March 2015 News & Events
Bereavement Volunteers Help Us Reach Out to the Grieving

Bereavement volunteers put together a mailing.
Bereavement volunteers (L to R) Dianne Valesente, Justine Moseley, and Maureen Shallish put together a mailing for those receiving Hospicare's bereavement services.

 

Hospicare depends on more than 100 volunteers from our community to help us in our work with patients and family members. One way some of these wonderful, compassionate community members help us is by volunteering with our bereavement program.

 

"Volunteers are essential to our bereavement program," says Donna George, LMSW, FT, manager of bereavement services. "Their dedication and commitment is demonstrated in so many ways: making supportive calls to our bereaved family members, maintaining our lending library, and spending countless hours preparing our mailings, to name a few."  

 

If you are interested in helping with our bereavement program--or any other volunteer opportunity at Hospicare--there's still time to apply for spring volunteer training. Training will be held Tuesdays and Wednesdays for three consecutive weeks in April: April 7 & 8, 14 & 15 and 21 & 22, 5:30−9:00 PM. 

 

"Volunteers are truly the cornerstone of our agency," says Donna. "We couldn't offer our community all that we do without their help."

 

Learn about spring volunteer training and fill out an application form.

 

New Film Series Starts in March
Trailer for Consider the Conversation, a documentary on a taboo subject
Consider the Conversation is a PBS documentary that explores end- of-life issues in a thought-provoking way. It will be shown at Hospicare on March 25.

Last year Hospicare hosted two grief film series in the spring and fall that were huge successes, drawing in many people from the community to engage in conversation about grief. This spring we are planning to expand the focus of the film series to include topics related to death and dying as well as grief.

 

All films will be shown in the big meeting room downstairs at the Nina K. Miller Hospicare Center in Ithaca. A discussion will follow each film. We encourage pre-registration as seating is limited. To register, please e-mail mcosta@hospicare.org.

 

Read more about the spring film series. 

 

Seven Common Fears of Dying        (And How to Address Them) 

 

A man looks out at the ocean.


by Donna M. Authers

 

1. The Fear: The Process of Dying

  • Will death be painful?
  • How will I get through this?

How to Dispel It

Make sure your loved one knows that he will experience little or no pain unless he chooses to. Pain management is a service that hospice facilities are especially strong in providing. Staff members are trained to interpret what patients need using verbal and nonverbal cues, and they will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each option with patients and their families.  

 

2. The Fear: Loss of Control

  • Must I give up independence?
  • Can I cope with being dependent on others?

How to Dispel It

Encourage your loved one to live a normal lifestyle for as long as possible--a life-threatening or terminal diagnosis does not change who the patient fundamentally is . . .

Read more about the most common fears of dying.

Ithaca's Death Cafe--A Year Later
photo of a still life representing death.

It's been one year since Ithaca's first death cafe took place. During that time, many community members have taken part in impromptu discussions about death at one of the cafes.

Below, Angela Mennitto, a founding member of the Ithaca Death Cafe, takes a look at the past year and discusses how the cafes work.

by Angela Mennitto

In late January Ithaca had its seventh Death Cafe hosted and facilitated by Tricia Conroy, Michele Hochstetter, Chris Dunham and myself. The first cafe was just over a year ago, and it's still going strong. Every cafe in between has had a mix of new and returning participants with 15 to 30 people sitting in small groups, each with a facilitator. And, of course, we eat cake and drink tea.

 

We start from the perspective that death belongs to everyone, and we are meeting simply as people who are going to die . . .

Read more about Ithaca's Death Cafe.

Save the Dates!

Held at the Nina K. Miller Hospicare Center

172 E. King Road, Ithaca, NY

  • Women Singin' 3/3, 4/7 (1st Tuesday of the month), 5:30−7:00 PM
  • Monthly Bereaved Parents Group 3/5, 4/2  (1st Thursday of the month), 5:30−7:00 PM
  • Evening Support Group for Adults 3/4 & 3/18, 4/1 & 4/15 (1st & 3rd Wednesdays of the month), 5:30−7:00 PM    

  • Write Your Grief Tuesdays, 3/10 & 4/14, 3:00−4:15 PM

  • Journey Through Grief: for Men Who've Lost a Spouse/Partner Thursdays, 4/2, 4/9, 4/16, 4/23 & 4/30, 10:00−11:30 AM. Registration required by March 31. E-mail bereavement@hospicare.org
  • Journey Through Grief: for Women Who've Lost a Spouse/Partner Thursdays, 4/2, 4/9, 4/16, 4/23 & 4/30, 3:30−5:00 PM. Registration required by March 31. E-mail bereavement@hospicare.org
  • Guts, Grief & Pizza: a Workshop for Teens Thursday, 4/9, 6:00−8:00 PM. Registration required by April 3. E-mail LWard@hospicare.org
  • Spring Film Series Wednesdays
  • Spring Volunteer Training Tuesdays & Wednesdays, 4/7, 4/8, 4/14, 4/15, 4/21 & 4/22. 5:30−9:00 PM. Attendance at all six classes is required.
Held at the Cortland Hospicare Office
11 Kennedy Parkway, Cortland, NY
  • Morning Support Group for All Bereaved 3/3, 4/7 (1st Tuesday of the month), 10:00−11:30 AM
  • Afternoon Support Group for All Bereaved 3/19, 4/16 (3rd Thursday of the month), Noon−1:30 PM
For more information on any of the above groups or events, please call 607-272-0212, or visit our Events page to download a PDF of our current calendar.

 
Our mission is to bring medical expertise and compassionate, respectful care to people and their loved ones at any stage of a life-threatening illness, and to provide information and education about advanced illness, dying and bereavement to the entire community.

In the News
At age 28, the author was unprepared to serve as her dying mother's caregiver.

  

Ira Byock calls for an overhaul of end-of-life care in America in this opinion piece

Readers react to Ira Byock's opinion piece.

Doulas Find Mission in Support of the Dying
Doulas, who are trained to usher in new life, now turn to helping the terminally ill and their families deal with death.

Seeking a 'Beautiful Death'
Too many people at the end of life don't know how to ensure they have a "good death" rather than one of needless suffering.

Website of Interest


Often the death of a friend is not considered as significant of a loss. This blog looks at the profound loss that the death of a friend can be and explores people's experiences grieving for friends. 
two hands clasping
Help terminally ill people spend the end of their lives peacefully and without pain.

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Items to make patients and their families more comfortable. 

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