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Start Off the New Year with New Volunteer Training
Berea, Ky., 06 January 2012
Hospice Care Plus volunteers do a multitude of tasks for patients, families, and the organization, including landscaping at the Compassionate Care Center. The organization will hold a volunteer training on January 28 for new volunteers. From left: Hospice volunteers Linda Carlson, Lois Bunch and Kermit Aude.
 ulie Hatfield says it's not too late to make a New Year's resolution.
“One of the best resolutions I think anyone can make is to be more involved with your community,” she says. “And it's not too late to make that resolution!”
Julie is Hospice Care Plus’s volunteer coordinator. She has just announced a new slate of trainings for people who want to volunteer.
The current training schedule includes three trainings:
- January 28, Saturday, 9-4 in Richmond at the Compassionate Care Center.
- February 25, Saturday, 9-4, in Booneville at the Hospice Care Plus office.
- April 28, 9-4, Saturday, in Jackson County. Location to be determined.
To secure a spot at any one of the upcoming trainings, contact Julie at 986-1500, 800-806-5492, or hospice@hospicecp.org.
Julie says that volunteering with Hospice is an ideal way to be more involved with the community, and to meet a real need.
“When our volunteers work with our patients and families, they're actually part of a larger network of support—churches, local businesses, neighbors, non-profits—who are working together to meet the needs of those we serve,” says Julie. “You really get a front row seat to what is best and most hopeful in your community, and I can’t think of a better way than that to kick off a new year: on a hopeful note.”
Patient care volunteers may make phone calls to check that patients and families have all the supplies they need, deliver flowers to Hospice's nursing facility patients, or go to a patient's home to offer companionship or give a caregiver a much-needed break. A new program, called Veteran-to-Veteran, matches patients who are veterans with volunteer veterans. Other volunteers choose to answer phones, help with special events, make baked goods, or offer administrative support in the Berea office, Booneville office, or at the Compassionate Care Center.
“Whatever you choose to do,” Julie says, “you will be enriching your community. Ask any of our volunteers, and I promise they will tell you that they get so much more out of the experience than they give.”
Hospice Care Plus is an independent, non-profit organization providing palliative care, hospice care and bereavement services regardless of ability to pay. Hospice Care Plus serves Estill, Jackson, Lee, Madison, Owsley and Rockcastle counties.
Enersys, EKU Help Brighten the Season for Patients and Families
Berea, Ky., 3 December 2011
EKU health science students and Enersys employees volunteer on Saturday to decorate the Hospice Care Plus Compassionate Care Center for the Christmas season. Foreground, left to right: Alyssa Estes and Emily Land, EKU health science students, prepare small trees for each patient room. Background, left to right: Richard Johnson, Kassia Parks, Pam Lane—all Enersys employees—and Lois Bunch, a Hospice volunteer, setup a larger tree for the Center’s common family room
Diane Smith places a live wreath on the entrance to the Hospice Care Plus Compassionate Care Center. On Saturday, a group of volunteers from Enersys and EKU health science students spent the morning decorating the interior and exterior of the Center for the Christmas season
 everal local volunteers gave up a Saturday morning to bring Christmas cheer to patients and families at the Hospice Care Plus Compassionate Care Center.
Current and retired Enersys employees led the effort, which has become a seasonal tradition for the company. Pam Lane with Enersys says her mother, Lois Bunch, helped start the tradition. Bunch, a regular volunteer at the Compassionate Care Center, encouraged her daughter to get involved.
The group purchased tree lights and accessories and several live wreaths for windows and doors. They decorated two large trees for common family rooms and a smaller tree for the children's indoor play area. They also brought several new toys to distribute to children who visit the Center over the holiday season.
Enersys employees were joined by two EKU health science students. Alyssa Estes and Emily Land prepared a small Christmas tree for every patient room at the Compassionate Care Center.
Hospice Care Plus is always in need of volunteers. To learn more, explore the volunteer section of our website or contact Julie Hatfield at 859-986-1500 or hospice@hospicecp.org.
Hospice Names Above and Beyond Award Winners
Berea, Ky., 30 November 2011
 he Hospice Care Plus staff have chosen this year’s Above and Beyond Award winners.
Hospice announces its list of Above and Beyond Award winners just prior to the organization's annual holiday dinner each year. Winners are recognized at the event and presented with a commemorative plaque.
This year's dinner is on Tues., Dec. 13, at 6:00 p.m. at Acres of Land Winery. Tickets are $25 each and reservations are required by Dec. 6. To make a reservation, contact Lora Ruble at 859-986-1500 or hospice@hospicecp.org.
The Above and Beyond Awards were created by Hospice Care Plus to honor agencies, businesses and service organizations that, for at least two years, have gone above and beyond to support Hospice and its work with patients, families and community members.
The 2011 Above and Beyond Award winners are:
- Andrea's Flowers, Richmond
- Owsley County Fiscal Court
- Rebecca Click, School Counselor, and the Estill County School District
- Younger Woman’s Club of Berea
Andrea's Flowers was nominated by several staff for its sustained and generous support of patients and families at Hospice’s Compassionate Care Center.
“Since our Center opened, they have quietly brought fresh flowers for each patient room every week, and even go so far as to theme the flowers for holidays or special events, like blue flowers for a big UK game or seasonal colors for Christmas,” said Ann Taylor, the coordinator at the Compassionate Care Center. “They are always beautiful and bring tears and joy to our patients, especially those who have little or no family with them there.”
Tina Hesketh, Hospice's patient care coordinator for the Lee, Owsley, Jackson county area, says Owsley County Fiscal Court was nominated for their ongoing willingness to help Hospice staff care for patients, and for their financial support.
“They have done everything from give permission to the road crew to help us gain access to a patient's home, to making a generous financial commitment when we raised funds for the Booneville Hospice Care Plus office building,” Tina says. “We have always been able to count on them when we need special assistance from county resources to help us meet the patient care needs of the Owsley county community.”
Rebecca Click and Estill County Schools were nominated by Nora Brashear, Hospice's bereavement coordinator, who noted their commitment to providing grief support to the district's children.
“Hosting a children's grief group in a school requires considerable time and effort,” says Nora. “Yet Rebecca takes us up on the offer to do free support groups each and every year. I have been in the Estill County schools on many occasions and have always been impressed with the overall ‘above and beyond’ educational and emotional support efforts of their teachers and school administrators.”
Angela Bailey-Davis, special events coordinator, says the Younger Woman's Club of Berea was nominated for their longstanding support of the annual Run for the Roses benefit.
“These ladies work so hard to raise funds, beginning with a group donation when we built the Compassionate Care Center, and continuing through their silent auction at each Run for the Roses event. Over the past four years, they have raised $15,000.”
Hospice Care Plus is a non-profit organization serving Estill, Jackson, Lee, Madison, Owsley and Rockcastle counties. Services include hospice care, palliative care, bereavement counseling and support, and hospice inpatient care at the Hospice Care Plus Compassionate Care Center in Richmond. For more information, call 859-986-1500 or email hospice@hospicecp.org.
Request Memorial Ornaments Now for the Remembrance Tree Event on Dec. 4
Berea, Ky., 13 November 2011
The annual Remembrance Tree Ceremony is slated for Sunday, December 4 at Richmond Mall. To request a personalized memorial ornament for the tree, call Hospice Care Plus at 986-1500.
 ne of Madison County's most heartwarming holiday traditions, the annual Remembrance Tree Ceremony, is set for Sunday, December 4 at 2 p.m. at Richmond Mall.
The Remembrance Tree ceremony is hosted each year by Hospice Care Plus. The event gives the community a chance to remember loved ones during the holiday season by placing a memorial ornament on the Remembrance Tree.
After an opening prayer and holiday music, the memorial list of names will be read. Guests will place the personalized, memorial ornament on the Remembrance Tree as their loved one's name is read. Hospice Care Plus provides the ornaments, which can be requested in advance of the ceremony or on the morning of the event. Hospice staff are available to place ornaments for those who cannot attend the ceremony, but who wish to have their loved one included in the ceremony.
To request a personalized memorial ornament, contact Hospice at 986-1500 or hospice@hospicecp.org. For a donation of any size, the ornament will be prepared with the name of a loved one and taken to the Remembrance Tree ceremony for placement on the tree.
Brenna Wallhausser, Hospica's community outreach coordinator, says donations are not required but that they do help fund the organization's programs.
“The Remembrance Tree is primarily a memorial service, and one that comes at a time of year when many of us feel the need to make a space for those we've lost,” she said. “It is also one of our most successful fundraisers. Each year, it helps fund everything from medical supplies for patients, caregiver support, care for patients with no insurance, and our grief support programs for children and adults.”
The Remembrance Tree remains on display at Richmond Mall throughout the holiday season. Many guests choose to claim their memorial ornaments after the holidays, and display them on their own Christmas trees each year.
Hospice Care Plus is a non-profit organization serving Estill, Jackson, Lee, Madison, Owsley and Rockcastle counties. Services include hospice care, palliative care, bereavement counseling and support, and hospice inpatient care at the Hospice Care Plus Compassionate Care Center in Richmond. For more information, call 859-986-1500 or email hospice@hospicecp.org.
‘Grief at the Holidays’ Scheduled in Richmond, Beattyville
Berea, Ky., 13 November 2011
 or many people, the holiday season does not always feel like “the most wonderful time of the year.”
A new workshop, create and hosted by Hospice Care Plus, will help participants learn how to cope with the holiday season when they are grieving the loss of a loved one.
The workshops will be held on November 14 in Beattyville and on November 15 and 16 in Richmond.
In Beattyville, the workshop will be offered from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church.
In Richmond, the Tues., Nov. 15 workshop is from 1:00-3:00 p.m. at Hospice's Compassionate Care Center on Isaacs Lane. The same workshop will be offered on Wed., Nov. 16 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Trinity Presbyterian Church on Spangler Drive.
Nora Brashear, Hospica's bereavement coordinator, says it is normal to feel at odds with the festive spirit of the season when we are grieving.
“The workshops will focus on education about the grieving process, on validating the normalcy of the variety of grief reactions we have, and on the special stresses of the holidays when one is grieving,” she says.
Nora says the workshops will also include information on common experiences and feelings of grief, the importance of mourning and memorial activities, and share examples of memorial activities families can incorporate.
The workshops are free and open to the public and registration is not required. For questions, contact Hospice Care Plus at 986-1500 or hospice@hospicecp.org.
Hospice Care Plus is a non-profit organization serving Estill, Jackson, Lee, Madison, Owsley and Rockcastle counties. Services include home-based hospice care, palliative care, bereavement counseling and support, and hospice inpatient care at the Hospice Care Plus Compassionate Care Center in Richmond. Contact Hospice at 859-986-1500 or hospice@hospicecp.org for more information.
Honor a Loved One with a Lasting Memorial
January 24, 2011
he Memorial Brick Walkway at the Compassionate Care Center in Richmond provides a unique way for friends and family to remember or honor their loved ones and you are invited to participate. Proceeds from memorial brick orders go toward supporting our mission of providing loving care to those with life-threatening illnesses and support to their families, regardless of their ability to pay.
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