Our Way of Caring: Vantage Hospice Podcast [Episode 8]: Legacy Through Bedside Narratives

Capturing Life Stories: An Insight into Bedside Narratives with Shriya Pendyala | Vantage Hospice Podcast

In this insightful episode of the Vantage Hospice podcast, host Nicole Knight welcomes Shriya Pendyala, a junior studying at Rice University. Shriya is the co-founder of Bedside Narratives, an organization dedicated to documenting the life stories of hospice and elder care patients for their memoirs. She discusses the inspiration behind the initiative, the process of capturing patient stories, and the impact on families. Additionally, Shriya shares her experiences working with Houston Methodist and her future aspirations in medicine. Tune in to learn about this unique intersection of creative writing and patient care.

00:00 Introduction to Vantage Hospice Podcast

00:27 Meet Shriya Pendyala: Founder of Bedside Narratives

00:42 The Concept and Impact of Bedside Narratives

02:19 Collaboration with Houston Hospice

03:10 Volunteer Recruitment and Training

04:26 The Interview Process and Creating Memoirs

06:20 Funding and Expansion Plans

07:20 Personal Stories and Inspirations

13:06 Future Plans and Continuity

18:29 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Vantage Hospice & Palliative Care

Our Mission

Vantage Hospice, LLC is dedicated to providing individualized hospice care with services specially tailored to the physical, social, psychological and spiritual needs of patients with life limiting illness, their families and the community, by delivering high quality and compassionate care.

We strive to create a culture dedicated to meeting the needs of our patients, families and employees based on the principles of dignity, respect and compassion.

Hospice recognizes dying as part of the normal process of living and focuses on maintaining the quality of remaining life. It affirms life and neither hastens nor postpones death through a multidisciplinary team approach. Hospice is not a place. It is philosophy.

Transcript

0:09

So welcome once again to Vantage Hospice. Our podcast today I have with me Sharia, who is a founder, I guess, right? A bedside narrative. So I'm gonna let you talk a little bit about yourself and then we'll ask. I like a ton of questions 'cause I'm so intrigued. Okay. So yeah, my name Shriya Pendyala. I'm a junior at Rice. I study neuroscience and social policy analysis. And yeah, bedside narratives is an organization that we have at Rice. We just started like about a year ago now, I think. But like really have been seeing patients more recently, like at hospice. And also like in resident care facilities we talk to them about their experiences like any life goals that they've had, how they've gotten to achieve them, if and then like about their family, their just values in general. Anything that they'd like to put into like a memoir a book like thing where we talk about these experiences and then give to either their families or to them. Yeah, so just to capture their essence, their living. A memoir. That is amazing. So how did you come up with the idea? Yeah, so, I kind of work with, a lot of my work has to do with like advocacy global health advocacy. So, I met some people through there. It's an organization called Partners in Health. So through there we were like talking about like different ways to help the Houston community, like impact, like more locally because our work is definitely like on a larger scale. But we were thinking like we're all like pre-med, my friend and I were neuroscience and social policy analysis. And I've always really had an inclination towards writing and like just creative writing. So I think it was like a really cool way to combine those things to talk about like patient narratives and also combine that like creative writing aspect. So I mean, I think you are an amazing. Just so you, I mean, this is so awesome. We do life review and hospice all the time. Yeah. Uhhuh, when nurses go, our aides go, our chaplains and social workers we talk about it. You can actually document a, a care plan based on life review. Yeah. So the fact that you guys are doing this is just phenomenal in the marriage between you and hospice is. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Yeah. So, how long, you've been doing it about a year, right? And how do you determine like where you're gonna go or who. Yeah. So we work with Houston Hospice. So, with hospice patients it's a little bit difficult because a lot of times, like you might not be able to speak with them and it might just be like you're talking to their family, which is great. We love talking to families and like getting their perspective on things. But when we do talk to patients, a lot of times it'll be like respite care patients who are just there.'cause like caregivers are taking a break. Right? Right. Taking a break. Yeah. Yeah. So, it's always really amazing to talk to them'cause I feel like they have. Such amazing experiences and just a really different attitude on life by that time. And then when it comes to patients who are, or not necessarily patients, but residents at like nursing care facilities and things like that, we'll usually directly talk to them. And they have a lot of different'cause they'll be there, like in groups. Oh yeah. So it's we'll get them all together, do a little get a bunch of desserts and we're all just talking over food and like drinks and stuff. So it's, that is so, so how many volunteers do you have right now? Right now. So we have like about five, like very dedicated like members who are writing. And then we're like onboarding like I think five or seven new people since we've started stuff at Vantage, which is really great.'cause that's allowed us to expand a little bit. So we're introducing this program at Vantage in the next month or two. So we are so excited. Yeah. What type of, qualifications do you have to have if, because we also have a lot of volunteers that are seeking opportunities for volunteers. So what type of qualifications do you have to have? I mean, I don't think we have any bridged set of qualifications really. Like when we're looking for volunteers, we're just looking for people who are interested in creative writing. Just to talk to patients and I guess there's like a very specific way that you can like, cater these questions because I think for a lot of. A lot of times it's like difficult 'cause sometimes they can be like very like deep or like thought provoking questions and it's like sometimes people just aren't in the head space to be talking about some things. Especially like in hospice, I think it's a very delicate like time period. Right. So very critical to like be able to distinguish. Use discretion. Right, right. I guess when you're asking those questions. So yeah, that's what we look for when we're recruiting for volunteers. At Rice. Awesome. So tell me a little bit about the process. So you go to a patient and then what happens? What would a patient expect when you come? Yeah, so when we go I mean we have a little flyer that we'll usually give to patients or show them. And it just tells us about, or tells'em about like the work we've done in the past, how we've, like, how we talk to families, how we'd like to talk to them. We'll give them like a couple of example questions. Okay. So in the past, I think it's always just been very successful. We'll first talk to the nurses and we'll ask them who you think would maybe be interested in this based on like your patients here right now. Right, right. And so I think that really helps us just so we're not like barging in anywhere and like with patients who don't wanna speak, don't wanna talk to you. Yeah. So that's been helpful. And then we will just start by like asking them about oh, what's your name? What have you done so far? What's your. Profession been? What's your family like? Just like very basic, like trying to figure out things. And then we have a set of questions that we'll go through. Things like, who would you like to say thank you to in your life? Oh, wow. Yeah. Oh wow. That is so awesome. So then after you get the, I mean, do you record it or do you write it down when they're there? Yeah. Yeah. So, we'll ask to take a recording, like a voice recording. We'll do that and then usually it'll be like two different people that are like interviewing the same patient. One person will be asking questions, taking notes, the other person, and we'll switch in between. Oh, wow. And so then after that's all done, then you. Take they, they take it and then they make it into a book. Is that right? Yeah. So then at that point we'll take them, we'll take all of our notes and we'll bring it to our Word document and like just transform all of those like stories and little memories into different types of work. In the past we've had people like. Do artwork as a part of the book, and then also like poems and just short stories. Pros. This is so awesome. This is so, I mean, this is like a hospice company's dream, what you guys are doing. It's just amazing. So how do you I mean, do you take donations? Do you We don't take donations, but we do fundraisers at at our campus. Okay. So that we have the money to like, get from place to place like Ubering and then also the actual materials to make the book. Right. That is incredible. So you don't take donations though? Not really. You guys should figure that out because I'm pretty sure there's a lot of people that would want to help you guys in your quest, I think. Yeah. So how many people have you done these books for so far? So far? Like we started writing last semester.'cause I mean, my friend Sam and I we were trying to get this going this spring semester last year, so that was in April. So we spent like April and then the summer just working on getting places to go to. So that's, that was like all operational things. And then last semester we really had our volunteers start working and then we were also writing. So, so far we have, I think five memoirs that we've fully written and Wow, that is so amazing. Yeah. So what drew you to this? I think for me so, and this is hard. I have, so I work at Houston Methodist too, and like I do volunteer work there. And my role is more so working with like geriatric patients. Okay. And I think through that I just, I learned like so many things, like everyone always has, I feel like at that point in your life you've experienced so much that life has to offer. So just like learning from them, I'm like, wow, this is amazing. If not. It would be a great thing to put into a book or something like physical for, not necessarily for like everyone to hear about, but I think just for them to keep and look back on, a lot of people end up having Alzheimer's. A lot of memory dysfunction. So for their families to hear these stories and have them as like a keepsake even once they've passed on. That is just phenomenal. I mean, again, like I, I just wanna reiterate, there is probably no program out there that is more hand in hand with hospice than yours. Yeah. It's just amazing. I mean, we do, like I said, we do that all the time as hospice professionals, but I think. A lot of times we don't write things down, but we'll do videos. I mean, we've done videos with families and for patients, but as far as being able to like, take it that next step, I'm just, I'm so impressed with you. I'm so incredibly impressed with you as a human being. It's just awesome. I'm curious, what does, what do the videos look like? So is it just family? So yeah. Well, usually it's a patient like we. We haven't done one in a very long time, but we would just, put up the camera and just talk, ask questions about, to the patients. Or a lot of times, families and patients really wanna tell the story. I mean, they wanna tell you what it was like when they were a kid. And yeah, we've lost that in our as the generations move on, as we're getting farther and farther away from. Just storytelling. I mean, back in the day, I mean, I remember sitting and listening to my grandmother and I used to think she would drone on forever and ever. Right. I mean, about things that made no sense. But now I would give anything to be able to read those things or hold them. So it's just, it's so amazing. I mean, I just, I'm so impressed with you and you're so young too. I mean, it's just, it's amazing that you're doing that. You wanna tell us about your partner? Oh, yes. So Sam is also, she's a neuroscience and social policy major, just like me. So we actually met through our residential college, Okay. Which is what we have at Rice. We have 11 different ones. They're getting their 12th and 13th, I think. Wow. Wow. That is Unreal's a lot of them. But yeah, so I met her at Rice and she was like, I think my first friend at Rice, like just one of the like sweetest people I've ever met and grew, were at the same residential college, had the same majors same year, and we were like, wow. We're like the same person. Fate. It's fate. Yeah. So that's how I met her. And then I mean. Just knowing her interests. I knew we had a lot of overlap. So, I went to her first to ask about, Hey, do you wanna try and start this at Rice? And. That is just so incredible. Yeah. So tell me a little bit about your family and like, how did you, I mean, obviously volunteering is a huge part of your life. Yeah. So how did that happen? So I think for me, I, a lot of. My interest for healthcare in general has come from doing global health advocacy. So that's I think where I started like. Becoming interest interested in like service and volunteering. So that was back in high school. So this organization that I talked about previously, partners in Health there's like chapters at different universities and like high schools. And so, my other friend and I, like in high school, we started one and we like got into global health advocacy back in Katy, which is where I'm from. Oh, that's where we're from too, so. Oh, really? Yeah. Wow. Yeah, so that's where I had that interest and this was like. At the peak of Covid, Oh, that had been a challenge. Yeah. Yeah. So it was just like the pandemic was going on and we just saw these like disparities that were happening across the globe. Like both of our families, like our extended families are like outside of the US so, in their respective homes, like there was a lot of disparity there. So that was something we were both passionate about and we were advocating for that. And then I think just tangentially I've become involved in like other healthcare, like service oriented things. I started volunteering at Houston Methodist, somewhere along that year or something like that. And I think that's just really what got me into it. I love. Right now I love talking to patients in like geriatrics and I think it's just the best thing ever. So how did you get involved with Houston Methodist, and what type of stuff do you do there? So, in high school I was like more on the administrative side, I was like talking to patients like at like just patient care, I guess. Answering their phone calls, things like that. Oh, okay. And then when I got to college, I applied for this thing called Teen Clarity. And so this program works with patients who are over 65 years old and are at like severe, like fall risk. So we just go and talk to them about different ways you can prevent falls. Yeah, awesome. But they always have lots of stories to tell, so Of course it's great. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's awesome. I mean, I'm just, I'm so. Blown away by you. It's just, it's amazing. So what type of medicine are you looking to go into? I mean, I, we had just spoken earlier that you're, gonna go. Pre or you're finishing up pre-med and you're getting ready to go to med school. So what are you thinking for your future? Honestly, I'm not totally sure. I've talked to a number of different doctors. I mean, neurology seems really interesting to me. I'm a neuroscience major, but I'm also really interested in like cardiology. I'd love to actually I mean, I'd love to either go into like geriatric care, like internal medicine or maybe like cardiology. Pediatrics. I'm doing pediatric research this summer, so I'm gonna see how that looks for me. Yeah. So is there a plan for when you go to medical school, what's gonna happen to the bedside narratives program? Yeah, so we really hope that it, stays. So one thing that we've been doing is recruiting a lot of, like underclassmen. A lot of our like officers and people who are like helping run things are freshmen right now. Awesome. So yeah, so I hope they'll like, carry it on. And obviously like very invested, amazing people, so we're really happy to have them. It's just, I'm so impressed. So is there a website or is there some place that people can go if they So we don't have a website yet, but that should probably be in the works pretty soon. We do have an Instagram and it's called Rice. R-I-R-I-C-E. Bedside narratives. Wow. Yeah. So is it affiliated with the college? I mean, is it Okay, gotcha. Yeah, so we're registered under like Rice Student Center, like recipient and stuff. Awesome. Yeah. But it's, yeah, just incredible. So do you have any stories that, that you'd be willing to share with us or, our listeners, about any interactions that you've had? So a patient story, potentially? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. One that I wrote pretty recently. So this was about a woman who she lived throughout her main memories were like, grow, growing up in like the sixties, seventies, I think. And she talked a lot about how for her, like a lot of like her values surrounded were based because of like her family and like things that she grew up seeing. And a lot of that was things like racism, a lot of like issues with. Women's rights and things like that. So, and then like one of her most, like profound experiences was giving birth herself. And just that experience of seeing herself, like bringing new life into the world and everything. Yes. And it was such a cool story to write about, but since then, she's actually been, but there was a lot of like issues that she had like with the pregnancy itself and getting access to care and things like that. So since then she was like, she had become really involved in maternal, like advocacy and like going to like marches walks. And she was talking about how during the civil rights movement, actually she would be like driving folks like towards marches, things like that to Oh wow. Yeah. Like she was amazing. And then also just trying to change like the world just with the people that like are around her parents, like her family seeing things through their perspective, but then also being able to try to like. Embody that feeling of just togetherness and like showing everyone, like we're all really the same. Same, yeah. Yeah, exactly. I think sometimes, especially with the elderly, I think a lot of times people forget that they had a whole life getting to where they're at. Right. And I mean, especially with hospice, I mean, we usually, when we go in, we see patients that are, on their. In the bed or they're not able to get up, they're not able to walk, they're not to care for themselves. And you sometimes you can forget that these are the same people that you know, trailblazed everything that you see. We've had patients on, I mean, in different areas of hospice with. Different companies, I should say that I've met that, I mean, used to work at the White House and have been in the Pentagon and have, have built these buildings here. I mean, it's just amazing the things that people do and we sometimes forget that they have a lot to tell us and we just need to listen for sure. Yeah. So how long does it take from the time that you do the interviews to we, you get the book finished. How long does that usually take? So I would say it's about a two month, one to two month turnaround. So it's been a little bit awkward for us right now because we started last semester writing these things and I think most of the interviews happened mid to end of November. Oh, okay. After like Christmas, yeah. Holidays. Yes. Yeah. So after all of that training happened at the beginning of the semester and everything, onboarding, so yeah, that's when we first interviewed and. Now we're done with the memoirs. We do just have to give it back to them. So that's like actually gonna happen the week that we come back from spring break. Oh, awesome. So that'll be next week. So you haven't actually given a book yet? We haven't given it back yet. Oh, I bet that's gonna be emotional. It'll be really exciting. I'm excited. That's gonna be really awesome. Yeah, and it also, it depends ba based on like when the family's available when it, when we're working with like residents at like your facilities. And for them it's. A little bit easier 'cause we can direct coordinate directly with them. But otherwise, like at hospice, it's a little bit difficult 'cause the patient might have already passed and it's well, very likely. So then. We have to coordinate with the family. Yeah, absolutely. Wow. But I think that's honestly one of the best parts about speaking to hospice patients is we get to speak to the patients and then we get to hear perspectives from their family. So then it's just like such an, like an encompassing, like it's absolutely about the person, but then it's also about how like others viewed them. Absolutely. Which is just incredible. Yeah. I still, I mean, I mean, I have a million stories of hospice patients that I've. Yeah. Come into contact with that. I mean, I still use their advice today, which is really interesting and funny. I mean, I still tell people about it. I'm like, yeah. And so it's just amazing. Yeah. I mean, I'm again, so thoroughly impressed by you. Thank you. I just really am. But how long was that interview?, how long does it take for you to gather the information? Yeah, so I mean, I feel like it's usually been about an hour. Oh, okay. But we do try to come again, like we'll try to do two visits. Oh, perfect. If it's possible. Yeah. That's awesome. Alright, well thank you so much for joining us. I mean, again I am, I'm gonna say it one more time. I'm so impressed with you and your group. I mean, it's just an amazing thing that you guys are doing. So thank you so much and we'll look forward to seeing everybody here next time. Thank you.