| Sumario: | Significance & Background: Emotional and spiritual support is an essential aspect of holistic oncology nursing, as unmet psychosocial needs during end- of-life care can adversely affect the well-being of both patients and their families. The Healing Hands/ Compassion Cart was introduced to provide comfort and emotional support to palliative and hospice patients, their families and healthcare staff. By addressing emotional, spiritual, and physical needs, the cart aims to enhance holistic care, ease the grieving process, and support staff in delivering compassionate end-of-life care. Purpose: The primary aim of this quality improvement project is to implement a mobile Compassion Cart to provide emotional support and comfort to patients, families, and staff during times of grief or crisis. The goal is to help staff feel more confident and supported in delivering bereavement care, while offering families a sense of compassion and comfort during difficult moments. Interventions: We implemented the Compassion Cart on a 37-bed oncology unit to offer comfort during emotionally difficult moments. The mobile cart serves as a resource stocked with grief literature, comforting items such as diffusers, and religious materials like rosaries and prayer books. Staff were educated via staff in-services during daily huddles on when and how to use the cart to support both families and the care team. Results: Survey respondents reported that the Compassion Cart had a positive impact during times of emotional distress. Families expressed that items offered helped them feel more connected to their loved ones and supported them in coping with the grieving process. Staff noted that the cart supported meaningful interactions and reinforced a culture of compassion and strengthened relationships between caregivers and families. Common themes included comfort, emotional support, and enhanced connection during end- of-life care. Discussion: A Compassion Cart can be a valuable and impactful tool in providing emotional support to families and staff within the acute care setting. By offering thoughtful, tangible items during moments of profound grief, the cart helped foster a sense of connection between families and their loved ones, easing the emotional burden of end-of-life care. This initiative not only enhanced the overall care experience for families but also empowered staff to engage in more compassionate and meaningful interactions.
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