Rice Hospice provides end-of-life care, comfort, and compassion, affirming the sacred value and dignity of life for those we ser ve.

Transcription

1 Hospice Happenings September/ October 2016 Rice Hospice provides end-of-life care, comfort, and compassion, affirming the sacred value and dignity of life for those we ser ve. Briggs & Culberson Share the Stage Share the Spirit Fall Education Retreat We are excited to welcome Tami Briggs and Ron Culberson to the stage as our keynote speakers for Share the Spirit The fall educational retreat will take place on September 1 at Assembly of God Church in Willmar. Briggs, a therapeutic harpist, will kick start our morning session with Musical Moments of Hope and Healing. As a harpist, Briggs has played at the bedside of hundreds of hospital and hospice patients and will be sharing her experiences with us. As a composer and recording artist she has also released 15 CDs for relaxation, comfort, healing and sleep. As an author, she has also written two books that will also be available at the conference. Culberson will be taking the stage for our afternoon session. As a speaker, humorist and author, Culberson started his career as a clinical social worker, manager and senior leader for a large hospice program. Culberson has delivered more than 1,000 presentations and is also a recognized expert on the benefits of humor and laughter. His presentation is entitled, Living Up to Your Eulogy. Registration will begin at 8am in the church lobby. For additional registration forms, visit the Rice Hospice website at Click under News & Events to download a brochure. To ensure your reservation, please return your registration form prior to August 29. A map to the Willmar Assembly of God Church is listed to the right. The church address is 3821 Abbott Drive, Willmar located next to Hennen Furniture on South Business Hwy Becker Ave. SW, Willmar, MN

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3 Veterans Receive Recognition: County Fair & All-Star Team Our Rice Hospice Veteran volunteers and Veterans throughout the area were honored this past month. On August 10, Rice Hospice helped assist the Veteran s Service Office serve over 250 veterans a complimentary lunch at the Kandiyohi County Fair. It was great to honor our veterans and meet so many who served our country! On August 12th two of our Veterans were also honored as members of an All-Star Veteran team at the Willmar Stingers game. Ron Andreen and Roger Power were selected from a pool of nominees to receive this recognition and both had a baseball trading card made for them as members of this team. They signed autographs and were brought onto the ball field before the Stingers game as the team saluted Veterans for their service to our county. Congratulations Ron and Roger! Bereavement Volunteers Needed Hello all! This is Amanda Pauling and I m a social worker and the Bereavement Coordinator with Rice Hospice. I started working with Rice Hospice back in January of Bereavement is such a large part of the Rice Hospice program. We had 389 bereaved in our program last year. My job is to check in with them and coordinate any additional bereavement services they might need to help them on their grief journey. Often this might include having bereavement mailings sent out to them, or setting up a bereavement volunteer to meet with them on a quarterly basis. We have been blessed to have wonderful bereavement volunteers, but as more retire, and as more people become interested in having a bereavement volunteer assist them in their grief journey, we have had a more difficult time matching the bereaved with a volunteer. We would encourage you to consider being a bereavement volunteer. We need more in all our satellites but are especially seeing a shortage in Granite Falls, Benson and Dawson. Please talk to Deb Van Buren or myself about becoming a bereavement volunteer. Hospice Happenings Page 3

4 October Education 2016 Book of the Year Being Mortal October 18th Rice Memorial Fall Memorial Service A fall Memorial Service is being planned for Tuesday, October 25. The Memorial Service is designed to recognize and remember the Rice Hospice patients who were served during the past six months ending September 30, The services will begin at 4pm at the following locations: Willmar Bethel Lutheran Church (Team A patients) Montevideo United Methodist Church (Team B patients) Volunteers, staff and families are encouraged to participate. You are welcome to invite loved ones you have worked with, if appropriate. It is a special way to honor the memory of our patients, and to bring you and the family members together again. We hope you will be able to come. If you are able to make bars, greet, serve or provide special music, please contact Rice Hospice. We have received many positive comments about this year s Book of the Year Being Mortal, by Dr. Atul Gawande. This book will serve as a springboard for discussion in October as we host a book club of sorts regarding the concepts contained within the cover of this year s book of the year. We will share a time of discussion and insight led by our Rice Hospice Chaplain Beverly Crute. Education will take place in the Willmar satellite only on Tuesday, October 18 at Rice Memorial Hospital. We will be meeting in Lakeland Auditorium which is located next to the tunnel between Rice and Family Practice. Education will begin at 6:30pm, and we are HOPING to offer flu shots from 5:30 to 6:30 to Rice Hospice volunteers who chose to have a complementary flu shot if the vaccination is available! Stay tuned... The seasonal influenza vaccine is updated every year to protect against the most recent influenza viruses circulating around the world. The Seasonal vaccine is available free of charge to all active Rice Hospice volunteers and will be given out one hour prior to our October educational meeting, from 5:30 to 6:30pm. In addition, we are hoping to have the vaccination available in November in Montevideo at 2:30 and Willmar at 6:30. We will try to be there a half hour early to administer the vaccination if it is available to us at that time of the year. As volunteers in the healthcare community, we are held to a higher standard and all hospice staff and volunteers are encouraged to get the vaccination. For every 15 healthcare professionals who receive the vaccination, one fewer person in the community will contract an influenzalike illness according to a recent public health data study. For more information on influenza or the vaccine, contact Nicole Aleshire, RN, MSN at Rice by calling Online resources are also available for your review at or Hospice Happenings Page 4

5 SAVE THE DATES! September 1 Share the Spirit Retreat Willmar Assembly of God Rice Hospice Volunteer Training Coming Soon! YOU are our best advertising! Did you know that 27 percent of those who attend volunteer training at Rice Hospice have been invited by a current volunteer? As current volunteers, you have the ability to share your experiences with the people within your circle of influence. More than likely they have a similar heart as you and would be excellent people to consider taking the Rice Hospice volunteer training this fall! We will be hosting our fall volunteer training this fall on Monday, September 12, and Wednesday, September 14. The objectives of this two-day training session are to describe the hospice concept of care, introduce the role of the volunteer, and to explore the interdisciplinary team concept. We have a variety of speakers and the days go very quickly as we give an overview to the prospective volunteers of what it s like to work with our patients at end of life. A copy of the training agenda and registration information will be available at our website ( We were blessed to add 12 new volunteers during our spring training and hope to double that this fall! Photos of a few of them are included below. So help us promote this great learning opportunity as we continue to need volunteers in ALL of our Rice Hospice satellite locations! September 30 Ortonville Soup & Salad Luncheon September 12 & 14 Rice Hospice Volunteer Training Sept 30 Oct 2 Canine University October 8 Camp GK Bear October 18 October Education Book Club Being Mortal October 25 Fall Memorial Services Montevideo & Willmar November 4 Dawson Chili Luncheon November 5 & 6 Level 2 Healing Touch With Dana Spates Marcia Brouwer Pet Therapy Volunteer Rex Hern Pet Therapy Volunteer Claire Kelly In-Patient Volunteer Rodney Kersey We Honor Veterans Volunteer November 15 November Education 2:30 Montevideo 6:30 Willmar Hospice Happenings Page 5

6 Canine Education with Molly Johnson on August 25 It s literally and figuratively the dog days of summer at Rice Hospice as we promote our pet therapy program to handlers interested in getting their pet involved in this exciting complimentary therapy. But we would also like to include an educational opportunity to our current pet handlers while Molly is here with us! On Thursday, August 25, Molly Johnson will be hosting an educational class beginning at 6pm. The class is entitled, The Loss of a Pet Therapy Dog: What to Expect. The class is for the handlers only and will be held in the Board Room at Rice Memorial Hospital located just off the elevators on the lower level of the hospital. Hospice Happenings Page 6

7 HEALING HEARTS GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP It can be difficult after you ve lost a loved one or Hospice patient through death. Sharing your feelings and fears in a supportive environment can help you with the grieving process. A series of six grief support group meetings are being organized in Willmar beginning September 12 in the Rice Hospice Conference Room. A second group will also be meeting in Clarkfield at the Clarkfield Care Center beginning September 14. If you know of a family who could benefit from this type of support, we ask that you would invite them to participate. Support groups are led by Rice Hospice staff and there is no charge to participate. The group is open to anyone who has lost a loved one through death. The groups will continue to meet weekly through mid-october from 3:00 to 4:00 pm. For more information or to participate, please call Judie Dunlop or Kathy Tweten before Friday, September 2 ( ), or download a registration form at SOUPS ON! BEST LUNCH IN TOWN SEPTEMBER 30 Ortonville/Graceville will be hosting their annual Soup & Salad Luncheon for Rice Hospice on Friday, September 30. Turkey noodle soup, chili, breads and a variety of salads will be served from 11am to 1pm at the First English Lutheran Church in Ortonville. Please join the volunteers, staff, and community advisory board members for their 22nd Annual Benefit Luncheon! A freewill donation will be taken for the O- G satellite. Hope to see you there and come hungry! BIKING & GOLFING RAISE FUNDS & AWARENESS FOR RICE HOSPICE Two summer past-times, cycling and golfing, were able to raise funds and awareness for the Rice Hospice program this summer, through the efforts of the 22nd Annual Heinie & Dan Ridler Golf Tournament (Willmar satellite), and Ride for Rice Hospice (Benson satellite). Together, these two successful events raised more than $12,000 for Rice Hospice! We are humbled and appreciative for those who are willing to coordinate and participate in these awesome fundraising activities! It is because of the generous hearts and giving of so many of you that we are able to provide the care our patients and families deserve during their end-of-life journey! Hospice Happenings Page 7

8 Rice Hospice 301 Becker Avenue SW Willmar, MN FIRST CLASS RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Appleton Satellite 30 South Behl Appleton, MN Benson Satellite 1815 Wisconsin Avenue Benson, MN Dawson Satellite Walnut & Memorial Place Dawson, MN Granite Falls Satellite th Avenue Granite Falls, MN Montevideo Satellite th Street North Montevideo, MN Ortonville/Graceville 450 Eastvold Avenue Ortonville, MN Willmar Satellite Administrative Offices 301 Becker Avenue SW Willmar, MN * *Answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) Rice Hospice: Care for the Journey