Like many in the field, the professional journey of Ruth Thomson in hospice care began when she stumbled upon it. While she was originally looking for a way to pay off her medical school debt, Thomson fell in love with her new profession. She continues to advocate for it to this day, believing will play a bigger role in medicine as the American population continues to age.
“I think we all know that the population over age 65 in the United States is growing at a rapid pace,” Thomson, DO and chief medical officer of Four Seasons, a nonprofit hospice and palliative care provider serving 13 western North Carolina counties, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. “When you hear those statistics, it’s kind of mind blowing and the reality is, whether we like to talk about it or not, is that we’re all going to die.”
However, Thomson understands that the scrutiny hospice care can receive may drive families away from considering it as an option. She has used her position on the public policy committee at the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine to help create effective vetting and regulatory procedures for the hospice industry. She believes more thorough regulation will ensure fewer bad actors.
“Unfortunately, there are organizations who have sought to profiteer from hospice,” she said. “We had a couple of resolutions that we authored and collaborated with other organizations and were able to get passed in June. There’s already good work being done. Many of us in hospice really struggle with [the] regulatory scrutiny, a lot of effort going into audits, but that is really important because we want to make sure that we are all doing the right thing.”
It can be easy to get lost in the regulatory and financial affairs of the industry at large, but for Thomson, patients remain the top priority. She recognizes the time she spends with patients, while not long, is sacred. And she wisely asserts that we may not have the chance to choose how we leave this world but we should all have the option to leave in comfort.
“In the field of hospice and palliative care, one of the most beautiful parts of what we do is we know the person and we really take that time to find out who they are and what’s most important to them,” Thomson said. “I think it’s really important to create that safe space to let people know that I’m a safe person and you can trust me, you can share with me.”
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