The LittleWins Podcast S2 E7: Let’s Talk About It Hospice and Palliative Care with Jordana Latozas

This episode of The LittleWins Podcast S2 E7: Let’s Talk About It Hospice and Palliative Care was such an eye-opening experience for me. I always do research, making sure to ask what you won’t know and bring light onto topics often hidden under confusion. But during my time with Jordana Latozas, President/Founder at Recovery Mobile Clinic, I learned so much more than just how palliative care can help patients feel better or live longer lives; she also highlighted how our healthcare system isn’t only broken but also needlessly complicated! All while riding around in her mobile clinic helping someone else out who needed assistance too – without missing a beat in conversation–she answered all of our questions. 

So, what’s the difference between hospice & Palliative care?

Jordana gave us an excellent answer during our conversation but let me break it down here. 

Both Hospice care and Palliative care provide comfort. Still, Palliative care can start at diagnosis and at the same time as treatment providing a longer window to manage pain and create comfort. 

Hospice care often starts at the end of treatment, generally when there are minor signs that the person will not survive their illness, and typically lasts around seven days for the care window. 

Jordana & her team at Recovery Mobile Clinic believe that EVERYONE should have the opportunity to provide and receive the best care long before the final stages of life. During our conversation, Jordana shares a story of a wife struggling to make the best decision for her husband during his last days wrestling with ‘what he would want.’ And to this, Jordana responds, “This isn’t a decision you’re making; this is a disease trajectory [we are trying to manage].” Helping the wife to understand that this burden isn’t solely yours to carry, you are making the best choice based on the information given by his disease. 

What’s amazing about having these difficult conversations early on is deciding how you want your final days to look like or what type of care you’d like. Making a plan or organizing the details releases some of the burdens from your loved ones; it always allows the person to go through its options for how they would like to spend what precious time they have left. 

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity of speaking with Jordana Latozas. Her passion for her work is evident as she tells us all about what it means during this time in our lives when facing death or life-limiting illnesses and how we can best advocate for ourselves and our loved ones. 

If you are interested in learning more about Jordana and her team at the Recover Mobile Clinic, all information can be found here.