Spotlight On: Legacy Creation
Faith Hospice is blessed with talented volunteers who generously donate their time and skills in any number of areas including our Legacy Creation Program. Legacy Creation helps our patients create lasting memories for their families through scrapbooking, a family history or family tree, memoirs or a legacy video. Two very special Legacy Creation volunteers are Deb Gosselin, of Ancestry Helper, who helps Faith Hospice patients research their family history and Bill Stewart who works with patients to create a legacy video.
Deb Gosselin, owner and founder of “Ancestry Helper,” has been generously donating her time to the Faith Hospice Legacy Creation Program for over three years. “It’s really a labor of love,” she said. “It’s best to volunteer for the things you are most passionate about. It just multiplies the good feelings.”
Gosselin has been involved with genealogy for more than thirty years—since she first discovered it in college. She begins her research with a standard questionnaire which Faith Hospice volunteers generally help the hospice patient and their family to fill out. From there, she accesses a number of databases including census, military and immigration records. All the material that Gosselin uncovers in her genealogical research goes into a special three ring binder she designed for Faith Hospice Legacy Creation participants.
Libraries are another step in tracking down information, and Gosselin has found they usually yield copies of obituaries of grandparents or other relatives. Gosselin has found that patients enjoy reading them. “The hospice patient feels they’re part of a cycle, part of the tree of life,” she said.
Two of the first hospice patients to become involved with Gosselin through the Legacy Creation Program shared the same maiden name but had never met each other. Gosselin’s research revealed that they were related approximately four generations ago. She shared the information with each of them, and they enjoyed meeting each other and swapping stories.
Gosselin learned another patient had had circus performers in their background. She contacted the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and they were able to locate posters with the performers’ names on them. Gosselin included photocopies of the posters in their Legacy Creation binders.
Since Gosselin generally doesn’t have months and months to do an extensive genealogy work-up for her hospice patients, she focuses on the things that are most important to them and of which they are the most proud. That might be their military experience, their college affiliation or a particular sport.
Gosselin recalled one patient whose room was extensively decorated with Michigan State “Spartan” memorabilia. She worked her usual research magic and discovered that the patient’s grandmother had been one of the first women to graduate from Michigan State. Further digging uncovered an article and picture from the Grand Rapids Press that Gosselin was able to obtain for the patient and their family.
According to Gosselin, doing a basic history and family tree are relatively easy, but it’s “finding the interesting little details that bring the history to life.”
Gosselin has found that the Legacy Creation Program—be it a family history, scrapbooking or making a video—gives the hospice patient and their family something to focus on and to share. There have even been times when she has continued work on a project with the family after the patient has died. “Family histories can continue through the grieving process.”
“I try to focus on the good years and create a picture of them,” said Bill Stewart about his participation as a videographer in Faith Hospice’s Legacy Creation Program. His goal is to create a “better memory” for the patient’s family with the focus on the life of the patient as opposed to their death.
Stewart begins with an informal interview that he captures on tape—much like a “fireside chat” as he put it. He asks the patient about their life and then he “lets it unwind the way the patient wants it to. I just let it flow.”
He sometimes researches music from the appropriate era and adds it to the tape along with still photographs from the patient’s photograph albums. Stewart had one patient who grew up in Chicago in the 1920s, and he was able to incorporate snaps of old-time Chicago in the video.
A retired electrical engineer, Stewart has been working with Legacy Creation for a year now, and he really enjoys it. “I like people. I like talking to people. I like to get their views on the world.” According to Stewart, “you don’t have to talk to people for very long to find them fascinating.”
Stewart recalls one 92 year-old patient who was an “artist” when it came to welding. “You could see his eyes light up when someone took an interest in his work.”
Stewart’s only wish would be for some newer computer software and either the donation or loan of more equipment. His real wish is that his videos will “leave a legacy for the patient.”
Faith Hospice and the Legacy Creation Program always welcome new volunteers. For more information on volunteering or on Legacy Creation, contact the volunteer office at 616-356-4859.
August 11th, 2009 | Posted in Community, General, Trillium Woods | Share this on Facebook or Twitter
“Trillium Woods is awesome…”
“I felt an immediate sense of peace coming down the driveway of Trillium Woods,” said Sharon W., who arrived there by ambulance. Right away she experienced an overwhelming feeling of calm and the sense that she would like it there. It eventually became her “home away from home.”
Trillium Woods is our Faith Hospice residence located off 84th Street in Byron Center. It provides care for patients who, for one reason or another, cannot remain in their own homes. It also serves patients who need short-term management of symptoms that may have gotten out of control.
“This place is awesome. I can’t say enough about Trillium Woods,” said Sharon who worked with developmentally disabled children and adults for thirty years. “I don’t feel sick. They manage my pain and make me feel comfortable. I can relax and feel at ease.”
With her symptoms under control, Sharon was able to indulge her love of cooking while at Trillium Woods. She was a judge in the Iron Chef Competition as well as the apple pie competition. An experienced cook, Sharon once enlisted the help of her sister and made homemade noodles and chicken soup for the staff from a recipe handed down by her Irish grandmother. She wanted to give back to the staff who she felt were doing “an awesome job.” She was a little daunted by the electric stove since she was used to a gas one, but she quickly mastered it, and the staff proclaimed her chicken soup to be delicious. She made plans to prepare a meal for the weekend staff as well. But make no mistake—Sharon had no quibbles with the food at Trillium Woods! “The food is awesome,” she said. And if she didn’t care for what was on the menu, the chef was more than willing to whip up something more to her liking.
The eldest of three in a very warm family, Sharon was thrilled at how close she became to the staff at Trillium Woods. They dropped by after days off to catch her up on their news, and they shared their individual cultures through stories and food. She also became friends with the other patients.
Sharon truly made herself at home at Trillium Woods. Her shepherd-husky mix, Brownie MacTavish, came to visit on a regular basis. Brownie loved looking out the window of Sharon’s room, much as Sharon did, watching the woodland creatures as well as the comings and goings of the patients, their families and staff. Volunteers stopped by regularly to give her manicures and to cut and style her hair.
She even hosted what she called a “pig-out party” in her room—friends and family gathered together to watch movies and eat as much junk food as they could handle. When one of them “crashed” on her sofa for the night, Sharon knew she was really at home!
A visit from a volunteer skilled in genealogy helped Sharon prepare a legacy for future generations—together they researched and documented information on thirteen generations of Sharon’s family—something Sharon had been wanting to do for many years. Members of the Legacy Creation team planned to help her explore other means of leaving her imprint on the world as well.
But even beyond all the activities, Sharon found Trillium Woods to be a spiritual place, a place where she enjoyed talking to the chaplain and where even the doctor prayed with her. Her time at Trillium Woods, according to Sharon, gave her the opportunity to “reflect on things.”
August 11th, 2009 | Posted in General, Trillium Woods | Share this on Facebook or Twitter
Hospice 101
Although hospice services have been available in this country since 1974, hospice is often still misunderstood. “Any illness, but particularly a life-threatening one, brings with it physical, psychological, spiritual and practical burdens for both the patient and their family,” said Susan Mast, executive director of Faith Hospice. “Hospice focuses on relieving suffering and providing support for the best possible quality of life for the individual and their family. At Faith Hospice, our mission is caring for the mind, body and spirit, and that is exactly what we do.”
What Is Hospice?
The goal of hospice is to provide quality, compassionate care for individuals facing a life-limiting illness or injury. That care encompasses the physical needs of the patient as well as their emotional and spiritual needs. Hospice also provides practical support for the patient’s family and help in dealing with the emotional aspects of losing a loved one to an illness or injury.
From a medical standpoint, hospice provides palliative care—care that is meant to relieve or soothe the symptoms of a disease or disorder but without curing it. Hospice care becomes appropriate when the patient is no longer receiving curative treatment but is suffering or needs relief of troublesome symptoms.
But hospice deals with more than just the physical. “Hospice also assists with the emotional and spiritual aspects of dying,” said Mast. Through an interdisciplinary team, hospice is able to provide support for the patient’s entire family—from respite care for caregivers to bereavement care and counseling for surviving family and friends. “Hospice care doesn’t end with the death of the patient,” said Mast, “but continues for an additional 12 months with grief counseling and support for those left behind.”
The hospice team consists of members from a number of disciplines including the hospice medical director and the patient’s personal physician. The physicians direct the patient’s medical and physical care and are responsible for choosing palliative treatments to relieve symptoms or suffering. They are aided by RN case managers, hospice aides, social workers, chaplains and volunteers.
The patient’s emotional and spiritual needs are met by chaplains and social workers. ”Faith Hospice takes an ecumenical approach,” said Mast. “Meaning that we recognize all beliefs and work with the patient to realize their spiritual needs, whatever those may be. We also encourage their own clergy to become involved.”
Family needs are met through respite care which allows caregivers time for themselves; social workers who are able to provide emotional support and assistance with financial considerations and bereavement counselors who help family members work through the grief process.
The hospice team also includes dedicated volunteers who are trained to provide assistance in various ways from housekeeping, meal preparation, errand running, personal care like hairdressing, companionship, etc.
“Care is available when you need it,” said Mast. “Hospice is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week. We’ll be there when you need us.”
When Is It Time for Hospice?
“The one thing we hear most often,” said Mast, “is I wish I had called hospice sooner. There is a misperception that hospice is somehow a death sentence. That is definitely not the case. You are welcome to change your mind at any time and return to active, curative treatment. But the earlier you elect hospice care, the more we can do to improve your quality of life.”
Hospice is generally appropriate when a life expectancy of six months or less is expected if the disease runs its normal course. At that stage, the patient usually desires comfort care and may require assistance with activities of daily living. Their family and their caregivers may be feeling the strain of caring for them and may need assistance and support with end-of-life issues. Patients may be experiencing a decrease in appetite, a decline in their level of functioning, increased visits to the emergency room, hospital or doctor’s office and a general progression of their disease.
Where Is Hospice Provided?
“I always like to say that hospice care can be provided wherever you put your head down to sleep at night,” said Mast. Hospice services are provided in the community in the patient’s own home, in assisted living or skilled nursing facilities, hospitals or adult foster care settings. When it isn’t possible for a patient to remain in their own particular home setting, hospice care can be provided in a special hospice residence.
“At Faith Hospice we provide care in the community but also at our hospice residence, Trillium Woods, in Byron Center,” said Mast. Like most hospice residences, Trillium Woods is focused on being as home-like as possible with spacious private rooms designed to provide plenty of space for visiting family. Large lounges and a library offer extra areas for visitors to congregate. “We even have a beautiful chapel where patients can pray or meditate,” said Mast. Trillium Woods is also a potential choice for hospice patients who need short-term management of specific symptoms before returning to their own homes.
Medicare provides a hospice benefit and most insurance plans today also have a hospice medical benefit. Services of the hospice team are covered along with appropriate medical supplies and equipment, medications and grief counseling.
As Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the hospice movement, explained hospice—”You matter because you are. You matter to the last moment of your life. And we will do all we can not only to help you die peacefully, but also live until you die.”
August 11th, 2009 | Posted in Community, General, Trillium Woods | Share this on Facebook or Twitter