“Hospice of Dayton encourages our staff to be creative and collaborative in their work,”  Amy Wagner, Vice President for Organizational Excellence observes.  “Ours is a culture of continuous improvement that encourages engagement and individual empowerment.  We have a passionately committed team of professionals who work together to deliver peace of mind to the patients and families we are privileged to serve.  They are responsible for our mission becoming a reality in the lives we touch.”

“Thanks to the generosity of this community, Hospice of Dayton has been providing care for patients and families since 1978,” explains Hospice of Dayton President and CEO Kent Anderson. “To honor the continued community support we receive, we have updated our Hospice House to provide more healing hospitality, and have increased the level of care and services we provide. We invite the community to come and see what their generosity has made possible.”

Hospice of Dayton began the facility refresh project in order to provide a higher level of “healing hospitality” and to help meet the growing need for hospice services in the community. Every patient room has been updated with new furnishings, special features such as isolated, personal music controls and relaxation light therapy equipment. Public areas have been refreshed to provide a warm and hospitable atmosphere for families and welcoming environment for community group meetings. Reception areas, entries, elevators and the main stairway atrium into patient wings in the Shaw Building have all been remodeled with an emphasis on ease of access and way finding for families and visitors. The goal of all these changes is to create an atmosphere of “healing hospitality.” A calming color palette, pleasant lighting and comfortable accommodations that incorporate nature can all help ease patient anxiety. Additional services such as massage, music and light therapy can also provide additional patient comfort. The organization has created 50 new jobs in the past year by increasing these levels of care and services for to patients and families.

As a community based, not-for-profit healthcare provider, Hospice of Dayton has approached the refresh project as an opportunity to invest in the local economy, exclusively employing local architectural, construction, design and artistic support services in the project.

The final Open House Tours are scheduled for January 24 and 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Hospice of Dayton is located at 324 Wilmington Avenue. For more information, please contact (937) 256-4490, ext. 4409.

Hospice of Dayton is the Miami Valley’s largest hospice care provider. Founded in 1978, it services eight counties including Montgomery, Greene, Clark, Preble, Butler, Warren, Clinton and Miami, with on-site locations in Dayton and Middletown (Hospice of Butler and Warren Counties). For more information about Hospice of Dayton, visit www.hospiceofdayton.org.

 Keynote speaker for the educational conference will be Thomas Moore, Ph.D., author of the bestselling book Care of the Soul, and fifteen other books on spirituality.  His presentation will focus on the world of medicine, speaking to nurses and doctors about the soul and spirit of medical practice.  The program provides continuing education credits for physicians, nurses and social workers. 

 Proceeds from this event will benefit the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University’s Healer’s Art Fund, established to provide medical professionals support in finding lifelong meaning in the healing professions.  The program educates tomorrow’s caregivers through the Healer’s Art Course and sustains today’s caregivers through the annual Medical-Spirituality Conference.  

 The day-long conference will be held on the Sinclair Community College campus at the Ponitz Center, Building 12, 444 W. Third St. Dayton, Ohio 45402.  Registration information is .available on-line .

Monday, December 12
11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Community Room

Belinda retired as secretary for Central Presbyterian Church in Miami Township after 20 years in 2002.

“I had been looking for something meaningful to do in retirement,” said Belinda. “I saw the care Hospice of Dayton gave my mother in 2002, and I wanted to help in any way I could.”

In the beginning she served as ambassador on one shift. She said she is drawn to the patients
and now serves two days a week for 10 hours. “Just being with people touches my life,” said Belinda. “One memorable visit was when I helped a gentleman downstairs to see his wife, who had not opened her eyes for days. When he stroked her hand, she opened her eyes, and they had a special moment. And that gave me a special moment, too.”

Tom became a volunteer in 2011. He has played the piano for over 50 years. He plays and sings a very wide range of music including, classical, blues, rock, ragtime, folk, ballads, new age, country, gospel and swing. He is an engaging and fun entertainer with a comedic wit, great voice, and impressive keyboard skills.

“I’m just the Thursday Night Piano guy,” said Tom with a twinkle in his eyes as he reflects on
playing the grand piano in the Great Room each  Thursday.

Tom has been instrumental in securing two new grand pianos, one for the Great Room and one for the new Shaw lower level atrium. As a result, the holidays will have wonderful piano music in two areas now. He is semi-retired from the facility management profession, giving him more time to share his music and entertain at different venues.

The purpose of Occupational Therapy is to help people participate in the activities they want and need.

“These are the ordinary and familiar things that people do every day,” said Angelene Moore.

The goal of therapy is determined by the patient and family, because everyone has his or her own unique
needs and priorities. For those persons with a life threatening illness, occupational therapists are
uniquely qualified to assist with the continued engagement in meaningful daily occupations within the hospice community of care. Occupational therapy services are designed to assist patients in achieving a maximum level of independence and quality of life. Some examples of interventions include:

• Caregiver training
• Management of activities of Daily Living such as toileting, bathing, and dressing
• Home safety and fall risk reduction
• Functional ambulation and transfers
• Environmental modifications and/or the use of assistive technology
• Wheelchair or medical equipment evaluation and selection
• Engagement in patient determined leisure pursuits and meaningful activities, in which volunteers help.

The Volunteer Forum on February 2 will have a presentation by Angelene and Casey on occupational therapy. Volunteer Services will introduce opportunities to serve in OT.

Growing up in rural Michigan amidst a patchwork of farms as a PK (preacher’s kid) and visiting my grandpa’s farm near Fostoria, Ohio, in Wood County, I saw the entire cycle of life through spring planting to harvest. I watched corn grow from seeds to rich green foliage and then to maturity with dry, golden brown stalks with the ears of corn ready for harvesting. Grandpa felt gratification for a good harvest, because it meant food for many people. He always felt especially grateful when he heard that some of his grain
ended up feeding hungry people around the world.

Like my grandpa, you plant seeds, too. Your seeds are those of love, care, comfort, compassion, companionship, and peace, not only for the patient but also caregivers.

Caregivers with a loved one in hospice care need support. Sometimes caregivers live at a distance and driving back and forth from their homes to the loved one can take a toll. They hold down full-time jobs and have family responsibilities.

As many of you know, my father was in hospice care in Columbus, Ohio, before his death September 21. For seven months, I became a caregiver of my father and mother almost every weekend, often Thurs. night through Sunday night, driving to the office on Monday morning at 6:30 a.m. This gave my sister some much-needed respite. When we couldn’t be there, we had volunteers sit with my father in the skilled care facility where he lived for the last three months. This made such a difference in his life and ours. My father
and our family reaped a full harvest.

From the soothing words of author Ken Nerburn,

Care for those around you.
Look past your differences.
These choices are no less than yours,
Their choices no more easily made.
And give, give in any way you can,
Of whatever you possess.
To give is to you.
To withhold is to wither.
Care less for your harvest
Than for how it is shared,
And your life will have meaning
And your heart will have peace.

Thank you for sharing your harvest and for giving patients like my father love, comfort, care, companionship, compassion, and peace. What a difference it makes to caregivers like me!