Article Title: On the Ninth Floor of a VA Hospital, I Listen and Write Down the Lives, Loves of Veterans; Sue Blaustein
Article Excerpt: "I step off the elevator on the ninth floor of Milwaukee’s Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center. It’s where the long-term and palliative care units are located. The nurses often give me tips about patients who might want to tell their stories. I find one—a Navy veteran—and introduce myself. There’s a stuffed animal on the bed table. A turtle. “I love turtles,” I say. He lights up and responds: “Then I love you!”
I sit and ask him about his life. ...I’m a poet and writer. Before retirement, I spent 25 years at the Milwaukee Health Department writing orders to correct food safety violations. I discovered the My Life, My Story program in 2018. Staff at the VA or volunteers like myself interview veterans about their lives and the resulting stories are included in the patient’s medical record.
Patients find it’s healing to have someone’s undivided attention and then a written story about their lives. And the stories offer providers insight and points of connection that might never be discovered in routine visits. It can be a portal to better care. ... Sue Blaustein
Reference Source: thewarhorse.org
