With the holidays behind us and 2012 freshly inaugurated, all of us at Hospicare would like to wish our friends and partners in the community a happy, healthy, and fulfilling new year.

As we look back upon 2011, we recall the challenges but also the moments of beauty and inspiration that make our work at Hospicare so rewarding.

Thank you for being part of the community we share and serve. We hope you find your own inspiration, peace, and comfort in the months and seasons to come.

By Donna Gilbert, Certified Home Health Aide

I am pleased to have this opportunity to reflect on my experiences as a hospice aide.

My passion is to provide comfort, support, and a shoulder to lean on to our patients' families. They are experiencing feelings they do not know what to do with. To give not only the physical care but also the emotional support for what they will experience in the near future is very rewarding to me.

The whole idea of families letting me and the hospice team into their lives at a very stressful time is astounding in its own right, especially considering their forthcoming loss and the grieving process they will experience.

The philosophy of Hospicare is, "It's about how you LIVE." How true that quote is! I make every day a new day, and I do that every day I get up and go to work. After 19 years, I have truly found my calling in life. It is the most enduring, rewarding, and soul-searching job that I have ever had.

I am so thankful to be a part of the Hospicare team, made up of very caring and compassionate people.

Hospicare's Good Grief Program is the portion of our bereavement support offerings crafted specifically with children in mind.

Good Grief events typically facilitate the processing of grief in children through some form of play or creative expression, and generally they're held on a single evening and targeted towards both bereaved children and their families/caregivers.

"Kids Helping Kids" is a new upcoming event that departs slightly from the usual format, planned as a four-week group rather than a one-time session. Also, it is intended for children 8-11 without their caregivers.

This will allow more time and opportunity for participants to get to know each other and develop helpful bonds. To make the most of this shared benefit, we request advance registration and a commitment to attend all four sessions (Thursdays, January 26; February 2, 9, & 16, 5:00-6:15 PM).

The group is for children who are grieving a death of a significant person in their life. The sessions will use fun activities to support children, helping them feel less isolated as they express their feelings and share about their loved one who has died. There will be light snacks served. This group is free and co-facilitated by Kira Lallas, LMSW, and Leslie Shakespeare, LCSW-R.

 

Please register with Kira (klallas@hospicare.org or 607-272-0212) by January 20. 

As we mentioned in the May edition, the Danby Community Quilters have forged a biannual tradition of creating a quilt and raffling it off to support community organizations, and this year they chose Hospicare as their beneficiary!

The quilt was raffled off in October for $700. Hospicare was recently presented with the check, and we would like to extend our most sincere gratitude to the Danby Community Quilters for their generous efforts on behalf of Hospicare and other agencies serving the local community.

 

January dates include:

• Mindfulness Practice - Wednesdays; 7:30-9:00 PM
• Women Singin' - January 3; 5:30-7:00 PM
• Continuing Bonds Support Group - January 3 & 17; 5:30-7:00 PM
• Evening Bereavement Support Group - January 4 & 18; 5:30-7:00 PM
• Tuesday Lunch Group - January 10; 12:00 PM
• "Kids Helping Kids" Registration Deadline - January 20; 4:30 PM 
• Wednesday Breakfast Group - January 25; 8:30 AM