The Connection E-Newsletter

 

In this issue:

· Volunteers—Cookies with Care

· Christmas Quilt Raffle

· Birthdays

· HEART Update

· Swap Shop

· 2009 Service Awards Banquet

Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care

401 Technology Lane, Suite 200

Mt. Airy, NC 27030

To contact us:

Phone: 336-789-2922

Fax: 336-789-0856

E-mail: newsletter@mtnvalleyhospice.org

JANUARY BIRTHDAYS

 

Tonya Swaim

Emily Arrington

Flannery Heath

Debbie Badgett

Brandi McMillian

Susan McCormick

Jerri Aldridge

Martha McBride

Mike Fields

Melissa O’Brien

Karla Thompson

Dorcas Shuff

Anita Wallace

Debbie Inscore

Hal Finney

Sharon Snow

Hospice Cookie Bake

 

The youth group from Central View Baptist Church (shown right) had a Hospice Cookie Bake in October/November 2009, and delivered the hot cookies to the Woltz Hospice Home. The smell must have been too tempting, because it drew some of the families out of patient rooms to find the cookies.

 

Thanks goes out to the youth of CVBC for your thoughtfulness and caring act towards the patients and families at the Woltz Hospice Home.

MVHPC employees maintain this posting as internal way of selling, buying, and providing free items to a good home. Items are posted for free and can be submitted monthly through the internal website for MVHPC employees.

 

NO ITEMS WERE SUBMITTED FOR JANURY 2010

Volunteers Do It Again!

 

The MVHPC annual “Cookies with Care” event was a terrific success again this year! Each year, the Volunteer Department organizes the event where volunteers bring dozens of cookies to sort and package for patients, families, Transitions, and bereavement clients. This year there was a record 260 boxes of cookies in the Mt. Airy office alone.

 

Thanks again to everyone who participated!

GET FIT!!!

 

January is a month of new beginnings, and a month for New Year’s Resolutions.  A common resolution is to get fit, lose the holiday pounds, and begin a weight loss regime.  HEART is offering a jump start, and some support, for that goal!

 

Dana Hiatt from REACH will be at the Mt. Airy office on Friday, January 15 at 12:00 noon to speak and motivate on getting fit. Anyone who is interested may attend. IT’S FREE!!! Bring a healthy lunch and prepare to be motivated!

 

As a reminder, Nikki Galyean is still providing aerobics and personal training at the Mt. Airy office for anyone who is interested. She’s offering a New Year’s Challenge beginning 1/12/10. The groups meets every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:15. For $20/mo., participants get cardio exercise and sculpting workouts from Nikki. 

 

Contact HEART for additional details.

H.E.A.R.T. Update

(Hospice Employee Advocacy & Reward Team)

Quilt Winner

 

Bonnie Lawson, of Stuart, Virginia was the winner of the MVHPC quilt raffle held in November-December 2009. Congratulations Bonnie on winning the beautiful Christmas quilt!

 

Bonnie (right) is seen here with MVHPC Connie Casagrande (left) who works at the Patrick County office.

 

Quilt sales totaled over $1200.00.

FOOD DRIVE IS SUCCESSFUL!

 

HEART hosted a food drive for the Backpack Program at local schools in December 2009. Employees who wanted to wear jeans on each Tuesday in the month of December had to “pay” in no less than 4 non-perishable, or canned, food items. The food drive was very successful and the local schools were happy to help find children and families who needed the food staples.

 

Jodi Brinkley (right) is seen here delivering a large box of food to a school in our community.

The below pictures are from the 2009 Employee Service Award Banquet. The banquet is held annually, and provides reward and recognition to employees of 5, 10, 15, and 20+ years of continuous service.

Tips on Managing Job Stress

Margie Willard, RN BSN CHPN, a case manager for Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care and a member of NCHPP’s Nurse Section Steering Committee, shares these five important ways that she and her colleagues have found to be invaluable:

1. Have faith: Recognize and embrace the spiritual nature of our work. As the physical body fails, spiritual awareness can grow.

2. Share the load: We are a team for a reason. One discipline is not expected to have all of the answers. It takes all of our perspectives and insights to provide holistic care. Know your limits and voice them to avoid burning out.

3. Pace yourself: Schedule room for emergencies (which is only possible with proper ratios). Take a lunch break or a break after difficult visits. Try to schedule the more lengthy or difficult cases on different days rather than on the same day,

but be as geographically efficient as possible.

4. Believe that families can provide the best care for theirloved one: We are supportive teachers and guides for their end-of-life journey. This is their crisis, not ours.

5. Allow yourself to grieve: When the tears come naturally, they can gently stream down the cheeks without sobs and chokes. Emotions released are emotions more easily controlled. Families will recognize the depth of caring, which may give them unspoken permission to yield to their own grief response. Have closure with the family—send a card, make a condolence call, attend funeral visitation, attend

memorial services. Find comfort in the bittersweet joy of remembering.

Check out the article (right) published in the December 2009 edition of Newsline from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

 

MVHPC’s own Margie Willard offered these tips on managing job stress.