Ruth Williams

Spring brings showers, flowers, and anticipation of summer. With the Alive Hospice Grief Support staff, with spring comes the anticipation of camp. Preparations for Camp Forget-Me-Not (June 6, 7, and 8 ) and Camp Evergreen (June 21, 22, and 23) are now in full force!

Camp is a three-day adventure for everyone involved – campers, counselors, and volunteers. The reason behind a child coming to camp is, of course, filled with sadness. And there are often tears mixed in with the squeals and laughter experienced at camp. However, gathering with other youngsters who share a loss is a gift to all concerned.

When they come together as strangers on the first day, some are hesitant to share. For adults, words are hard enough. At camp, the children participate in games, crafts, and other activities that allow their stories to be expressed in a very natural way. As the process unfolds, they all have the opportunity to share about their experiences and about the loved one who died.

By the time we have the closing ceremony, the small groups of children have often become a team, a temporary “family” of sorts. And, as that caring unit, they are able to support each other in their journey.

It’s a lovely (and fun!) thing to be a part of. And, it’s one more option in the assorted pathways to healing.

Ruth Williams is a counselor with Alive Grief Support Services, the bereavement support program of Alive Hospice. To reach Alive Grief Support Services, call 615-963-4732 or click here.

• Call 615-907-1677 for Camp Forget-Me-Not
• Call 615-963-4732 for Camp Evergreen

The community is invited to a panel discussion on end-of-life care on Tuesday, April 24 at the Center for the Arts, 110 W. College St. in Murfreesboro. This event is free.

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., followed by the program at 7 p.m. For more information or to RSVP, contact Faye Northcutt-Knox at fknox@alivehospice.org or 615-896-4663.

This panel discussion is offered by The Gift Initiative, a community education collaborative created to help adults plan for care in advance of illnesses. The Gift Initiative is led by Alive Hospice with the support of partners from Vanderbilt University, Saint Thomas Health, The Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation and a growing list of organizations and individuals who recognize the need for better education about the benefits of planning in advance for serious illness and end-of-life care.

The Gift Initiative is made possible by grants from Humana Communities Benefit and First Tennessee Foundation.

April 15-21 is National Volunteer Week! Check out this heartwarming video, which beautifully captures the special bond between an Alive Hospice patient and volunteer.

For more information about volunteering with Alive Hospice, click here or call 615-327-1085.

If you missed The Gift Initiative’s April 10 town hall meeting and panel discussion on end-of life care, we’re pleased to provide a live-tweet transcript. Click here to view highlights from the discussion.

COMING UP: Another town hall meeting on April 24 at the Center for the Arts in Murfreesboro. For more information or to RSVP, click here.

In addition to town hall meetings, The Gift Initiative is facilitating smaller workshops on advance-care planning. If you’d like to schedule a workshop, click here.

This guest editorial was published in The Tennessean on April 6, 2012.

Harriet Karro

People are talking … and in this case, that’s a good thing. Motivated by heartache witnessed at work or at home, champions from Tennessee’s health-care and lay communities are daring to discuss that subject our society loves to deny: death. There it is. We’ve said it. And not only have we said it, we’ve built an entire initiative around it.

The Gift Initiative is a community-wide education collaborative led by Alive Hospice with partners from Vanderbilt University, Saint Thomas Health, Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation and others who recognize the need for education about the benefits of advance planning for serious illness and late-life health care.

If the majority of Americans hope to spend the last period of life at home, pain-free and in the company of loved ones, why do more than 60 percent of us still spend final days, weeks, even months in a hospital often tethered to mechanical “lifelines” that, ironically, can prevent living the last period of life the way we would choose?

This issue won’t be resolved by a sophisticated machine or another new drug. The prescription, in this case, is education and good old-fashioned communication.

For many, discussion of death and dying is uncomfortable so it’s avoided until death is eminent. By that time, decisions are often made in an ICU by people who are left to guess what the patient would want. This scenario plays out daily in hospitals across the country and it’s difficult for all involved.

Much of the torment could be avoided if we’d just give each other the gift of communication, discussing early in life our preferences for late-life care, equipping loved ones with a road map to guide decisions and help ensure our values will be respected when the time comes. And let’s face it: That time will eventually come for each of us.

Advance planning for late-life health care doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does require a cultural shift. Cultural shifts require champions, so The Gift Initiative has taken up the mantle. Physicians, medical ethicists, social workers, chaplains and others have joined together, reaching out to groups large and small, public and private. They’re giving talks, offering workshops and conducting town-hall discussions to heighten awareness and encourage families, friends and neighbors to have those proverbial “kitchen-table conversations” while in good health, long before anyone is pressed to make decisions about ventilators, feeding tubes and other interventions.

Our health-care system has made huge strides in raising average life expectancy, but it has not kept pace with the needs of the dying. With the number of Americans 65 and older doubling by 2030, this issue must be addressed. With support from Humana Communities Benefit, First Tennessee Bank and others, The Gift Initiative aims to encourage the community, and society at large, to rethink the way we deal with serious illness, late-life frailty and impending death.

The result? Lives will improve across the board. And that’s something worth talking about.

Harriet Karro is co-founder of The Gift Initiative.

Anna-Gene O’Neal joined Alive Hospice as president and CEO on April 1. She shared the following thoughts on providing hospice and palliative care and grief support services in Middle Tennessee.

Anna-Gene O’Neal

As I complete my first week as president and CEO of Alive Hospice, my initial impressions are that this is truly an amazing organization. The people who provide our care on daily basis are special. They’re angels for our patients.

My commitment to this community is to provide the highest level of quality care to the patients and families we serve. I’m a nurse by background. I need to know I’m making a difference through my work. What is a more impactful environment for the patient and family than hospice care? It’s about the quality of not just the patient’s end of life, but the family’s experience during a difficult time.

As a lifelong Middle Tennessean, I love this area because it’s such a welcoming community. People care about each other. Our lives get busy and very fast, but it’s a community that’s here for you when you need it. People are there to support you.

That’s also how I would describe Alive Hospice: We’re there for patients and families when they need us, ready to support in all that we do. We want to make a difference.

To my core, I believe in what we do. We’re here to serve.

Reba McBride

The opportunity to spend each day answering a call to vocation is an amazing gift that working in hospice care has granted to me as a social worker.

Each day I spend working with patients and families is unique and continues to affirm my belief in the invaluable worth of each life. Often, there is a perception that hospice and palliative care are only short part of a very depressing plan of care for the end of life. However, working with patients and families at Alive Hospice, I have discovered that hospice care is truly about celebrating the life we have and remembering that we have often been witness to extraordinary events.

When I meet with patients and their families for the first time, they often have many questions, fears, and concerns. Beyond the questions, many patients want to know that they have some control over their plan of care. Effective hospice social work is being able to address each patient’s plan of care questions with respect for their life story and working with patients and families to find individualized solutions.

The greatest honor that I have is being the person to sit with patients and their families and listen. It is often said that “every life has a story” and I certainly believe these stories need to be valued. As patients and families share their stories, I think back to the night a few years ago when I sat with my great aunt as she passed away surrounded by our family. I continue to carry with me the knowledge that her life story included having peace in her final days because a hospice team was there to take care of her as well as her family.

The night my aunt died, I realized the importance of compassionate care and I determined that I wanted to be part of a hospice team to give families and patients the support required to find the peace we felt that night.

I am thankful every day for the honor of being part of a dedicated team at Alive Hospice that includes doctors, nurses, chaplains and volunteers who have a single focus: excellent care for patients and families.

Reba McBride of Manchester, Tenn., is a social worker at Alive Hospice Residence Nashville.

What a month it has been! Click on the photos below to see some of March’s special happenings at Alive Hospice.