WARREN — President George H.W. Bush once said, “America is never wholly herself unless she is engaged in high moral principle. We as a people have such a purpose. It is to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world.”

Kandyce Powell, longtime executive director of the Maine Hospice Council, has not only brought truth and new light into the Maine correctional system through the development of hospice care for the incarcerated here at the Maine State Prison, but also gives great thought and attention to every detail, which in turn enriches the lives of inmates who have participated in the program.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jeffrey Libby is a certified literacy tutor and an inmate at the Maine State Prison.

There is no way to describe how you feel when you know your time on earth is limited. The future doesn’t always conform to our plans because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring.

The prospect of dying in prison can be a very real nightmarish fear for some. From seeing many people I have come to know personally who have died in prison during my nearly 32-year journey in the correctional system, I have come to realize all too well that there is nothing in the prisoner’s world that can soften the finality of death. Even though I have come to realize that dying in prison is a fact of life, death where there is no one to love you, to mourn your passing, no tears – that is very sad to me.

Inmates do not have the option to die at home, and so, as they spend their last days in the state prison infirmary, struggling with all the emotional and physical pain associated with their diseases and the inevitable event of fading, they are provided with quality “comfort care” by their inmate peers. Inmate hospice volunteers receive 150 hours of hands-on training by Kandyce Powell, guest faculty and nursing staff. The volunteers assist medical staff with transferring patients to wheelchairs, turning them in bed and feeding them, as well as serve as hands-on assistants to nursing staff.

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Physical and emotional pain become very real in this stark setting, so being able to grieve and work through it with caretakers who are trained to provide practical and emotional support helps the patient to die in peace and with dignity. These services also help make the passing easier for the families who lose their loved ones behind the walls.

Trained to help dying inmates, one inmate hospice volunteer described how creating this program made a substantial difference in the lives of those going through facing their horrible fate. “I’m grateful to be in a position to help make dying people feel as comfortable as possible, while at the same time letting them feel a sense of tremendous independence,” he said.

Another hospice volunteer was also grateful for the experience, saying, “It helped me to realize how fragile life is and allowed me to step outside myself to help others in need. It is so heart-wrenching to sit there watching people you know pass on.”

The level of compassion incorporated into the comfort care component of hospice is so very crucial to the process, as it enables inmate volunteers to thoroughly develop an affinity for helping those in need. Another inmate hospice volunteer became teary-eyed as he described his experience: “Helping one too weak to even drink a glass of water or to lift a fork, and being there to have quality conversation or to listen to music together, play a game of cards or cribbage, or to play a guitar, or just listening to them, which helps to lower their heart rate and blood pressure, is priceless and provides value to my life.”

Every life has a purpose and every human being deserves a chance at life, a future and opportunity to pursue their dreams, and when the time comes to die in peace and with dignity. Time is our most precious asset, and when we offer it in service, everyone wins when we give of ourselves. Hats off to Kandyce Powell, all the inmate hospice volunteers and the Maine State Prison administration for embracing this program.

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