3. Conversation with a Hospice Social Worker: Practical & Emotional Preparation for End of Life

Join us for a compassionate and practical conversation with Tracey Arnauer, LCSW – Hospice Social Worker, who will help demystify advance directives, healthcare proxies, DNR orders, hospice services, Medicare coverage, and care options. This session offers clarity around difficult decisions, guidance for navigating family dynamics, and support for caregivers.

Clarity, Compassion & Practical Guidance

Serious illness, aging, and end-of-life decisions can feel overwhelming — not only because of medical realities, but because of the emotional and practical complexities surrounding them.

What This Session Will Cover

🌿 Understanding the Role of Hospice Social Worker

• What a hospice social worker actually does
• Advocacy for patient and family
• Why emotional support is as vital as medical care

🌿 Advance Directives & Legal Readiness

• Living Will
• DNR/DNI orders
• Healthcare Proxy / Medical Power of Attorney
• What happens if nothing is in place
• Completing documents without overwhelm

🌿 Planning for Care Preferences

• Aging in place
• Homecare and long-term care facilities
• Hospice at home vs inpatient hospice
• Clarifying your definition of “quality of life”
• Making wishes known — and honored

🌿 Hospice Services & Financial Clarity

• What hospice truly provides
• Interdisciplinary team support
• What Medicare and insurance typically cover
• Reducing financial confusion and fear

🌿 Family & Caregiver Support

• Navigating difficult conversations
• Supporting patient autonomy
• Recognizing caregiver burnout
• Available resources and support

🌿 Living Well Now

• The role of End-of-Life Doulas
• What hospice continues to offer after death
• Common regrets people express
• What brings the most peace at the end

This is not a clinical lecture.
It is designed to replace uncertainty with understanding — and fear with empowerment.

Preparation reduces stress.  Clarity protects loved ones.
Thoughtful planning becomes an act of love.

🌿 About the Full Series of End-of-Life Preparation

Death is a natural part of life — yet most of us feel unprepared to face it, whether for ourselves or for someone we love.

The End-of-Life Preparation Series is a thoughtfully designed journey offering practical guidance, emotional resilience, relational clarity, and spiritual reflection. Through expert conversations, compassionate dialogue, and structured preparation, participants are supported in replacing fear with understanding and uncertainty with steadiness.

This is not a morbid series. It is a life-affirming one.
When we prepare thoughtfully:
• Anxiety decreases
• Families communicate more clearly
• Decisions become less reactive
• Love becomes more fully expressed

🌿 Who Is This Series For?

• Individuals preparing for their own future with intention
• Caregivers supporting aging or ill loved ones
• Ministers and spiritual companions
• Families wishing to reduce confusion and conflict
• Anyone seeking peace of mind around life’s final chapter

No crisis is required to begin preparing.
In fact, preparation is most powerful before crisis arises

🌿 Our Intention

This series is offered in a spirit of compassion, education, and empowerment.

We do not rush decisions.
We do not create urgency.
We create clarity.

By facing what is inevitable with openness and wisdom, we often discover something unexpected:

We begin to live more fully now.

Preparation lightens the heart.
Clarity steadies the mind.
Love continues — before, during, and beyond death.