Offering Peace of Mind - Gilchrist Hospice Care

Offering Peace of Mind
The Doula Program at Gilchrist Hospice Care provides
a calming and supportive presence for both the patient
and family – and reassurance that a loved one will not
die alone.
Lee Hoyt sat in her chair with a book in her hand and
leaned toward the man lying, his eyes closed, in the bed
beside her. She had never met him before that day and
would likely never see him again; still, she knew enough
about him – his nurse at Gilchrist Center said he was
once a musician – to figure that he might like to hear
some of the poems she brought with her.
She was in the man’s room that day at the request of his
brothers, who needed to go out but dreaded leaving their
loved one, who was near death, by himself. As one of
Gilchrist Hospice Care’s more than 50 active Volunteer
End of Life Doulas, Ms. Hoyt had already spent many
hours by the bedsides of Gilchrist patients with just a
short time to live, providing companionship and comfort,
and reassurance that they would not die alone.
(continued on page 2)
It’s one of the most meaningful
roles I have played in my life. ”
– Peggy Walton, Gilchrist Doula comforting patient
Barbara Finer.
Debbie Geffen-Jones,
Gilchrist Volunteer Manager
(continued from cover)
“One of the challenges is to enter someone’s space and
life and then to be gone from it. I find myself thinking a
great deal about the people and wondering about their
experiences,” said Ms. Hoyt, a retired English teacher.
“To be a part of these final moments of living is, for me,
life-affirming.”
The Doulas who serve Gilchrist patients through the
all-volunteer program share similar stories. They have
gone into homes or into the residential care facilities
where patients reside. Many have spent six-hour shifts
at Gilchrist Center, sitting by bedsides and consoling
family members grieving the death that was soon to
come.
For many Doulas, each
of whom received
specialized training, the
experience has had a
profound effect.
However, she said, she wanted a
gentler name for the program and
ultimately chose “doula,” which is
more commonly associated with
childbirth assistance, because the
term suggests comfort and support.
The goal of the program is to provide a presence for
patients and families at the most critical and emotional
point in their hospice journeys – immediately prior
to death. For those families who cannot be there, the
Doulas provide a peace of mind that their loved one
will not die alone. For those who can, the volunteers
provide a calming and supportive presence for both the
patient and family. During the first year of the program,
Gilchrist’s End of Life Doulas
assisted more than 400 patients
and their families.
The passion that our volunteers have
for doing this is incredible to see. I think
they get as much out of the experience as the
families they serve. Our Doulas get to spend
time with our patients during the last hours
of life and experience the mystery of the
transition from life to death.”
“The families are grateful,
and sometimes surprised,
by the service. I even had a
family member call me to ask
how much it cost. I told the
family that it is just part of the
specialized care we provide
through the volunteer office,”
said Ms. Geffen-Jones.
For the families, too, the
mere presence of the
volunteers as a loved one
nears death has been a
comfort: “The last day
- Debbie Geffen-Jones,
was the toughest. Having
Gilchrist Volunteer Manager
a Doula there allowed
For Ms. Hoyt, who has suffered
me to not only spend
personal losses of her own,
time with my sister, but to try to be available for other
working as a Doula has helped her gain a better
family members,” said Sharon Childs. Her sister, Kathy
understanding of the end of life.
Montgomery, was attended by several Doulas, who
“Death is a natural part of life, and to be able to be of
worked in shifts. “They became our friends and made
service and to acknowledge the power and dignity of
us feel comforted.”
the end of life is remarkable,” said Ms. Hoyt. “I do see,
Gilchrist’s End of Life Doula program was the idea of
profoundly, the effect of our presence on the patients
Volunteer Manager Debbie Geffen-Jones, who had
and families. I think these types of programs could
heard of so-called “vigil” or “11th hour” volunteers
transform our society.”
at other hospices around the country and decided
it would be a helpful service for Gilchrist patients.
Greater Reflections Winter 2010 Page 2
Unique Support for Men
For more information on the Men’s Support Group and other Bereavement offerings,
please call 443.849.8251 or visit gilchristhospice.org.
After the death of his second wife, Ruth, Bob Knock
attended a mixed-gender support group sponsored by
Gilchrist Hospice Care. But it was a different Gilchrist
group – one geared toward men only – that really
resonated with him as he continued to heal from his
loss. In the Men’s Support Group, the participants
seemed more at ease and willing to discuss sensitive
and intimate topics. The men cried without shame
when they needed to, rather than suppressing their
feelings, he said.
“Women seem to have an easier time talking in a
group,” said Mr. Knock. “Usually, when men get
together, it’s for some activity. Here, we were sharing
our intimate life details with other men, and we knew
it was confidential. We didn’t feel restricted.”
The Gilchrist Men’s Support Group has drawn as many
as 15 men to a single session since its inception more
than two years ago. In fact, the success of this unique
grouping led Gilchrist to create a second support
group for men only this past fall.
“The Gilchrist group is for men who have lost their
spouse or life partner and was borne out of the
understanding that men tend to express their grief
differently than women,” said Robin Stocksdale,
manager of Bereavement Services for Gilchrist:
We’re offering men an opportunity to interact
with other men who have experienced a similar loss.
For many men, the loss of a spouse means the loss of
their primary outlet for communicating feelings.
They’ve been left without somebody to talk to, and
that’s what we’re trying to address.”
Facilitators, Gilchrist Chaplain Donald Hohne
and Volunteer Chuck Sternheim, initially
thought that food and outings would play a big
role. What they quickly discovered, they said,
was that the men just wanted a forum in which
they could feel comfortable talking about their
losses.
Facilitators, Gilchrist Volunteer
Chuck Sternheim (left) and
Chaplain Donald Hohne (right).
“They seem to really benefit from
having this opportunity. We can see
it in their faces and through their
tears that it has been very effective
for most of the men,”
said Mr. Sternheim.
There was agreement in how
much each of us had relied so
deeply on the assistance that
we received from our wives.
Where was the Christmas list?
Where were the important
papers? To who’s house were
we invited and when? We felt
like a ship without a rudder
Bob Knock, member of
to guide us through our daily
Gilchrist’s Men’s Group
lives. All of us knew the pain,
the loss, as only those of us who were living it could
know it. It was marvelous to be able to share one’s
inner heartfelt feeling with those experiencing their
loss so openly and honestly.”
- Bob Knock
Gilchrist Updates...
Gilchrist West - Howard County
The county’s first ever inpatient hospice is scheduled to begin accepting patients in the spring.
(continuted)
...and
Recognition
Gilchrist Receives Highest Rating
from The Joint Commission
Gilchrist Hospice Care is seeking
donations to help support
Gilchrist West - Howard County
It is not very often that a healthcare organization is deemed fully
compliant in the eyes of The Joint Commission. This summer, Gilchrist
received such an honor.
%
100
Gilchrist Hospice Care was recently honored to receive the Gold
Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission, the accrediting body
for healthcare organizations.
75
Gilchrist’s re-accreditation came on the heels of an extensive onsite review that focused on our compliance with Joint Commission
standards, which are considered the most stringent standards
of performance and safety in the health care industry. Gilchrist
was found to be fully compliant – a testament to our dedicated
staff’s continuing efforts to provide the finest in end of life care for
terminally-ill residents of Central Maryland and for their families.
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Demolition begins for Gilchrist West - Howard County. Ron Eyre
(Chair of this year’s Taste & Auction of Howard County), Stuart
Rodgers (Gilchrist Chair of the Board), Cathy Hamel (Gilchrist
Executive Director), Ken Ulman (Howard County Executive).
0
Accredited by
The Joint
Commission
We were pleased that we were
The Joint Commission was established more than a half century
ago in an effort to improve the quality of health care and currently
evaluates the quality and safety of care for more than 17,000 health
care organizations and programs in the United States.
able to demonstrate for The Joint
Commission our commitment and
dedication to providing quality, compassionate end of life care.”
Cathy Hamel, Gilchrist Executive Director
Greater Reflections Winter 2010 Page 5
Gilchrist Kids Endowment
Travels to Tanzania
The Gilchrist partnership, which began during the summer
of 2009, is one of nearly 90 sponsored by the Foundation
for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa, an affiliate of the
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
One year after entering into a partnership with
Nkoaranga Lutheran Hospital’s hospice and palliative
care program in Arusha, Tanzania, Gilchrist Hospice
Care sent a four-member contingent overseas this fall
to see how we could best support our partner in their
efforts to provide end of life care in a region ravaged
by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The visiting team was on a scouting mission of sorts
with a goal to see and experience, first-hand, the
needs of Nkoaranga’s hospice program. The team
included Gilchrist Executive Director Cathy Hamel,
Bereavement Services Manager Robin Stocksdale,
Assistant Medical Director Dr. Aaron Charles and
Controller Wayne Barth.
The group spent a week with the medical workers and
volunteers who struggle, on a daily basis, to care for
720 terminally-ill patients with a staff of five and about
36 volunteers and with limited medications to help
manage pain and other symptoms. Each patient visit
is arduous: Workers and volunteers must travel over
rutted dirt roads and through mountainous
terrain to reach their patients, most of
whom live in severe poverty. Still, the
group heard no complaints. Instead, the
patients and families were appreciative of
the simplest of gifts, and the Nkoaranga
hospice workers found creative ways
to address their patients’ needs in non
medical ways.
Hearing about the basic medical needs that they
struggle to meet was heartbreaking, and I found myself
ready to cry and open my money belt to give money, but
of course we need to think about how we might partner
with them in a sustained and meaningful way. We will
be finding this out through the week.”
Robin Stocksdale, Gilchrist Manager of Bereavement Services
in a dispatch sent to staff.
one patient, they agreed to have Gilchrist pay for her
medical expenses. The total: $25 to $50 for a five-day
hospital stay. She died while hospitalized, comforted
and surrounded by family, which is what she wanted.
We have committed funds to pay the costs of a driver
who can take hospice workers to see patients, for
education for HIV-positive orphans and for home
“improvements” to enhance the comfort of terminallyill patients. We continue to examine their needs,
and are currently making plans to send a second
group to Tanzania during 2011 while also looking for
opportunities for Nkoaranga’s staff to visit Gilchrist.
Left: The Gilchrist group accompanies the
Nkoaranga workers up a mountainside
on a patient visit.
While there, the group also visited an
orphanage associated with the hospital,
where they distributed “comfort dolls”
– soft knitted dolls that were made by
Gilchrist volunteers. They attended
meetings with hospital staff, as well
as religious services, to better get an
understanding of the people and the region.
And, after witnessing the extreme needs of
Gilchrist travelers (clockwise from left):
Assistant Medical Director Aaron Charles,
Controller Wayne Barth, Bereavement
Services Manager Robin Stocksdale and
Executive Director Cathy Hamel
Greater Reflections Winter 2010 Page 6
The mission of Gilchrist Kids is simple: to provide the finest in end of life care for infants and children
and for all those who love them. However, providing that care comes at a high cost.
In anticipation of the high cost of providing pediatric
home hospice care, Gilchrist Hospice Care is raising
funds to support a $5 million endowment that will
be dedicated to supporting Gilchrist Kids, our new
program that provides end-of-life care and support for
infants, children and teens and for their families.
Since its inception on July 1, 2010, Gilchrist Kids,
the only program of its kind in Central Maryland,
has cared for more than 15 patients, including one
pregnant mother who was told her child would be
terminally-ill at birth. Many
of these children have
come to us after enduring
the progression of their
disease and the varied
treatments offered in the
hopes of a cure. As the end
approaches, they and their
families are grateful for the
support of our caring nurses,
social workers, chaplains,
bereavement counselors and
volunteers.
We have found that our youngest
patients need twice as
many visits from our
team as the adult patients
and those visits last twice
as long. Their families also
need more intense grief support.
In addition, many of our pediatric
patients come to us still receiving
expensive therapies and medicines that
are not covered by insurance.
And, while Gilchrist is committed
Diana Lyons-Stratchko
to providing perinatal hospice care
credits Gilchrist Kids nurse
for parents-to-be who have received
Brenda Blunt with helping
devastating news about their unborn
Gilchrist Kids nurse, Brenda Blunt
her get through one of her
with patient Hunter Lyons-Stratchko children, such care is not covered by
teenage son Hunter’s more
insurers. As a result, the program will
serious seizures – calmly
absorb more than $500,000 in non-compensated care
directing his care and staying with the family until he
costs during its first full year of operations. To date,
was comfortable again. But more than that Ms. Blunt,
Gilchrist has received a grant from the Marion I. and
who manages the program, and other members of the
Henry J. Knott Foundation, proceeds from this year’s
Gilchrist Kids team have provided crucial education
W.D. “Pete” Class Charity Golf Tournament and several
and support for the family’s school and church
individual bequests and gifts to help support the
community, telling them what to expect as Hunter’s
program.
disease progresses.
“They just try to help Hunter and me and my
community. It’s been a real blessing,” Ms. LyonsStratchko said. “Gilchrist Kids has been an amazing
thing for all of us.”
Above: Children were given the
comfort dolls that were knitted by
Gilchrist volunteers.
Gilchrist Kids is an important
program that can and does make
a difference in the lives of so many
Central Maryland families as they
confront the unthinkable – the loss of a
precious child.
For more information on Gilchrist Kids or to make a
gift to the endowment, please contact Lori D. Mulligan
at 443.849.8214.
Gilchrist Kids will provide care for any and all children who qualify for our care,
regardless of the family’s ability to pay.
Greater Reflections Winter 2010 Page 7
443.849.8200
gilchristhospice.org
11311 McCormick Road, Suite 350
Hunt Valley, Maryland 21031
For referrals call: 1.800.HOSPICE
(1.800.4 6 7 . 7 4 2 3 )
HOWARD COUNTY
5537 Twin Knolls Road, Suite 433
Columbia, Maryland 21045
phone 410.730.5072
TTY Maryland Relay Service: 1.800.735.2258
Gilchrist Hospice Care provides services without regard to race, color, creed, sex,
sexual orientation, disability, religion, ability to pay or national origin.
Catherine Y. Hamel
Executive Director
Lori D. Mulligan
Director of Development & Marketing
Megan Dempsey
Design & Production
Lisa Burgunder
Writer
Silver Anniversary of Taste & Auction of Howard County
This year marked the 25th year that the event has been held to support the provision of quality, compassionate
end of life care in the county.
The Silver Anniversary Taste & Auction of Howard
County, hosted by Gilchrist Hospice Care, was both
a delectable and jovial affair, attracting more than
500 people, who spent the evening enjoying the
culinary creations of many of Howard County’s finest
restaurants and bidding on interesting auction items
– all to support a good cause.
In all, the annual event raised more than $200,000,
which will go toward Gilchrist West – Howard
County, a new 10-bed inpatient hospice unit in
Columbia.
Gilchrist would like to extend a special thank you to
event chairs Ron and Joanne Eyre and to the many
volunteers and supporters who made the event such
a success.
For more information on Gilchrist West or to
make a donation, please call Lori D. Mulligan
at 443.849.8214.