Nurse with Purple Hair
Why Purple?
Ask Michelle Lasota, the nurse with purple hair, “Why purple?” and she will say, “It’s my favorite color; and as a hospice nurse, you learn the importance of being who you are.”
Last November, the VNA Health Foundation (formerly known as the Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care Foundation) hosted a special free community screening of The Nurse with the Purple Hair, an inspiring film about people who provide hospice care and people who receive hospice care. Ironically, the documentary is by renowned horror filmmaker and director Sean Cunningham; and while the topic is about death, the film is filled with laughter, love, and wisdom.
In our society, talking about death is taboo; it’s the monster under our beds. In the absence of having real stories about death and dying, we fill the void with something that isn’t quite true, perpetuating our fear of the unknown. As the community’s leading nonprofit hospice and home health provider, VNA Health embraces community education and outreach to help people understand the complex world of health, so they can be informed and live well even as they face injury, illness, or death.
Following the film, VNA Health President & CEO, Lynda Tanner moderated a discussion panel and Q&A session with VNA Health Hospice Medical Director, Dr. Michael Bordofsky, VNA Health Hospice Nurse, Miki McGibbon, Sean Cunningham, and Michelle Lasota. Together, they shared their passion for hospice care to help patients facing death, live well and die well.
“Hospice is not a place,…it’s a philosophy of care,” stated Michelle. “It’s about taking care of the whole person, mind, body, and spirit. How well can we live until we die?”
We invite you to continue this vital conversation. A complimentary streaming copy of the film can be viewed online here. Let us be brave enough to have an end-of-life conversation that matters and create a safe place to discuss dying well.
For more information about hospice care at home or at VNA Health’s Serenity House, and the benefits hospice can provide the patient and family, call VNA Health anytime at 805.965.5555.
