SIXTH ANNUAL REMEMBRANCE WALK/RUN SUPPORTS VITAL PROGRAMS FOR COMMUNITY

The 2017 Annual 5k Remembrance Walk/Run invites teams and individuals to walk in memory of or honor of loved ones is slated for Saturday, September 9, 2017. Participants are invited to organize a group of co-workers, social network or neighbors to walk in honor or memory of a loved one and support the mission of Ohio’s Hospice of Butler & Warren Counties. 
 All proceeds benefit patient care at the not-for-profit, community-based hospice that serves patients in their homes, in extended care and assisted living facilities and at Lorelei’s Place Hospice House in Franklin.

The event takes place at Smith Park in Middletown. Registration opens at 8:30 am and the Walk/Run begins at 10:00 am. Teams and individuals compete for awards. The Walk/Run will be timed by a professional race coordinator. Those wishing to be timed must provide gender and age information at registration.  Convenient parking is provided near the registration tent in the beautiful and historic Smith Park, 500 Tytus Avenue. The cost for adult participants is $25; $20 each for a team of five or more and for members of the military/Veterans; and $10 for children 12 and under. Bottled water will be provided and food trucks will be on site for post-race food and refreshments.

Greg and Patti Atkinson are presenting sponsors of the event. Participating sponsors include Clark Schaefer Hackett and Akers Packaging Service Group. Partnering sponsors are Middletown Ford and Wilson-Schramm-Spaulding Funeral Home.

Dollars raised through the benefit Walk/Run support:

Indigent Care – At Ohio’s Hospice of Butler & Warren Counties, everyone receives care regardless of his or her ability to pay.  

Lorelei’s Place In-patient Care Options – Lorelei’s Hospice House in Franklin offers extensive care for patients experiencing medical situations or symptoms that cannot be managed in the home or facility-based setting.

Focused & Palliative Care and Complementary Therapies – Donor dollars enable us to provide Focused Care, highly specialized disease-specific treatment for hospice patients, and palliative care for patients with significant pain and symptom control issues. Our ability to offer massage, art, music and occupational therapies enables us to assure an improved quality of life for patients.

Community-Wide Grief Support Services – We provide Grief Support Services at no cost, regardless of whether our hospice services have been used.  and in community locations, making it more convenient for the bereaved to receive the support they need.

When:              8:30 am, September 9, 2017

Where:            Smith Park, Middletown, 500 Tytus Avenue

Why:                Support patient and family care at Ohio’s Hospice of Butler & Warren Counties

Register:          by calling 937-222-WALK or click here.

For additional information contact Ashley Robison, 937–723-2899.

Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton is hosting an educational program for Advance Practice Nurses on August 26 that qualifies participants for six free hours of continuing education credit.

Picnic Baskets, Palliative Care and Prescribing Practices will focus on pharmacology and has been approved for 6 hours of continuing education by the Ohio Board of Nursing through the CE Approver at Northwest State Community College.  OBN-008-92-2096-
071717.  The education (all 6 hours) meets the requirements for APN Pharmacotherapy continuing education.

• Nancy Trimble, PhD, RN, CNP, ACHPN, will address “Geriatric Pharmacology (A Pediatric Approach) and Proper Recognition and Treatment of UTIs in the Long Term Care Population
• Cleanne Cass, DO, FAAHPN, FAAFP, CAQ-Geriratrics, will discuss Advance Pain Management
• Wendy Schmitz, MD, will cover Medication Calculations and Conversions
• Lynda Weide, MSN, RN, CHPN, will offer Guideline Directed Medical Therapy for Heart Failure

The program opens with 8:30 registration and ends at 4:30 pm. Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton will host the event in the Community Room at the Dayton Hospice House, 324 Wilmington Ave. A continental breakfast and picnic lunch will be provided. Advance registration is required.

Please contact Senior Director of Education and Staff Development Julie Wickline, 937-256-9507,4401, for additional information or with questions.

Outstanding members of the Ohio’s Hospice staff are recognized every quarter with the Bouquet of Recognition Awards. Nursing Assistant Cathy Gipson, STNA, recently received the Sunflower Award. 

Care Specialist Cathy Gipson, STNA, shared her expertise with members of a family, giving them new solutions to help care for their mother.

“We, as caretaking family members, have learned techniques from her that have helped us better take care of my mother, in her 10^th year of Alzheimer’s,” according to the Bouquet of Recognition submitted to honor Cathy. “Cathy is gentle and compassionate with exceptional care. She is so patient and has such a gentle way with my Mother that puts her at ease. Even if my mother is agitated, Cathy has a gentle way of comforting her. We have been acquainted with many nursing aides for the last several years and Cathy is by far at the very top of the list of compassionate and experienced caretakers.”

We are grateful to Cathy for her commitment to outstanding patient care and for being a member of our hospice team.

Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton will hold a new volunteer orientation on July 12, 2017.

Hospice volunteers play a vital role with the interdisciplinary teams serving hospice patients and their families, providing a variety of services including respite care, shopping, delivery of medications and supplies, massage, beautician and barber services and gardening. Volunteers also serve as ambassadors sharing information about hospice care, as friendly visitors and in office support roles. Volunteer training acquaints new volunteers with information on

• History and goals of end-of-life care
• Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton history
• Role of Volunteers and opportunities
• Confidentiality, infection control, and safety
• Boundaries
• Effective listening
• Loss and grief

Maureen Swarts, Volunteer Services Manager, welcomes volunteers from all backgrounds and of all ages. “Volunteers give from their hearts and enable us to touch the lives of patients and families with enhanced compassion and care. They are essential to our mission of providing superior care and superior services.”

For additional information please click here.

During Nursing Assistant’s Week, we honor our Personal Care Specialists who are central to our superior care and superior services.

Mary Murphy, President and Chief Nursing Officer of the Southwest Care Region of Ohio’s Hospice explains that Ohio’s Hospice changed the title of the Nursing Assistant to Personal Care Specialists because of the critical role they play in ensuring the best quality of life for our patients. “They provide the essential daily, hands-on care in homes, nursing homes and inpatient settings,” says Murphy. “As professionals the Personal Care Specialists are instrumental in promoting and safeguarding the physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual well-being of the patients and their families. They are indeed specialists, attentive to patient changes and needs that enable every member of the clinical team to be more effective and responsive. Their contributions form the foundation of our quality care.”

In honoring them, Murphy said “Our Personal Care Specialists are trained professionals, who collaborate closely with other health care providers to deliver superior care and services and elevate the status of their profession.”

Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton is seeking insights into quality care from a unique perspective – from surviving family members of patients served.

A Family Advisory Committee comprised of family members who have lost loved ones in hospice care convenes monthly to consider processes, programs and provide feedback on ways the community-based, not-for-profit hospice can best serve patients and families.

Becky Graham lost her husband three years ago. She is grateful to be involved in the Advisory Committee and hopes her suggestions will help other families who use hospice services when a loved one is diagnosed with a life-limiting illness.

After both of his parents received hospice care at home in the past two years, James Webster felt he had the experience to offer valuable insights into the services and support provided.

Kathy Smith’s father received hospice care in an assisted living environment, while her aunt and mother were cared for in the home. She is appreciative that Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton rectified some issues she experienced with care. She believes her participation will help assure superior care and superior services for other families.

Norma Colussi’s mother was a nursing home resident when she became a hospice patient last year, and Paul Tudor’s wife received home care before she died a year ago. Both Norma and Paul embraced the opportunity to serve with the Advisory Committee as an opportunity to help hospice achieve ever-higher standards of care.

Patient Experience Advocate Jessica Conger says the Committee reflects a good cross-section of those who have experience with hospice care. ‘They come from different communities. Their loved ones received care in different environments. What they have in common is a loss experience that deeply impacted their lives and a desire to ensure high quality hospice care is available to others,” says Conger. “Every month we share information with them and receive feedback about educational and informational materials, communications processes, complementary therapies and other topics. The insights they offer help us refine and improve the materials we develop, our options for care and interactions with families. “