Art of Caring

Behind the Mask

Case Study

2020 has been the hardest year of my career for anyone to die. Visitor restrictions and physically distant approaches to living life and caring for others highlight the preciousness of previously routine interactions with patients, families, and team members that I took for granted. Maybe you have too? Who could have thought our routine interactions would ever be so drastically curtailed? The simple interactions of smiles, hugs, and laughter are different now. The simple act of enjoying a cup of coffee or lunch with team members is an activity of the past. At least for now. So, in an effort of team self-care and appreciation, during a year of barriers to provide compassionate, personalized, and intimate care of dying patients and families, members of our inpatient hospice team took time to pen 55-word stories on the theme: Behind the Mask. The people I am honored to work with are so very important in my life, albeit accentuated by 2020, that I also wanted to capture their masked faces. We had a bit of fun too.