New Demere Center for Living is open!
  
We are excited that staff has moved in to the beautiful Demere Center for Living which houses our community-funded programs - Full Circle grief and loss counseling, The Steward Center for Palliative Care, our soon-to-be-launched Edel Caregiver Institute as well as our Foundation staff. Mark your calendars for the official ribbon cutting on Friday, September 25 at 11 a.m. Our guest speaker will be Dr. Leisa Easom, Executive Director of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving.  Pictured are VP of Service Excellence, Jamey Espina and President/CEO, Debra Anthony Larson.
Knowing How Doctors Die

A recent NPR story reveals what we at Hospice Savannah know to be true - that there is often a disconnect between how physicians choose to die (forgoing resuscitation and aggressive treatment if facing a terminal illness) and how their patients die. One doctor in the story speculates that his peers are trained to prolong life and "it's sometimes easier to give hope than to give reality." Listen to the full story here. We encourage everyone to think through and document their choices for advance directives. Help is available through our staff and here on our website.

Thank You Summer Nights Party Hosts!

We are so grateful to our many friends who planned Summer Nights parties on our behalf this year. To date we have raised $30,000 for our Daily Impact Fund through 17 parties with nine more planned for this month! Warm thanks to everyone who has attended a party and made a contribution. Pictured are hosts Kenan and Beth Kern with Cheryl and Paul Drwiega at last week's hosts' appreciation event.
Caregiver Support

Last month, the AARP's Public Policy Institute published their 2015 update on the contributions of the "invisible workforce" of family caregivers. It explains the key challenges they face and highlights the importance of family caregiving on the public policy agenda. Read the AARP's blog post and link to the PDF of the full report here. We are critically aware of the need for caregiver support in our community and are excited to begin offering support groups and classes through the Edel Caregiver Institute very soon.

Annual Robbie Smith Golf Outing

A fun day of golf is planned for Saturday, August 22 at the Club at Savannah Harbor. This marks the 12th time that family and friends of former patient Robbie Smith have coordinated an outing in his memory. $100 per person includes complimentary lunch and beverages on the course, and $120 also includes two Mulligans, a raffle ticket, Tee Buster, Eagle Putt and a "Fantasy" scratch-off card for a chance to win a complimentary round. Full details are available at www.RobbieGolf.com 

"Ordinary People live Extraordinary Lives"

Local reporter Orlando Montoya recently interviewed Hospice Savannah's founding Story Keeper, Dottie Kluttz, on his Savannah Podcast.  Take a listen as Dottie shares some of her favorite stories gathered from our patients, and as she urges us to put down our cell phones, turn off our TV's, and share stories together. 

There's Nothing More We Can Do...

A beautifully written piece in last month's New York Times debunks these words often spoken by a physician just before transitioning a patient to hospice and palliative care and are regrettably uttered only days, if not hours, before the person dies. There is MUCH we can do if we have more time to work with patients and their families. Goals need to be met, goodbyes need to be said, trips need to be made and love needs to be shared. 

Thanks IKEA!
ikea
Our employees recently presented a plaque of appreciation to Dean Peterson, Sustainability Developer for IKEA's Port Wentworth Distribution Center (pictured with our Foundation's Ophelia Rodriguez). IKEA donated furnishings to equip our employee/volunteer break room at our administrative and homecare offices on Chatham Parkway, as well as tables and chairs for our Demere Center for Living and pillows and cases for use at Hospice House. We are so grateful to all our donors! Click here to read the list of those honored and remembered through memorial gifts to Hospice.               
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