For years, our Hospice Care team has served the families of our area, supplying compassionate, excellent resources for end-of-life care in the patient’s home. Yet not all families are able to sustain in-home care. The WMHS Foundation is underwriting the cost of four home-like hospice suites at skilled nursing facilities in different regions of the county, as well as funding in-home assistance for those who cannot personally care for their loved one.
“Nursing staff and patients have both glowed about the new hospice suites!” said Dr. Mary Ann Riley, medical director for the Hospice Care program. “The comfortable, homey feeling, the warm, leather couches and lamps and rugs and blankets, all provide room for family to gather and a perfect setting to promote family time and extended visits with their loved one.”
“The collaboration we have enjoyed with the Foundation is a godsend!” said Candy Adams, senior manager for Clinical Operations in our Hospice Care program. “I am not sure what we would have done without it. When we see the most vulnerable families struggling to care for their loved ones, knowing we have options – hospice suites and in-home care to offer them – is the best feeling. Over and over again, we hear how
grateful these families are!”
The caring professionals in our hospice care program – like Christie Dodrill, RN –
bring comfort and peace to our patients and their families. Patients like Rick, comfortably situationed in a hospital bed in his living room, chatting quietly with his wife of 67 years, who sits facing him from her recliner. As the nurse enters, she is greeted like family and flashes a big smile to her patient before greeting the others, all familiar faces to her by now.
As one of several RNs on the hospice team, this visiting angel works with the family
to monitor the patient’s comfort level, his vitals, and the progression of his condition.
But in between, there’s always time to share the latest school pictures of her kids and
swap recipes with his wife and daughters. Hospice workers have a very special
connection – they become part of each family they work with and bring a calm
reassurance to patients and loved ones alike. Each member of the collaborative
hospice team provides needed resources as they come alongside and support the
family, sharing both laughter and tears.
Yet not all families can bring loved ones home in their last days. Through generous
support, the Foundation is underwriting the cost of three home-like hospice suites
at area nursing homes in different regions of the county.
As one such family just shared, “We want to thank you all for this quiet time with our
precious mom-in-law, mom, and grandma. It meant so much to us. The room was perfect, and we could tell each piece was lovingly placed there, enabling us to sit on each side of her bed and hold her hand when she needed our touch. The nursing staff was amazing. I just can’t tell you all how much this means to us. It made this last transition so much easier for all of us.”
Candy Adams, clinical director for hospice, said, “Karen Johnson, with the Foundation,
came to us and asked, if we were to provide the most respectful, compassionate endof-
life journey we could for our patients, what would that look like?” After many
discussions – with stakeholders, hospital leadership, and hospice leaders – we
determined the best course was to support in-home caregiving and hospice care suites,
she said. The results have been life-changing for our families.
In fact, through your generosity, we have invested more than $80,000 into hospice in 2023, $100,000 in 2024, and a projected $150,000 in the coming year.
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