SHARING - Bailey

D E C E M B E R 2 012
SHARING
A LEGACY OF CARE
SHARINGA LEGACY OF CARE
BBH gives end-of-life care to people without AIDS
ailey-Boushay House opened in 1992 to care for
very sick people who had nowhere else to go.
“No one wanted to care for people with HIV/
AIDS,” says Brian Knowles, Bailey-Boushay’s
executive director. Each patient needed specialized nursing care and labor-intensive support.
Yet traditional nursing homes turned them away
as being too sick for standard end-of-life care.
“Bailey-Boushay was built by a community that believed
everyone deserves to die with dignity,” Brian says. “That value still
guides us.”
So today, if beds in our nursing home aren’t needed by someone with HIV, we provide end-of-life care to residents with other
special needs who don’t have AIDS. Their special needs often arise
from Huntington’s disease (HD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
and complicated cancers.
Making little things count
Eight-year-old Hailey likes seeing her grandmother happier. She
has her own take on what makes Jeanne’s days better: food she
likes (despite being unable to chew). Her own room (where it’s
easier to talk). The BBH greenhouse (Jeanne loves plants, and the
grandkids love taking her there). And the end of a mystery rash
(nurses figured out Jeanne reacts to hand sanitizer).
“They make it so she can have what she needs,” Hailey says,
“and they make sure no one gets more sick.”
Focusing on what matters most
The goal of Jeanne’s care is to help her die with dignity and to live
fully every day until she does.
“We help residents celebrate the present they are living, not
just mourn the past they are leaving,” explains Brian.
The unpredictability of life-limiting illness
COVER: Spending
quality time with
her family is the
top priority of BBH
resident Jeanne
(seated).
Jeanne is a 66-year-old mother of three and grandmother of eight.
Her mind is alert, and her sense of humor pops up frequently.
“I’ve danced forever,” she says, shaking in her wheeled bed to
demonstrate the hula for her delighted grandchildren. “I danced on
TV on ‘Seattle Bandstand’ when I was 13.”
Jeanne has Huntington’s disease (HD), a rare and degenerative
neurological condition with no cure and few treatment options. She
can no longer walk. Speaking is difficult. And she must rely on
others for the most basic daily needs, from bathing and toileting to
dressing, grooming and eating.
We give our residents without AIDS the care they
deserve at end of life, but can’t get anywhere else.
We welcome them and their families into the BaileyBoushay community for as long as they need us.”
Brian Knowles, Executive Director
Living well in the present
She moved into Bailey-Boushay a year ago, needing more care
than her family and a traditional nursing home facility could provide.
For years Jeanne was a single working mom, and family has always
mattered most. “I like having my family here,” she says. A highlight
this fall was going to her first grandson’s wedding.
Finding out what works
“I think the staff was as excited for her as we were,” Alana says.
“They were so good about getting her ready. They even had a
chocolate shake waiting when she got back.”
It’s common to use medication to counter disruptive outbursts and
other behavioral problems triggered by HD. Alana Pumphrey credits
the Bailey-Boushay staff for recognizing that her mother was
overmedicated.
“She’s more alert, and she can talk more,” says another
daughter, Melissa Jeng. “She’s thrived here, as much as anyone
could with HD.”
“The staff here can understand and help my mother,” Alana
says, “and they’re caring in how they do it. They talk to her and
figure out what she needs and what will work for her.”
Jeanne beams talking about that day: “I had a wonderful time,
and I got to hold the baby, my great-grandson.”
Making flexibility the rule
At Bailey-Boushay, we look for ways to make what is probably the
worst experience in a family’s history a little bit better.
Even among residents with a shared diagnosis — whether it’s
AIDS, HD, ALS or cancer— one size never fits all. Each resident’s
story and needs are unique. And each family’s dynamics are
their own.
become experts in end-of-life care for people with very complicated physical, emotional and social needs.
Take, for example, the needs of a woman dying from ovarian
cancer. She was a single mother with five children, all under the age
of 10. To make sure the children could have frequent, short visits
with their mother, Bailey-Boushay staff and volunteers ran an
improvised daycare program right in the nursing home.
“We give our residents without AIDS the care they deserve at
end of life, but can’t get anywhere else,” Brian says. “We welcome
them and their families into the Bailey-Boushay community for
as long as they need us.”
Another family was in great distress watching their loved one
die. For two weeks, eight family members slept at Bailey-Boushay
to hold a round-the-clock vigil at the resident’s bedside.
Sharing what we’ve learned
In two decades of giving AIDS care, BBH staff members have
For more stories of residents with HD and ALS whom we’ve
been honored to serve, please watch the “Remembering
BBH” videos on our website, Bailey-Boushay.org/video-gallery.
Ginny Flanagan, Marie Dunn and Elly Worden describe their families’
experiences.
Nutrition Program Provides Nourishment
and Sense of Belonging
ood and regular meals play an important role in the health
and well-being of our outpatients and residents. The
Nutrition Program at Bailey-Boushay House is a vital
service as nutrition boosts the immune system and helps
the body to heal and fight disease. For 40 percent of our outpatient
clients the kitchen often provides the only full and nutritious meal
they get during the day. Just as significant as nutrition, there is the
emotional role food plays in all of our lives — it provides security,
comfort and, when eating with others, a sense of belonging and
connection. The kitchen at Bailey-Boushay house is what makes
the Nutrition Program possible.
The kitchen at Bailey-Boushay House operates every day and
provides 65,000 meals annually. Since Bailey-Boushay House
opened 20 years ago, the kitchen has never been updated and
most of the kitchen equipment was purchased used. The impact
of feeding more than 7,000 people over the course of 20 years has
taken its toll.
The wear and tear of constant service is apparent but, most
importantly, the ability to continue to meet the ongoing needs with
The Bailey-Boushay
House kitchen staff
prepare 65,000 meals
annually.
the current facility and equipment is at risk. As we celebrate 20
years of service, we will focus on updating the kitchen to ensure we
are able to serve those who need us today and for those who will
need us in the future.
Stay Connected as We Celebrate 20 Years!
Bailey-Boushay House’s newly launched website features patient, staff and volunteer
stories, photos and videos from our rich 20 year history. There is also an opportunity
for you to share your story. Check it out at BaileyBoushay.org.
Like us on Facebook
to stay connected with
our year-long 20th
anniversary celebration!
NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
Editor .........................................................Jennifer Schlatter
Contributors .......................................................... Ellie David
Graphic Design .................................................Dean Driskell
Photography ...........................................Paul Joseph Brown
Homefront is published by the Virginia Mason Foundation.
For placement of stories or information of community
interest, please contact: Bailey-Boushay House, 2720
East Madison Street, Seattle, WA 98112, (206) 322-5300,
www.bailey-boushay.org.
You can help us save resources by signing up to
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PAID
PERMIT NO. 4636
SEATTLE, WA
An inpatient and outpatient nursing care facility, owned
and operated by Virginia Mason Medical Center
2720 East Madison Street
Seattle, WA 98112
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Bailey-Boushay House does not discriminate against qualified
persons in admissions, services or employment on the basis of age,
disability, national origin, sex, sexual orientation or any other basis
prohibited by local, state, or federal law. These laws include, but are
not necessarily limited to, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, the Civil Rights Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act, the
Washington State Laws Against Discrimination, and the City of
Seattle’s Anti-Discrimination Ordinances.
Printed on recycled paper. Copyright 2012 VMMC FORM 95574 (12–12).
THANK YOU
to the following organizations for their recent gifts of $1,000 or more:
Over 5,000 people
have been served at Bailey-Boushay
House since opening in 1992.
More than half
of the people in King County who have
died of HIV/AIDS spent their last days at
Bailey-Boushay.
1.5 million meals
have been served by the Bailey-Boushay
House kitchen to more than 7,000 people.
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The Benaroya Companies
Benaroya Foundation
Cafe Flora
Catalyst Marketing
Cedar Grove Composting
Costco, Inc.
East Shore Unitarian Church
Emerald Services, Inc.
Employee’s Community Fund of
The Boeing Company
• Joshua Green Foundation, Inc.
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Microsoft Matching Gifts Program
Notkin Mechanical Engineers
Rally Marketing Group, Inc.
Sasco
Sasco Foundation
Symetra Financial
Teutsch Partners LLC
Washington Women’s Foundation
Wells Fargo Community Support Campaign
Wells Fargo Foundation
A SPECIAL THANKS TO:
• Teens In Public Service (TIPS) for enabling TIPS intern Jack Nolan to work at Bailey-Boushay House
this summer.
• Team Bailey-Boushay House’s Seattle AIDS Walk participants, especially Perry Bryant the team’s
top fundraiser.
• Bailey-Boushay House clients and staff who adopted Madison Street, in the Madison Valley, as a part of
the city’s “Adopt-A-Street” litter control program.
• A special thanks to Cairncross & Hempelmann, P.S. and St. Brendan Catholic Church for putting
Bailey-Boushay House on their Giving Trees.