June 28, 2024 • 30 mins
It always seems too early, until it is too late. Advance directives, also known as living wills, are legal documents that allow you to name the person who should make healthcare decisions for you in case you cannot speak for yourself due to illness or injury. Advance directives also allow you to document the kinds of care you want, or do not want. I speak toJoanne Rosen, Chief Marketing & Public Affairs Officer for which offers many resources to help, including Five Wishes, a legal advance directive and conversation tool.
www.SamaritanNJ.org/Five-Wishes
Right2ReadPhilly is a summer campaign to help families support early literacy for their kids. They are piloting a program to promote Simple Signs (First Words in American Sign Language) that can boost speech and early learning. I speak to Sara Novic, best selling novelist, and deaf rights activists with her interpreter Sarah Reed and Dr. Heseung Song, President and CEO of Mighty Engine, lead consultant on the Right2Read Campaign. Some great ways to get involved: Post your family’s unique spin on Simple Signs for a chance to win $1,000! We don’t care if you’ve perfected Simple Signs. We just want you to have fun practicing together as a family. Take the Simple Signs survey of just six questions on the website and get a $10 Amazon card.
Website: Right2ReadPhilly.org
Email: right2readphilly@gmail.com
Instagram: righttoreadphilly
X/Twitter: right2readphl
Tik Tok: right2readphl
Finally, iHeartMedia Philly is hosting students through the Philadelphia Youth Network's WorkReady Program. I asked them to share their dreams.
www.SamaritanNJ.org/Five-Wishes
Right2ReadPhilly is a summer campaign to help families support early literacy for their kids. They are piloting a program to promote Simple Signs (First Words in American Sign Language) that can boost speech and early learning. I speak to Sara Novic, best selling novelist, and deaf rights activists with her interpreter Sarah Reed and Dr. Heseung Song, President and CEO of Mighty Engine, lead consultant on the Right2Read Campaign. Some great ways to get involved: Post your family’s unique spin on Simple Signs for a chance to win $1,000! We don’t care if you’ve perfected Simple Signs. We just want you to have fun practicing together as a family. Take the Simple Signs survey of just six questions on the website and get a $10 Amazon card.
Website: Right2ReadPhilly.org
Email: right2readphilly@gmail.com
Instagram: righttoreadphilly
X/Twitter: right2readphl
Tik Tok: right2readphl
Finally, iHeartMedia Philly is hosting students through the Philadelphia Youth Network's WorkReady Program. I asked them to share their dreams.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Good morning, Welcome to what's goingon? A show about making a difference
in our lives and our communities.I'm Lorraine ballad Morrow. Did you know
that teaching very young kids' simple signscould be a key to literacy not only
for death and heart of hearing children, but hearing kids as well. First,
no one wants to talk about illnessand death, but having honest conversations
(00:22):
about those topics can save a wholelot of heartache. Advanced directives are crucial
because they empower individuals to make decisionsabout their medical care in advance, especially
when they may not be able tocommunicate their wishes later due to illness or
incapacity. However, a lot ofus don't plan ahead, and we're going
to be talking about why it's soimportant to have an advanced healthcare directive,
(00:46):
and also we're going to talk aboutpalliative care as well. These are things
that sometimes we just don't confront untilit's really right there in front of us.
To prepare us for that. JoanneRosen, chief Marketing and Public Affairs
Officer at Samaria, thank you somuch for joining us today. Loraine,
thank you for having me. Beforewe get into the specifics of healthcare decisions
(01:07):
and also palliative care. Tell uswhat is Samaritan. Samaritan is a healthcare
provider founded in nineteen eighty and continuesto be based in South Jersey and serving
five counties. We were founded asone of the very first hospices in the
country, and we have grown andgrown with additional services including palliad of medicine,
(01:30):
primary care, social connections, resupport, volunteering. We have really grown
using the expertise and the resources andthe compassion that we have to care for
people in our community based on theirneed and their goals and preferences. And
all of our services are provided toour patients and also their families in the
(01:55):
comfort of home. You know,I am in that category of people that
didn't really prepare in terms of mymother. My mother passed away in twenty
thirteen, and so me, likeso many individuals, had to navigate the
very complicated terrain of figuring out whatdid my mother want to do? She
(02:15):
was incapable of making those decisions herself, so I had to kind of figure
it out on my own. Idid have some very supportive care from the
nurses that took care of her,and I was very grateful for that.
But as a result of that experience, I in fact do have an advanced
healthcare directive. I have a livingwill, and so let's talk about why
it's so important to have one ofthose. Well, my condolences on the
(02:38):
loss of your mother. I'm sosorry, and it's good to hear that
you do have your living will,your advance directive in place. It's so
important to express and document our wishesand goals and values for care and treatment.
In the event that we can't speakfor ourselves, we can designate someone
(02:59):
to speak for us on our behalfand to honor those goals and wishes for
care and treatment that would be inan advanced directive on our behalf. We've
seen so many people who don't havethose advanced directive and don't designate a health
care proxy, and family members andloved ones often struggle to decide what mom
(03:22):
or Dad would have wanted if theycould speak for themselves and to honor those
choices. But if there is noadvanced directive, times families are guessing or
sometimes even disagreeing, and adding morestress to the situation and wondering what's best
to do for their loved one whenthey're very very ill. Yeah, now
(03:45):
that's so important. And we're goingto talk in a bit about some tools
that people can use in order tocreate their own healthcare directive. But I
would like to touch on hospice careand palliative care. So first of all,
give us a definition of both ofthose things. Cospice care is a
very specialized form of healthcare. Itis for people in their final six months
(04:06):
of life, and it's very comprehensiveand holistic. So we want to make
sure that our patients and their familiesare living the best possible quality of life,
even though quantity of life may notbe possible. So we provide care
with a team approach. Our teamincludes physicians and nurses, medical social workers,
(04:30):
spiritual support counselors, certified home healthaids who all work very very closely
together to assess the patient's needs andprovide all the services and supports that they
may need to live comfortably at home. There's no place like home, and
that's the most comfortable place, surroundedby family. The Medicare hospice benefit.
(04:54):
Unfortunately, it's been around for decades, but it's still almost a well kept
secret, and there are so manyservices that are really helpful and help family
caregivers take care of their loved ones. We have advanced clinical expertise and extraordinary
compassion, So hospice is a formof palliative care, but as I said,
(05:16):
hospice is limited to the final sixmonths of life. Palliative care is
a medical specialty, much like weknow cardiology or pulmonology oncology. The specialty
is relieving pain, symptoms, andstress of a serious illness at any stage
(05:39):
of that person's healthcare journey. Sopalliative care can actually be helpful from the
time of a serious diagnosis. Itmay be cardiac disease, pulmonary cancer,
dementia, and we want to besure that our patients are comfortable that we're
relieving stress, that we help themexpress their goals of care and complete their
(06:02):
advanced directives so that we can workwith other physicians and healthcare professionals who are
caring for that person to honor theirgoals and wishes for care, treatment,
and quality of life. Palliative carecan be helpful for people who are in
treatment to help with the side effectsof treatment or surgery or in the years
(06:27):
that follow, and certainly may transitionto hospice when the time is right for
that person. Every one of usis an individual, and we want to
be sure that we are respecting thoseindividual goals and wishes for care and treatment
and making sure that our patients areas comfortable as they can be and help
(06:48):
guide them through the healthcare journey andnavigate the healthcare system, which can often
be very difficult for folks. Sotell me more about You mentioned that the
benefit that Medicare could provide as awell kept secret. Tell us more about
that. Well, the word hospice. Most people believe they know about hospice,
(07:09):
and certainly those who have experienced itdo so. Many people say we
thought we knew about hospice, andwhen they experienced it, they always say,
we wish we had called you sooner. We really didn't understand. So.
Because our services are provided in thehome and because they are holistic with
the team approach, every patient hasa nurse case manager who coordinates all the
(07:32):
other services. The benefit also,along with the visits by the hospice team,
includes any medication that person may needfor their comfort. It also includes
any medical equipment or supplies like wheelchairs, oxygen, hospital bed and more,
and all of that is covered completelyone hundred percent within the Medicare hospice benefit.
(07:58):
And even though people are maybe eligibleas early as six months before the
end of life, most people accessthe benefit for only two months. And
actually forty percent of people will passaway within seven days of enrolling in a
hospice care. So we really wantpeople to know that it's all about getting
(08:20):
help. Hospice is not about givingup, and once pain and symptoms are
under control and well managed by ourexperts, we can help people live as
fully as possible and spend that qualitytime with the people they love. That's
really the priority for all of ourpatients. Wow, I sure wish I
(08:43):
had known about that when my motherwas going through her journey, because I
think in the end she would havepreferred to have spent the last weeks of
her life at home, and Ijust never knew. And so I'm hoping
that people out there listening, we'llsee that there is that option, because
so often our elders, they reallywant to be home, They want to
be around their familiar surroundings, whichI think is just a tremendous comfort to
(09:07):
them. Now back to the healthcaredirectives that seems so overwhelming, I think
to a lot of people, butI know that Samaritan actually offers some tools
that you can use tell us more. Yes, absolutely, thank you for
asking. We have a tool available. It's called five Wishes. It is
a legal healthcare advanced directive and allowspeople to name their healthcare surrogate who would
(09:33):
speak for them in the event theycouldn't speak for themselves. It also asks
how people want to be treated,how comfortable they want to be, what
they want their family and loved onesto know. So it has all the
elements necessary for a legal advanced directive, and it goes beyond with some of
(09:54):
the more familiar family issues and thingsthey want their family to know. So
it's a wonderful document. It's availableon our website at samaritannj dot oorg.
There's no cost. That is apublic service that we offer. If people
prefer to have a booklet in hand, they can also call us or email
(10:18):
us and that information is also onour website samaritanj dot org and we can
nil that out and we really encourageeveryone to think about their wishes, to
talk with their family, their doctors, and to document those wishes as they
say, it's always seems too earlyuntil it's too late. Some people think
(10:41):
that you have to be up inyears, an older adult or have health
issues, and that's not really thetime. It's really now, while we
are in good health, sitting aroundthe table with our family and loved ones.
Yeah, I totally agree with thatbecause I have one and I wish
my mother had one. But Ilook back on that experience and know that
(11:05):
and I'm sure a lot of folksout there are going through it as well,
probably as we speak, that there'sso much to think about, so
much stress, so much grief.That's even having experiencing prior to the passing
of our loved ones, that that'skind of like the last thing you really
want to worry about. So toat least have all of that settled in
advance could be a tremendous comfort tothe family. So so and so important.
(11:30):
So as we close this interview,anything else you'd like to add,
I would like to thank you onceagain for having me, and this is
a wonderful public service to let yourlisteners know about all these important topics.
Anybody can get more information on ourwebsite samaritanj dot org or if someone is
not sure when the time is rightfor palliative care or hospice or any of
(11:56):
our services at Samaritan. We encouragepeople to call and speak to one of
our nurse coordinators about their loved onespecific individual needs. We can help guide
someone to the right service based ontheir goals for care and wishes and values.
I love that. Joanne Rose,in Chief Marketing and Public Affairs Officer
(12:18):
at Samaritan, thank you so much. Thank you, Loraine. We're going
to be talking about the Right toRead and Philly's Simple Signs and to join
us to tell us more about thisgreat tool for helping kids learn to speak.
Sarah Novic a best selling novelist,an instructor in deaf studies in creative
(12:39):
writing, and a deaf rights activist. Doctor Hiesang Song As a developmental psychologist
and president and CEO of Mighty Engine, which is a Philly based creative agency
that's behind the campaign. And wealso have Sarah Reid, she is an
interpreter. We're going to start withyou. He sung, and we've been
(13:00):
talking about right to Read and theAlphabet song and the Freedom School song.
How that's really helping kids learn aboutphonetics. But there's something called simple Signs,
and I think that people don't understandhow incredibly useful this can be to
help kids learn how to read.So tell us more about that. So
thank you Loraine first of all forinviting us back to talk about Right to
(13:22):
Read Philly. And that's a summercampaign that's making early literacy a family affair
by making it easier for busy butloving families to grow strong readers. So
one of the things we're piloting that'sfun, eye opening and back by research
that families can do together is simplesigns first words in American Sign language.
So Sarah's been our chief collaborator.I'd like to say co conspirator, enshowing
(13:48):
that that's what we create benefits allfamilies, especially families with deaf and heart
of hearing children, and you knowwhat, it's working. So we're just
starting our fourth week of the campaignand we've had more than thirty five thousand
views of campaign videos. Now Sarahis much better than I am to tell
you more about simple signs. Okay, Sarah Novic, let's talk about how
(14:13):
simple signs give gives us another wayto talk to our kids. Certainly,
thank you so much for having usagain. So simple signs in essence,
it shows people's signs that signs worktogether. That before children are physically able
(14:33):
to learn how to articulate spoken language, their brain is still ready and primed
to have opinions, but oftentimes theyare not able to express those opinions,
so that results in tantrums, whichI'm sure we all are familiar with.
But they do have simple motor skills, and with those simple motor skills they're
(14:56):
able to utilize to provide those opinionsvia sign language, and that can happen
very early in age, sometimes asearly as six months children will start using
those basic signs. So we aretrying to establish different resources, tools,
materials for families to use to enablethem to pick up their first ASL signs
(15:22):
and really build that connection between eachother. Because yes, it is about
building a foundation, a linguistic foundation, of course, but at the same
time, using these simple signs encouragesfamilies to look at each other and have
that eye contact and that connection andhave that family dynamic. You know what
I love about signing is how expressiveit is. Words verbally are obviously very
(15:46):
expressive, but when you add thatelement of physicality to it. There is
something added to be able to expressone's feelings, emotions sign and people I
think are starting to appreciate this evenmore that it's another access to our ability
to communicate with one another, right, absolutely, absolutely, that is the
(16:07):
goal. Well, one of mygoals, you know, from my perspective,
is just to help the stigma,help eliminate those stigmas that are around
different forms of communication. Signing inparticular is incredibly important, is an incredibly
important resource for everyone, not justdeaf and hard of hearing children as we
know, but also for hearing childrento be able to express themselves freely and
(16:33):
openly anywhere in any modality that theycan with any community that they connect with.
It can be you know, througha window, if you're in a
store, you can communicate using signlanguage. Through a window, you can
if you're in a library, asilent area, you can still communicate using
ASL. So there are many benefitsnot just for deafer and heart of hearing
children, but for everyone. Youknow. I was at I'm on the
(16:55):
board of PHL Diversity, and duringthat PHL Diversity particular meeting, there was
someone from the School for the deafthat was there to talk about. We
talk about DEI diversity, equity,and inclusion, but one thing that was
added to that which I learned aboutis access and belonging. And even though
(17:17):
you know what we're talking about rightnow is access to language and ways to
help our kids learn language and beable to have another avenue of expression.
In the end, I think there'ssomething even larger at play here that as
we see ASL become more mainstream,that more people who are hearing are able
(17:40):
to utilize it and you communicate withit, then that also opens up that
sense of belonging and that sense ofaccess. Absolutely I agree. I think
that any time that we can breakdown any barriers and improve that connection with
each other within our communities, that'sa win for us. Fantastic and going
to get back to you he sung. So these simple signs are tool that
(18:03):
all parents can take advantage of.Tell us how well. Before I do
that, I do want to givethe mic back to Sarah, because this
whole creative process has been such anincredible learning experience for me. One of
the things that I've learned is theneed for ASL among children who are deaf
and hard of hearing, and Iwanted to ask Sarah to speak specifically about
(18:27):
that as well as how Simple Signsis different from Baby Signs. All right,
well, what is the difference betweenSimple Signs and baby Signs? Is
there a distinction? Tell us moreYes, absolutely, there is a distinction.
So with Simple Signs, we areusing actual ASL vocabulary, We have
(18:48):
support from the deaf community, wecollaborate with the deaf community. Sometimes with
Baby Signs, it is often focusedvery specifically on hearing children as an audience.
Oftentimes the teachers are hearing it ishearing run. They're not teaching full
ASL. They're often teaching incorrect signs, and then they make people pay for
(19:12):
it. On top of that.This is very different. Simple Signs is
free, It is an open resource. It is also focused on supporting deaf
and hard of hearing children because weknow that learning ASL early has many cognitive
benefits for all children, regardless oftheir hearing status. But at the same
(19:36):
time, hearing children in particular,they often we see that linguistic access with
held specifically from deaf and hard ofhearing children. So it's a very old
fashioned perspective within the medical community thatthe belief is that to focus only on
one language, either spoken spoken languageor sign language, is the preferred method,
(19:59):
but there is evidence to support theexact opposite of that. Yeah,
we know that bilingualism is very important, that it really does enhance a child's
intellect and ability to navigate the world. I mean being bilingual not only in
different languages, yeah, absolutely,but in asl would just be another tool
(20:22):
that gives children access. And hisson, you and I know someone whose
child has actually been using simple signsand he has been hard of hearing,
and that has been so invaluable inhis own ability to develop his communication skills.
Right absolutely, I mean we seeit all the time, and with
the family that you mentioned that itreally was a springboard for this family to
(20:47):
make the essential connections that we knoware the building blocks for all early learning.
And we also are hearing from thesocial media posts that we're getting in
the community feedback that how overdue thiswas the attention on sign language for all
kids, and especially for deaf andheart of hearing children. In the same
way that we tap black pedagogy withthe Freedom School's Alphabet song, there's very
(21:11):
much an activist zeal and all thatwe do for Right to Read Philly.
We have much to learn from othercultures, including deaf culture and black culture,
and we're trying to bring those tothe four so that all our kids
can benefit from it. I dowant to give folks a way to learn
more about the campaign. So ifyou go to Write to Read Philly dot
(21:32):
org and it's the number two Writeto Read Philly dot org, you can
access a ton of videos that Sarahhelped us create with Philly families and Philly
reading advocates. And what's great isthat, like she was saying, it's
not just words like more that's probablythe most popularized sign in baby sign,
we provide words for more what youknow, because if you just say more
(21:56):
and more and more, they're sofrustrated, right, but more milk or
more or more books. So wegive children the way to complete a thought
using simple signs. We're really hopingthat we live up to Write to the
Right to Read Philly goal, whichis to truly make it easy for our
busy and loving families to engage.So please check out the website and all
(22:18):
the videos. There's a ton ofhelpful tips, more fun ideas, and
information. Specifically for families with deafand hard of hearing children. Do not
let this opportunity pass you by.Try signing with a child you love and
you will see the benefits of it, but also learn more about the epidemic
of language deprivation for death and heartof hearings. Nearly eighty percent of those
(22:41):
children crazily are not accessing ASL rightnow and follow us. I know it's
a little confusing, but follow uson Instagram at right to read Philly It's
not the sign, it's the prepositiontoo, and not to write to read
Philly on Instagram. And also ifyou post your your family's unique space in
one Simple Science, you have achance to win one thousand dollars. The
(23:03):
contest runs till the end of thesummer August thirty. First. We also
just posted a new Simple Signed challengeyesterday, so post your creative video interpretation
of simple Science no h limit.Winner is awarded two hundred and fifty dollars.
And if you'd like to partner withus any organization out there, we
want to hear from you, emailRight to Read phillyat gmail dot com.
(23:25):
A gigantic thanks to campaign advisors PhillyFamilies who helped us co create Right to
Read Philly, but also supporters likeLorraine and iHeartMedia. Thank you so much
because we know together we can protectour children's right to read. And also
I just want to ask Sarah,Sarah, just to remind folks her novel
True Biz was the twenty twenty fourto one Book one Philadelphia selection by the
(23:51):
Free Library of Philadelphia. And ifpeople would like to know more about how
they can get their hands on thisnovel, true Biz, or find out
more about you and follow you,how do they do that? What are
some ways in which we can connectwith you? Yeah? True Biz is
available now everywhere at all libraries withinthe city of Philadelphia, also at all
(24:15):
all local bookstores as well. Youcan find me on social media. I'm
Sarahnovich dot com. It's an obisee yes, well, to be honest,
both work just as a little secretthere to let you know doctor song.
But yes, also on Instagram,I am at photo Noovic and it's
(24:36):
photo n ov I see, soplease follow me there. Thank you,
Lore, You're welcome. And Sarah, I'm going to give you the last
word. So what would be yourokay, the most important message that you'd
like our listeners to hear from you. Oh my goodness. All right,
what I really want to see inthe future vision is just where children can
(25:02):
communicate freely and openly, doesn't matterif you are hard of hearing, hearing
where we are all working collaboratively towardsthat goal. And I think that is
in part due to the resources thatwe offer at Simple Signs. Yeah,
I'll leave it at that. Okay, Well, that's a great way to
leave it. And I want tothank you all for joining us. Sarah
Novic best selling novelist, an instructorand deaf studies in Creative writing, and
(25:27):
a deaf rights activist, the authorof True Biz, the twenty twenty four
to one book one Philadelphia Selection.She is a consultant on the Right to
Read campaign. Doctor He Sang Songis a developmental psychologist and president and CEO
of Mighty Engine, which is theengine behind this wonderful campaign and Sarah Read.
(25:48):
She is the interpreter and has donea wonderful job. And for those
of you who are checking this out, Simple Signs a great way to get
your kids the early language learning toolthat can be so helpful, not only
for kids who are hard of hearing, and death, but also kids who
are fully hearing. It's a wonderfulway to get them engaged in communication and
(26:11):
language from a very early age.So thanks all for joining us today.
Thank you so much Learing. Thankyou. For the next six weeks,
iHeart Philly will host students from theSummer Work Ready program. I asked them
to share their dreams. My nameis Jonathan Fulton Atten philmont Christian Academy.
It's a school in Montgomery, flowerTown. Very nice environment. There so
(26:34):
many different opportunities to be in heldthere. I do the jazz band there.
I play the percussion. I've beenplaying drums for all my life's twelve
years so far, since I wasaround two years old or three. What
my dream when I get older isto do production in movies and filmmaking and
entertainment. My very adore doing stufflike that behind the scenes, working with
(26:59):
sets. I used to do thatwith my friends at home. Usually we
pretend we are making different types ofshows online and showing it to our families
and stuff. But that's one thingI all I like to do is really
get to embrace that throughout iHeart andto learn more about that and iHeart But
you know, get to know moreof the entertainment first, get to really
(27:21):
feel that, and it's pretty coolto be in here. I'm Trinita Yevez.
I attend the University of Pennsylvania.I double major in English and Cinema.
My goals when I'm older are toeventually create a film and to write
scripts for video games. My nameis Briall Wells. I'm a fourth year
student at West Just University majoring inbusiness management with a double minor in Digital
(27:42):
Marketing and Media and Culture. Andmy dream is to be on a TV
screen, whether it's doing the news, whether it's acting in a film,
or even on the radio. Andthat's just something that I can go too.
My name is Jessica and I'm asenior at the Academy of Colombo.
My current dream is to go lookfor the rest of my life. I
also expand my horizons and I heartradio. I think that's first I've got
(28:04):
it. I'm Cleia Robinson and I'mgoing into my senior year at Friends Lex
School, which is in Center City, Philadelphia. I would say my biggest
dream is to go into filmmaking,whether it's documentary filmmaking or creative based.
I also have a huge passion formusic. I play guitar myself and I
plan on picking up more instruments.I'm learning how to play the bass guitar
(28:26):
at the moment, So I wouldreally love to incorporate like my music and
to the other things I love,like filmmaking and digital media. So my
dream is incorporating creativity and music intofilm. And I'm still figuring things out,
but I just really love film andmaking movies. I'm Lucas Gonzalez.
I go to Community College of Philadelphiaas a computer science major and my dream
(28:48):
job is to become a voice actor. My name is Ree Screen. I
am a fourth year student at SaintJoseph's University. I'm a communications major and
a sports marketing and Spanish minor atthe universe. I am a member of
the Delta Chapter of capob Sebretary CorporatedUS and Cultural Ambassador of the Black Study
Union. But my dream is justto be on TV, whether it's talking
(29:11):
sports, talking news, mainly preferablylike having my own sports show or show
where I can just talk all topicsand once. But my biggest aspiration is
just to be a motivation and aninspiration to young men specifically young black men,
because in America we're already dealt withso much, so just to have
that guiding light of black excellence,just to inspire them, that's my biggest
(29:33):
dream. You can listen to allof today's interviews by going to our station
website and typing in keyword Community.You can also listen on the iHeartRadio app
yy Words Philadelphia Community Podcast. Followme on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard.
I'm Lorraine Ballard Morrow and I standfor service to our community and media
that empowers. What will you standfor? You've been listening to what's going
(29:56):
on, and thank you. Theyoung and the grand was the new fas
Good morning, Welcome to what's goingon? A show about making a difference
in our lives and our communities.I'm Lorraine ballad Morrow. Did you know
that teaching very young kids' simple signscould be a key to literacy not only
for death and heart of hearing children, but hearing kids as well. First,
no one wants to talk about illnessand death, but having honest conversations
(00:22):
about those topics can save a wholelot of heartache. Advanced directives are crucial
because they empower individuals to make decisionsabout their medical care in advance, especially
when they may not be able tocommunicate their wishes later due to illness or
incapacity. However, a lot ofus don't plan ahead, and we're going
to be talking about why it's soimportant to have an advanced healthcare directive,
(00:46):
and also we're going to talk aboutpalliative care as well. These are things
that sometimes we just don't confront untilit's really right there in front of us.
To prepare us for that. JoanneRosen, chief Marketing and Public Affairs
Officer at Samaria, thank you somuch for joining us today. Loraine,
thank you for having me. Beforewe get into the specifics of healthcare decisions
(01:07):
and also palliative care. Tell uswhat is Samaritan. Samaritan is a healthcare
provider founded in nineteen eighty and continuesto be based in South Jersey and serving
five counties. We were founded asone of the very first hospices in the
country, and we have grown andgrown with additional services including palliad of medicine,
(01:30):
primary care, social connections, resupport, volunteering. We have really grown
using the expertise and the resources andthe compassion that we have to care for
people in our community based on theirneed and their goals and preferences. And
all of our services are provided toour patients and also their families in the
(01:55):
comfort of home. You know,I am in that category of people that
didn't really prepare in terms of mymother. My mother passed away in twenty
thirteen, and so me, likeso many individuals, had to navigate the
very complicated terrain of figuring out whatdid my mother want to do? She
(02:15):
was incapable of making those decisions herself, so I had to kind of figure
it out on my own. Idid have some very supportive care from the
nurses that took care of her,and I was very grateful for that.
But as a result of that experience, I in fact do have an advanced
healthcare directive. I have a livingwill, and so let's talk about why
it's so important to have one ofthose. Well, my condolences on the
(02:38):
loss of your mother. I'm sosorry, and it's good to hear that
you do have your living will,your advance directive in place. It's so
important to express and document our wishesand goals and values for care and treatment.
In the event that we can't speakfor ourselves, we can designate someone
(02:59):
to speak for us on our behalfand to honor those goals and wishes for
care and treatment that would be inan advanced directive on our behalf. We've
seen so many people who don't havethose advanced directive and don't designate a health
care proxy, and family members andloved ones often struggle to decide what mom
(03:22):
or Dad would have wanted if theycould speak for themselves and to honor those
choices. But if there is noadvanced directive, times families are guessing or
sometimes even disagreeing, and adding morestress to the situation and wondering what's best
to do for their loved one whenthey're very very ill. Yeah, now
(03:45):
that's so important. And we're goingto talk in a bit about some tools
that people can use in order tocreate their own healthcare directive. But I
would like to touch on hospice careand palliative care. So first of all,
give us a definition of both ofthose things. Cospice care is a
very specialized form of healthcare. Itis for people in their final six months
(04:06):
of life, and it's very comprehensiveand holistic. So we want to make
sure that our patients and their familiesare living the best possible quality of life,
even though quantity of life may notbe possible. So we provide care
with a team approach. Our teamincludes physicians and nurses, medical social workers,
(04:30):
spiritual support counselors, certified home healthaids who all work very very closely
together to assess the patient's needs andprovide all the services and supports that they
may need to live comfortably at home. There's no place like home, and
that's the most comfortable place, surroundedby family. The Medicare hospice benefit.
(04:54):
Unfortunately, it's been around for decades, but it's still almost a well kept
secret, and there are so manyservices that are really helpful and help family
caregivers take care of their loved ones. We have advanced clinical expertise and extraordinary
compassion, So hospice is a formof palliative care, but as I said,
(05:16):
hospice is limited to the final sixmonths of life. Palliative care is
a medical specialty, much like weknow cardiology or pulmonology oncology. The specialty
is relieving pain, symptoms, andstress of a serious illness at any stage
(05:39):
of that person's healthcare journey. Sopalliative care can actually be helpful from the
time of a serious diagnosis. Itmay be cardiac disease, pulmonary cancer,
dementia, and we want to besure that our patients are comfortable that we're
relieving stress, that we help themexpress their goals of care and complete their
(06:02):
advanced directives so that we can workwith other physicians and healthcare professionals who are
caring for that person to honor theirgoals and wishes for care, treatment,
and quality of life. Palliative carecan be helpful for people who are in
treatment to help with the side effectsof treatment or surgery or in the years
(06:27):
that follow, and certainly may transitionto hospice when the time is right for
that person. Every one of usis an individual, and we want to
be sure that we are respecting thoseindividual goals and wishes for care and treatment
and making sure that our patients areas comfortable as they can be and help
(06:48):
guide them through the healthcare journey andnavigate the healthcare system, which can often
be very difficult for folks. Sotell me more about You mentioned that the
benefit that Medicare could provide as awell kept secret. Tell us more about
that. Well, the word hospice. Most people believe they know about hospice,
(07:09):
and certainly those who have experienced itdo so. Many people say we
thought we knew about hospice, andwhen they experienced it, they always say,
we wish we had called you sooner. We really didn't understand. So.
Because our services are provided in thehome and because they are holistic with
the team approach, every patient hasa nurse case manager who coordinates all the
(07:32):
other services. The benefit also,along with the visits by the hospice team,
includes any medication that person may needfor their comfort. It also includes
any medical equipment or supplies like wheelchairs, oxygen, hospital bed and more,
and all of that is covered completelyone hundred percent within the Medicare hospice benefit.
(07:58):
And even though people are maybe eligibleas early as six months before the
end of life, most people accessthe benefit for only two months. And
actually forty percent of people will passaway within seven days of enrolling in a
hospice care. So we really wantpeople to know that it's all about getting
(08:20):
help. Hospice is not about givingup, and once pain and symptoms are
under control and well managed by ourexperts, we can help people live as
fully as possible and spend that qualitytime with the people they love. That's
really the priority for all of ourpatients. Wow, I sure wish I
(08:43):
had known about that when my motherwas going through her journey, because I
think in the end she would havepreferred to have spent the last weeks of
her life at home, and Ijust never knew. And so I'm hoping
that people out there listening, we'llsee that there is that option, because
so often our elders, they reallywant to be home, They want to
be around their familiar surroundings, whichI think is just a tremendous comfort to
(09:07):
them. Now back to the healthcaredirectives that seems so overwhelming, I think
to a lot of people, butI know that Samaritan actually offers some tools
that you can use tell us more. Yes, absolutely, thank you for
asking. We have a tool available. It's called five Wishes. It is
a legal healthcare advanced directive and allowspeople to name their healthcare surrogate who would
(09:33):
speak for them in the event theycouldn't speak for themselves. It also asks
how people want to be treated,how comfortable they want to be, what
they want their family and loved onesto know. So it has all the
elements necessary for a legal advanced directive, and it goes beyond with some of
(09:54):
the more familiar family issues and thingsthey want their family to know. So
it's a wonderful document. It's availableon our website at samaritannj dot oorg.
There's no cost. That is apublic service that we offer. If people
prefer to have a booklet in hand, they can also call us or email
(10:18):
us and that information is also onour website samaritanj dot org and we can
nil that out and we really encourageeveryone to think about their wishes, to
talk with their family, their doctors, and to document those wishes as they
say, it's always seems too earlyuntil it's too late. Some people think
(10:41):
that you have to be up inyears, an older adult or have health
issues, and that's not really thetime. It's really now, while we
are in good health, sitting aroundthe table with our family and loved ones.
Yeah, I totally agree with thatbecause I have one and I wish
my mother had one. But Ilook back on that experience and know that
(11:05):
and I'm sure a lot of folksout there are going through it as well,
probably as we speak, that there'sso much to think about, so
much stress, so much grief.That's even having experiencing prior to the passing
of our loved ones, that that'skind of like the last thing you really
want to worry about. So toat least have all of that settled in
advance could be a tremendous comfort tothe family. So so and so important.
(11:30):
So as we close this interview,anything else you'd like to add,
I would like to thank you onceagain for having me, and this is
a wonderful public service to let yourlisteners know about all these important topics.
Anybody can get more information on ourwebsite samaritanj dot org or if someone is
not sure when the time is rightfor palliative care or hospice or any of
(11:56):
our services at Samaritan. We encouragepeople to call and speak to one of
our nurse coordinators about their loved onespecific individual needs. We can help guide
someone to the right service based ontheir goals for care and wishes and values.
I love that. Joanne Rose,in Chief Marketing and Public Affairs Officer
(12:18):
at Samaritan, thank you so much. Thank you, Loraine. We're going
to be talking about the Right toRead and Philly's Simple Signs and to join
us to tell us more about thisgreat tool for helping kids learn to speak.
Sarah Novic a best selling novelist,an instructor in deaf studies in creative
(12:39):
writing, and a deaf rights activist. Doctor Hiesang Song As a developmental psychologist
and president and CEO of Mighty Engine, which is a Philly based creative agency
that's behind the campaign. And wealso have Sarah Reid, she is an
interpreter. We're going to start withyou. He sung, and we've been
(13:00):
talking about right to Read and theAlphabet song and the Freedom School song.
How that's really helping kids learn aboutphonetics. But there's something called simple Signs,
and I think that people don't understandhow incredibly useful this can be to
help kids learn how to read.So tell us more about that. So
thank you Loraine first of all forinviting us back to talk about Right to
(13:22):
Read Philly. And that's a summercampaign that's making early literacy a family affair
by making it easier for busy butloving families to grow strong readers. So
one of the things we're piloting that'sfun, eye opening and back by research
that families can do together is simplesigns first words in American Sign language.
So Sarah's been our chief collaborator.I'd like to say co conspirator, enshowing
(13:48):
that that's what we create benefits allfamilies, especially families with deaf and heart
of hearing children, and you knowwhat, it's working. So we're just
starting our fourth week of the campaignand we've had more than thirty five thousand
views of campaign videos. Now Sarahis much better than I am to tell
you more about simple signs. Okay, Sarah Novic, let's talk about how
(14:13):
simple signs give gives us another wayto talk to our kids. Certainly,
thank you so much for having usagain. So simple signs in essence,
it shows people's signs that signs worktogether. That before children are physically able
(14:33):
to learn how to articulate spoken language, their brain is still ready and primed
to have opinions, but oftentimes theyare not able to express those opinions,
so that results in tantrums, whichI'm sure we all are familiar with.
But they do have simple motor skills, and with those simple motor skills they're
(14:56):
able to utilize to provide those opinionsvia sign language, and that can happen
very early in age, sometimes asearly as six months children will start using
those basic signs. So we aretrying to establish different resources, tools,
materials for families to use to enablethem to pick up their first ASL signs
(15:22):
and really build that connection between eachother. Because yes, it is about
building a foundation, a linguistic foundation, of course, but at the same
time, using these simple signs encouragesfamilies to look at each other and have
that eye contact and that connection andhave that family dynamic. You know what
I love about signing is how expressiveit is. Words verbally are obviously very
(15:46):
expressive, but when you add thatelement of physicality to it. There is
something added to be able to expressone's feelings, emotions sign and people I
think are starting to appreciate this evenmore that it's another access to our ability
to communicate with one another, right, absolutely, absolutely, that is the
(16:07):
goal. Well, one of mygoals, you know, from my perspective,
is just to help the stigma,help eliminate those stigmas that are around
different forms of communication. Signing inparticular is incredibly important, is an incredibly
important resource for everyone, not justdeaf and hard of hearing children as we
know, but also for hearing childrento be able to express themselves freely and
(16:33):
openly anywhere in any modality that theycan with any community that they connect with.
It can be you know, througha window, if you're in a
store, you can communicate using signlanguage. Through a window, you can
if you're in a library, asilent area, you can still communicate using
ASL. So there are many benefitsnot just for deafer and heart of hearing
children, but for everyone. Youknow. I was at I'm on the
(16:55):
board of PHL Diversity, and duringthat PHL Diversity particular meeting, there was
someone from the School for the deafthat was there to talk about. We
talk about DEI diversity, equity,and inclusion, but one thing that was
added to that which I learned aboutis access and belonging. And even though
(17:17):
you know what we're talking about rightnow is access to language and ways to
help our kids learn language and beable to have another avenue of expression.
In the end, I think there'ssomething even larger at play here that as
we see ASL become more mainstream,that more people who are hearing are able
(17:40):
to utilize it and you communicate withit, then that also opens up that
sense of belonging and that sense ofaccess. Absolutely I agree. I think
that any time that we can breakdown any barriers and improve that connection with
each other within our communities, that'sa win for us. Fantastic and going
to get back to you he sung. So these simple signs are tool that
(18:03):
all parents can take advantage of.Tell us how well. Before I do
that, I do want to givethe mic back to Sarah, because this
whole creative process has been such anincredible learning experience for me. One of
the things that I've learned is theneed for ASL among children who are deaf
and hard of hearing, and Iwanted to ask Sarah to speak specifically about
(18:27):
that as well as how Simple Signsis different from Baby Signs. All right,
well, what is the difference betweenSimple Signs and baby Signs? Is
there a distinction? Tell us moreYes, absolutely, there is a distinction.
So with Simple Signs, we areusing actual ASL vocabulary, We have
(18:48):
support from the deaf community, wecollaborate with the deaf community. Sometimes with
Baby Signs, it is often focusedvery specifically on hearing children as an audience.
Oftentimes the teachers are hearing it ishearing run. They're not teaching full
ASL. They're often teaching incorrect signs, and then they make people pay for
(19:12):
it. On top of that.This is very different. Simple Signs is
free, It is an open resource. It is also focused on supporting deaf
and hard of hearing children because weknow that learning ASL early has many cognitive
benefits for all children, regardless oftheir hearing status. But at the same
(19:36):
time, hearing children in particular,they often we see that linguistic access with
held specifically from deaf and hard ofhearing children. So it's a very old
fashioned perspective within the medical community thatthe belief is that to focus only on
one language, either spoken spoken languageor sign language, is the preferred method,
(19:59):
but there is evidence to support theexact opposite of that. Yeah,
we know that bilingualism is very important, that it really does enhance a child's
intellect and ability to navigate the world. I mean being bilingual not only in
different languages, yeah, absolutely,but in asl would just be another tool
(20:22):
that gives children access. And hisson, you and I know someone whose
child has actually been using simple signsand he has been hard of hearing,
and that has been so invaluable inhis own ability to develop his communication skills.
Right absolutely, I mean we seeit all the time, and with
the family that you mentioned that itreally was a springboard for this family to
(20:47):
make the essential connections that we knoware the building blocks for all early learning.
And we also are hearing from thesocial media posts that we're getting in
the community feedback that how overdue thiswas the attention on sign language for all
kids, and especially for deaf andheart of hearing children. In the same
way that we tap black pedagogy withthe Freedom School's Alphabet song, there's very
(21:11):
much an activist zeal and all thatwe do for Right to Read Philly.
We have much to learn from othercultures, including deaf culture and black culture,
and we're trying to bring those tothe four so that all our kids
can benefit from it. I dowant to give folks a way to learn
more about the campaign. So ifyou go to Write to Read Philly dot
(21:32):
org and it's the number two Writeto Read Philly dot org, you can
access a ton of videos that Sarahhelped us create with Philly families and Philly
reading advocates. And what's great isthat, like she was saying, it's
not just words like more that's probablythe most popularized sign in baby sign,
we provide words for more what youknow, because if you just say more
(21:56):
and more and more, they're sofrustrated, right, but more milk or
more or more books. So wegive children the way to complete a thought
using simple signs. We're really hopingthat we live up to Write to the
Right to Read Philly goal, whichis to truly make it easy for our
busy and loving families to engage.So please check out the website and all
(22:18):
the videos. There's a ton ofhelpful tips, more fun ideas, and
information. Specifically for families with deafand hard of hearing children. Do not
let this opportunity pass you by.Try signing with a child you love and
you will see the benefits of it, but also learn more about the epidemic
of language deprivation for death and heartof hearings. Nearly eighty percent of those
(22:41):
children crazily are not accessing ASL rightnow and follow us. I know it's
a little confusing, but follow uson Instagram at right to read Philly It's
not the sign, it's the prepositiontoo, and not to write to read
Philly on Instagram. And also ifyou post your your family's unique space in
one Simple Science, you have achance to win one thousand dollars. The
(23:03):
contest runs till the end of thesummer August thirty. First. We also
just posted a new Simple Signed challengeyesterday, so post your creative video interpretation
of simple Science no h limit.Winner is awarded two hundred and fifty dollars.
And if you'd like to partner withus any organization out there, we
want to hear from you, emailRight to Read phillyat gmail dot com.
(23:25):
A gigantic thanks to campaign advisors PhillyFamilies who helped us co create Right to
Read Philly, but also supporters likeLorraine and iHeartMedia. Thank you so much
because we know together we can protectour children's right to read. And also
I just want to ask Sarah,Sarah, just to remind folks her novel
True Biz was the twenty twenty fourto one Book one Philadelphia selection by the
(23:51):
Free Library of Philadelphia. And ifpeople would like to know more about how
they can get their hands on thisnovel, true Biz, or find out
more about you and follow you,how do they do that? What are
some ways in which we can connectwith you? Yeah? True Biz is
available now everywhere at all libraries withinthe city of Philadelphia, also at all
(24:15):
all local bookstores as well. Youcan find me on social media. I'm
Sarahnovich dot com. It's an obisee yes, well, to be honest,
both work just as a little secretthere to let you know doctor song.
But yes, also on Instagram,I am at photo Noovic and it's
(24:36):
photo n ov I see, soplease follow me there. Thank you,
Lore, You're welcome. And Sarah, I'm going to give you the last
word. So what would be yourokay, the most important message that you'd
like our listeners to hear from you. Oh my goodness. All right,
what I really want to see inthe future vision is just where children can
(25:02):
communicate freely and openly, doesn't matterif you are hard of hearing, hearing
where we are all working collaboratively towardsthat goal. And I think that is
in part due to the resources thatwe offer at Simple Signs. Yeah,
I'll leave it at that. Okay, Well, that's a great way to
leave it. And I want tothank you all for joining us. Sarah
Novic best selling novelist, an instructorand deaf studies in Creative writing, and
(25:27):
a deaf rights activist, the authorof True Biz, the twenty twenty four
to one book one Philadelphia Selection.She is a consultant on the Right to
Read campaign. Doctor He Sang Songis a developmental psychologist and president and CEO
of Mighty Engine, which is theengine behind this wonderful campaign and Sarah Read.
(25:48):
She is the interpreter and has donea wonderful job. And for those
of you who are checking this out, Simple Signs a great way to get
your kids the early language learning toolthat can be so helpful, not only
for kids who are hard of hearing, and death, but also kids who
are fully hearing. It's a wonderfulway to get them engaged in communication and
(26:11):
language from a very early age.So thanks all for joining us today.
Thank you so much Learing. Thankyou. For the next six weeks,
iHeart Philly will host students from theSummer Work Ready program. I asked them
to share their dreams. My nameis Jonathan Fulton Atten philmont Christian Academy.
It's a school in Montgomery, flowerTown. Very nice environment. There so
(26:34):
many different opportunities to be in heldthere. I do the jazz band there.
I play the percussion. I've beenplaying drums for all my life's twelve
years so far, since I wasaround two years old or three. What
my dream when I get older isto do production in movies and filmmaking and
entertainment. My very adore doing stufflike that behind the scenes, working with
(26:59):
sets. I used to do thatwith my friends at home. Usually we
pretend we are making different types ofshows online and showing it to our families
and stuff. But that's one thingI all I like to do is really
get to embrace that throughout iHeart andto learn more about that and iHeart But
you know, get to know moreof the entertainment first, get to really
(27:21):
feel that, and it's pretty coolto be in here. I'm Trinita Yevez.
I attend the University of Pennsylvania.I double major in English and Cinema.
My goals when I'm older are toeventually create a film and to write
scripts for video games. My nameis Briall Wells. I'm a fourth year
student at West Just University majoring inbusiness management with a double minor in Digital
(27:42):
Marketing and Media and Culture. Andmy dream is to be on a TV
screen, whether it's doing the news, whether it's acting in a film,
or even on the radio. Andthat's just something that I can go too.
My name is Jessica and I'm asenior at the Academy of Colombo.
My current dream is to go lookfor the rest of my life. I
also expand my horizons and I heartradio. I think that's first I've got
(28:04):
it. I'm Cleia Robinson and I'mgoing into my senior year at Friends Lex
School, which is in Center City, Philadelphia. I would say my biggest
dream is to go into filmmaking,whether it's documentary filmmaking or creative based.
I also have a huge passion formusic. I play guitar myself and I
plan on picking up more instruments.I'm learning how to play the bass guitar
(28:26):
at the moment, So I wouldreally love to incorporate like my music and
to the other things I love,like filmmaking and digital media. So my
dream is incorporating creativity and music intofilm. And I'm still figuring things out,
but I just really love film andmaking movies. I'm Lucas Gonzalez.
I go to Community College of Philadelphiaas a computer science major and my dream
(28:48):
job is to become a voice actor. My name is Ree Screen. I
am a fourth year student at SaintJoseph's University. I'm a communications major and
a sports marketing and Spanish minor atthe universe. I am a member of
the Delta Chapter of capob Sebretary CorporatedUS and Cultural Ambassador of the Black Study
Union. But my dream is justto be on TV, whether it's talking
(29:11):
sports, talking news, mainly preferablylike having my own sports show or show
where I can just talk all topicsand once. But my biggest aspiration is
just to be a motivation and aninspiration to young men specifically young black men,
because in America we're already dealt withso much, so just to have
that guiding light of black excellence,just to inspire them, that's my biggest
(29:33):
dream. You can listen to allof today's interviews by going to our station
website and typing in keyword Community.You can also listen on the iHeartRadio app
yy Words Philadelphia Community Podcast. Followme on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard.
I'm Lorraine Ballard Morrow and I standfor service to our community and media
that empowers. What will you standfor? You've been listening to what's going
(29:56):
on, and thank you. Theyoung and the grand was the new fas
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