Northern Arizona Hospice in Flagstaff, Ariz., recently had a 43-year-old patient with end-stage cancer. He had encountered some unfortunate circumstances and was incarcerated in the county jail. The staff were able to provide him with the best care despite his past or present situation. Unfortunately, the jail staff would not be able to honor his wishes of having a DNR and would have to call 9-1-1 at the time of his passing. A local judge agreed to release him if he could be placed in a hospice inpatient facility that was outside of the county served by our Flagstaff hospice.

Heather Scott, MSW/volunteer coordinator, started working on this process immediately,
since the patient was declining rapidly. She spent two days making calls, trying to make
arrangements for the patient. On a Saturday, she finally received word from a facility that would accept him and help him with the rest of his journey. On Monday, he was able to be transferred to the hospice facility. Heather made a trip to visit him at his new facility and brought him two things that he had requested as a last wish – Coca Cola and red licorice!

Thanks to Heather, for working tirelessly to help this patient on his journey and fulfill one of his last wishes.