Educational Media Reviews Online

The subject of death can be very frightening for an individual with terminal illness and his or her family members. Strong emotions like anger and denial are likely to be present, family dynamics may surface and other issues like pain management need to be addressed. How can people cope with these issues? Common Heroes illustrates how different professionals of a hospice team work together with terminally ill patients and their family members to maximize the patient’s quality of life while supporting the family during these last stages of life.

This film introduces the different professionals who make up the hospice team. We follow them as they work with several terminally ill patients and their families. Excerpts from meetings between hospice team members, patients and family members address things like: dealing with pain management; helping the patient and/or family members to properly meet all of the patient’s physical and emotional needs; and dealing with the psychological implications of their decisions to meet these needs. In addition, several hospice professionals and terminally ill patients talk to the audience about their perspectives on dying and the importance of dealing with the quality of life issues they are facing with their families. The film also illustrates how hospice works with family members (including children) to provide support and grief counseling after death. Furthermore, hospice workers train other health care professionals to better help terminally ill patients with quality of life issues.

This film is skillfully edited, weaving together episodes of the hospice team in action along with the personal narratives of the various professionals, patients, and family members involved. The voices were very clear, the lighting was good and the videotaping of the family meetings looked like they occurred in the patients’ homes. Along with the closing credits, the terminally ill patients were memorialized and several additional resources about death and dying were also identified. This video is highly recommended for anyone interested in understanding how hospice works.