The Prison Hospice Project: Training Inmates for End-of-Life Care | Fernando Murillo

Hospice Behind Bars: If We Can Do This in a Carceral Setting, We Can Do It Anywhere In this episode, Fernando Murillo, co-founder of the Humane Prison Hospice Project and formerly incarcerated hospice worker at the California Medical Facility, joins host Niki Weiss to talk about spending five years providing end of life care inside the only licensed hospice in the California prison system, what human currency means, and why compassion in the most restricted environments proves it can be done anywhere. CHAPTERS 0:00 Hospice Behind Bars: If We Can Do This in a Carceral Setting, We Can Do It Anywhere 1:11 Welcome Fernando: 19 years incarcerated before discovering the prison hospice 3:05 Seeing patients cared for humanely in prison and not knowing how to process it 5:20 Being recruited twice, saying no twice, and then answering the call 7:44 Training under Chaplain Keith at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville 10:15 What the five years of bedside hospice work inside the prison actually looked like 13:30 Being released in 2020 and recruited by UCSF to continue the work 16:08 Building the Humane Prison Hospice Project from the ground up 19:45 The 16-module peer caregiver curriculum and how it is being adapted for memory care 22:10 Why correctional healthcare professionals are now seeking out this training 25:44 What human currency means and why trust is the only thing worth selling in prison 29:03 Why dignity and compassion have very little monetary cost 31:55 If it can be done inside, it can be done outside: Fernando's central message 33:02 Fernando's takeaway: kindness costs nothing and changes everything WHAT YOU WILL LEARN - What the only licensed hospice in the California prison system looks like and how incarcerated people are trained to provide peer caregiving at end of life - Why Fernando said no twice to working in the prison hospice and what changed his mind - What the 16-module Humane Prison Hospice Project curriculum covers and how it is being adapted for memory and dementia care - What human currency is and why Fernando used trust as his primary tool in a setting where autonomy and agency are almost entirely removed - Why Fernando believes that if compassionate end of life care can be built inside a carceral setting, there is no excuse for it not existing in every community Start your plan and take the free assessment: https://finalplaybook.com/main-page LISTEN TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/death-and-dying-in-the-digital-age/id1775499012 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2MQkOgvyPQnLEz1fO9BHkY Subscribe: @DigitalLegacyPodcast FOLLOW US Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/endevo.digitallegacy TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@endevo_digitallegacy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/endevo_digitallegacy/ Download the My Final Playbook app: Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=endevo.life.finalplaybook Apple App Store: [link coming soon] #deathandyinginthedigitalage #ENDevo #digitallegacy #digitallegacypodcast #myfinalplaybook Disclaimer: The Death and Dying in the Digital Age channel is for educational purposes only and does not provide medical, legal, or financial advice. Views expressed by the host and guests are their own. Always consult qualified professionals before making decisions. The channel is not responsible for actions taken based on its content. Re-uploads or ANY use of our content is prohibited.