Our June Summer Nights fundraising parties are spilling over into July! If you've been procrastinating, there is still time to contact Ophelia Rodriguez and get some party planning assistance. We thank all the generous hosts and their guests for supporting our Daily Impact Fund.  Read the full list of hosts here. Above are guests Les and Ge-Juan Wilkes at Bobbi Hettler and Debra Larson's party held at Panera Bread.

Robbie was a sports- and fun-loving young man who died at Hospice House in the early 1990's. His father and friends organize an outing each year in his honor. Sign up by calling Kevin Ainsworth at 912.655.1933, Steve Proper at 912.660.8046 or Eddie Cannon at 678.662.5340. The 2015 Outing will be held on Saturday, August 22 at The Club at Savannah Harbor with a 9:00 a.m. shotgun start. $100 per person includes complimentary lunch, beverages on the course and prizes. $120 per person also includes two mulligans, one raffle ticket, a tee-buster on hole 14, an eagle putt on hole 7, and a "Fantasy" scratch-off card for a chance to win a complimentary round of golf.

A new Brigham & Women's Hospital study echoes what we at Hospice Savannah already know to be true: physicians have outsized influence in shaping how patients spend their final days. Lead researcher Dr. Ziad Obermeyer believes a key factor is the mentality of many physicians that "death is failure." He says, "From the time we take organic chemistry forward, we don't like to fail. But in a lot of ways, death is not the greatest failure. In a lot of ways, not giving patients the care they want is failure." So have those conversations about your end-of-life wishes with your loved ones now, be clear when you want to enroll in hospice and get your wishes in writing. Information on  advance care planning is available on our website.