Films about end of life, illness, and disability
Balfour Mount: Reflections on Living and Dying
On Wings of Song – Music Therapy at the End of Life
Whole Person Care & the Need for a Paradigm Shift in Health Care
(1999) 51 minutes
A model for palliative care.
If all of us would know that our last days would be spent surrounded by caring people in a humane environment, such as the one we see here at the Royal Victoria Hospital, then dying would be less terrifying. The hospital ward here was set up over 30 years ago by Balfour Mount, M.D. – internationally respected pioneer in the field of palliative care.
The entire staff – from housekeepers to volunteers, to nurses, doctors and therapists – are engaged in the complex task of meeting the emotional as well as the physical needs of the patients. We get to know the caregivers, and how they are affected by their work with the dying. The staff creates a sense of normalcy and even vibrancy which emanates from the ward as pleasures from the outside world are brought in. Musicians, pets, and celebrations enrich daily life. The warm atmosphere allows family and friends to interact naturally with their loved ones.
Filmed over one month, Endnotes captures the unique philosophy of a world-renowned model for compassionate care.
“The most cogent, engaging and profound treatment of hospice and palliative medicine…. If one film must be chosen to demonstrate hospice in theory and practice – this is it.” Sandra L. Bertman, Ph.D. Director, Program in Medical Humanities, U. Mass. Medical School
Award Nominations: Vision TV nomination for Best Social Issue Documentary; Hot Docs, finalist, New York Festivals.
Film available in English only.
