Inside the Role of an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner

Lori Burckhardt

An essential part of hospice care is conversation. Lori Burckhardt is an advanced registered nurse practitioner (ARNP) at Suncoast Hospice Care Center North Pinellas. Many of the care center's patients are living with end–stage diseases and are there for pain and symptoms management. Lori is skilled at providing care and comfort, as well as having those important conversations about the end of life.

She concentrates on breaking down the wall, preparing her patients and their families to face and understand dying. “Our ARNPs or physicians are often times the ice breakers. When you talk to each patient, you look into his or her eyes and you find out what to say. You don’t know where it’s going to go. I always try to put myself in the patient’s shoes and hope that the patient and family are much more centered and accepting,” said Lori, a longtime nurse who spent many years in critical care.

Lori has always enjoyed providing this kind of support to those in her care. “I found I have an ability to care for patients in a way that allows me to make a difference in their lives. I want to make a difference,” Lori said.

Health Assessments and Education

Lori consults with R.N. Diane Esposito at the care center

One day during her rounds at Suncoast Hospice Care Center North Pinellas, Lori stops in the hallway to talk with a son about his mother’s care. She then checks in at the care station to consult with staff and moves on
to follow up with two patients, the first about care decisions and the other about a medication she has prescribed. With her patients, she always gauges their entire well–being, comfort level and needs.

“We do a total health assessment and take in every aspect of a patient. We look at the energy of that patient and the dynamics of that patient’s family situation. Then we look at that patient’s goals and create a plan of care in collaboration with everyone on the care team, including the patient’s own personal doctors and other healthcare staff. You constantly readjust that care plan. Everyone’s input is extremely valuable,” she said.

Lori finds education to be one of the most important and meaningful parts of her job. “Patient and family education is a huge part of what we do. You do a lot of listening. You take them from the clinical side and help them face the emotional aspects of their disease so they may have a peaceful death,” she said.

Do you have a desire to work in hospice care? Check out our job openings.

Looking to Make a Difference? Our Volunteers Provide Much Needed Support

Lise sets out treats at the care center

Suncoast Hospice has many volunteer opportunities available including evenings and weekends at our three Suncoast Hospice Care Centers. These volunteers play a vital role providing many types of support.

Some volunteers enjoy working directly with our patients and families. Their support may include making visits with patients and families, making phone calls to families, providing companionship to patients and helping the care team staff with various patient care needs.

Other volunteers help with answering phones, office projects, decorating or other activities. There are also some late night positions to answer phones and doors and sit with patients.

Lise Fields works a full–time job weekdays at Ronald McDonald House and volunteers on Saturdays at our Suncoast Hospice Care Center South Pinellas in St. Petersburg. “I love it here at the care center. This is an awesome place to volunteer. I’ve always wanted to volunteer for hospice,” Lise said.

Lise visits with patients and families and pitches in cleaning the family room and kitchen and putting out food and goodies.

“It’s a custom–built volunteer opportunity for me. I visit with patients and families and share tender moments with them. I come in and do whatever it is they need. The staff is phenomenal and the families are so appreciative. When I leave here I feel uplifted,” she said.

Have you thought about volunteering at Suncoast Hospice? Check out our many volunteer opportunities.

Physician Honored to Provide End–of–Life Care

By Catherine Covington, DO
Suncoast Hospice Physician

Dr. Catherine Covington

When I count my blessings, I often think of my patients and their families. I feel blessed and privileged every day to be a hospice physician – to share the lives of others at such vulnerable, challenging times.

When people hear that I’m a hospice physician, they ask me how I’m able to work in such a sad environment. I don’t see it as sad. I see and experience it to be an opportunity for love, joy and respect.

As our hospice care teams work with patients and their families, we often times see resolution of long conflicts and closure from difficult experiences and events. This leads to a more peaceful, comfortable quality of life before death. I believe this is what most people hope for, before they die.

I thank the community for allowing me to be part of such an incredible gift.

Dr. Catherine Covington is one of four Suncoast Hospice physicians who recently earned the hospice and palliative medicine board certification from the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). The others are Dr. Kirksak Poonkasem, Dr. Tahir Hussain and Dr. Ruvan Wickramasinghe.

Are you interested in a career at Suncoast Hospice? View our job listings.

Info & Referral/Admissions Staff Answers the Community’s Calls for Help

By Staff of the Information and Referral Center/Admissions Department 

Staff takes calls

In the information referral center/admissions department at Suncoast Hospice, we pride ourselves on being first responders. Our call center receives calls from our health care partners, as well as patients and families. We’re caring listeners with the goal of providing excellent service and access to our care. 

Our registered nurses (RNs) are available to respond to the needs of patients and families, wherever they’re located. Our admissions department has RNs and social workers present in all Pinellas County hospitals to rapidly respond to our newly–referred, hospitalized patients. They provide support, education and discharge assistance to those patients. Our admissions staff also coordinates out-of-county transfers and traveling patients, so they may receive the care they desire within our service area.   

One example of how we’ve responded is sending an admissions RN to a public library to assess an extremely–ill, homeless man who called us because he was in pain. The man was admitted and transported to one of our care centers for care all within a few hours. Another example is helping a daughter who called us one evening requesting our care for her elderly mother residing in a nursing home. The mother's physician was unavailable, so we had an admissions RN work with one of our hospice physicians to do her admission that same night.  

We work hard to exceed the needs of those reaching out to us for assistance. We’re here to provide a compassionate voice and to be a guiding light for this community.  

Do you know someone who needs help now? Call us any time at 467-7423.

Patient Achieves Wish of a Lifetime

Effie shows off her book

Suncoast Hospice patient Effie Lindberg has had a special wish fulfilled; her memoir has been published as a gift to her family. Effie’s book, Memories: Life’s Treasures, was published by Wish of a Lifetime, a nonprofit organization that grants wishes to seniors.

Effie is a resident at Sylvan Health Center, which partners with Suncoast Hospice. She wished to do the book as one of her goals before she dies. It was created from her Lifetime Legacies journal, which she worked on extensively with Suncoast Hospice teen volunteer Christina Solazzo and then completed with a Sylvan employee.

Christina Solazzo

“It’s beautiful. I didn’t realize what a tremendous job it would be. I had lots of help. Christina is a precious person. She came in and went back and forth typing and editing. Everybody got interested in it and the Sylvan staff helped, too,” Effie said.

The Chapters of Effie’s Life

The book features Effie’s precious memories of her childhood and her life with her three children and husband, who served with the Navy. “My parents were absolutely wonderful. My sisters and I were so spoiled,” Effie said.

She also has a chapter dedicated to her longtime workplace, Alpha House of Tampa, which helps support homeless pregnant women and mothers with young children. “I loved the girls. It was a wonderful job,” she said.

Effie’s Suncoast Hospice Care

Effie is very appreciative of the care and support she receives from her Suncoast Hospice care team and her visits with the Suncoast Hospice teen volunteers.

“The teen group is wonderful. They’re dynamic and have lots of interesting things to talk about. I receive Reiki and it’s wonderful. My team comes in to make sure I’m in good shape and that I have everything I need,” Effie said.

Karen Olsen, a psycho–social team leader (PSTL) on Effie’s care team, is happy that Effie achieved her goal. “She’s a lovely woman. She has had an impact on a lot of people,” Karen said.

Do you have a story about hospice care you would like to share?

Inside the Role of a Care Center Senior Staff Nurse

Audlyn Lord, R.N.

Audlyn Lord recently celebrated her 10th anniversary working for Suncoast Hospice. She has served as a senior staff nurse (SSN) at our Suncoast Hospice Care Center South Pinellas since it opened a year ago. She spends long, busy days on the floor seeing her patients and families and supervising the hospice aides. She’s the only SSN with direct patient care responsibilities.

“When I come in I receive a report from a registered nurse (RN) who’s here. Our care team has meetings to discuss each patient. I assess and reassess my patients and give them their medications. In between I counsel, supervise, provide support and do admissions,” Audlyn said.

Audlyn chats with Suncoast Hospice volunteer Suzanne Verhulst

Audlyn has also served as a SSN with a facility-based care team, was a RN with Suncoast Hospice Care Center Mid-Pinellas and worked on a home-based care team. She enjoys the smaller size of the South Pinellas Care Center and the close connection she makes with the people in her care.

“This care center is a very intimate setting with 12 patients. Sometimes in the hallway you see family members in tears and wanting to talk, so you stop and give them hugs and, if necessary, get the social workers or chaplains for them. Sometimes you go into patients’ rooms and there are six people inside, so you stay and chat. This is the most private time in their lives and you get to share that with them. That’s quite an honor,” she said.

Loving Her Life’s Work

Audlyn was born in the West Indies and lived in Canada for 30 years, where she helped start a palliative care team at a nursing home. She moved to Florida in 2000 and worked for one facility before coming on board with Suncoast Hospice. “This is what I was meant to do – take care of patients and their families through the dying process. I love what I do,” Audlyn said.

In her position she sees tremendous hope from hospice. “Isn’t the h in hospice for hope? Hope that you’ve made peace with your loved ones, hope that you’ve completed your bucket list, hope that you’ve accomplished whatever your dreams are,” she said.

Audlyn believes in spreading the word about hospice care; she has done an in-service on living wills at her church. “Especially in African–American communities, they hear the word hospice and they panic. Hospice is not only about death and dying. We must continue to educate people about everything that we have to offer,” she said.

Are you interested in a job at Suncoast Hospice? Check out our latest job listings. 

Suncoast Hospice Hosts South Africa Hospice Visitors

(left to right) Bev, Dorcus, Penny and Ntombi visit Suncoast Hospice

Suncoast Hospice has a special, longtime partnership with Hospice Association of the Witwatersrand (Hospice Wits) located in Soweto and Johannesburg, South Africa. Four Hospice Wits staffers recently came here for two weeks as part of our rotating staff exchange. Three of our staffers plan to visit Hospice Wits next month.

Our visitors were Bev Tembo, unit manager of Soweto Hospice, Dorcus Ramakuela, palliative health services manager of Soweto Hospice, Penny Mathe, social worker and Ntombi Hatta, home care nurse.  They met and shadowed many of our staff and volunteers and participated in several activities.

Dorcus presents

They presented at one of our leadership meetings, sharing incredible stories written by some of their patients, many whom are poor and/or infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. They also spoke about their roles and Hospice Wits’ care and services. They provide two inpatient units for adults and children, home care, psycho–social support, child care, day care, medical equipment/loans, thrift stores and donations of food and clothes.  

Ntombi discussed how she provides care to patients and families who live in impoverished and dangerous areas. She works to build relationships with them and their communities. “I like to visit the whole family to get all their history, answer their questions and establish a relationship from day one. It makes it easier for me to give the ongoing care,” Ntombi said.

Ntombi talks with admissions staffers Renee Leandri (left) and Sue Rice 

Penny makes home visits with patients and families and works in the inpatient units. She shared how she often provides assistance to those in need. “I’m working with very poor communities. I find myself doing case management, coordinating food parcels and clothes for entire families. We’re grateful for the support we receive from Suncoast Hospice,” Penny said.

Hospice Wits also provides a lot of community education around disease, medications and hospice care, which still carries a stigma. “We’re trying to develop a program to educate physicians on palliative care,” Dorcus said.

To learn more about our partnership, please visit care4soweto.org.