Implementing a 3WP at your hospital

Audio

Video

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#31 Tele-Critical Care Drs. Bill Beninati and David Guidry