Presented on 14 February 2006 to
Janet S. York Correctional Facility, Niantic and The Connecticut Department of Correction Hospice Inmate Volunteer Program
Today we honor pioneers who know that no one should face the end of life alone or without comfort. They know that in caring for others, we connect to what is best in ourselves. Most remarkably, they know that these simple truths apply even behind prison walls. In the age of mandatory sentences and AIDS, more Americans are aging and dying as inmates. Their experience happens outside the public's eye and largely outside of public concern. Fortunately it is not outside the concern of these dedicated volunteers. They come from many backgrounds, but have a single goal. They are determined to bring hospice care to inmates despite huge institutional barriers. Their determination has made a world of difference to prisoners facing death and to inmates whose lives are changed by becoming their caregivers.
Starting from a strong research base, the teams at the Janet S. York Correctional Facility and the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Facility established the first prison hospice program in New England. All team members are volunteers, spending evenings and weekends at the prisons to make the program work. They have trained inmates in such diverse areas as Reiki, meditation and bereavement counseling along with standard bedside care. They have found innovative solutions to logistic challenges that might easily have brought down the program. They have used ongoing research to support the program's continued expansion and to offer a roadmap for other programs. Most importantly, they have seen to it that 21 Connecticut inmates died with dignity, supported by inmate volunteers in round-the-clock vigils.
For courageously affirming that caring is the best of human activities even in the unlikeliest of settings, The Yale School of Nursing is proud to give the Excellence in Caring in Chronic Illness Award to The Connecticut Department of Correction Hospice Inmate Volunteer Program.
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Center for Excellence in Chronic Illness Care
YSN Centers
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