Celebrating Volunteers In Recognition of National Volunteer Week

This week is National Volunteer Week and we’re celebrating our fantastic volunteers and the many staffers who work with them.

Our volunteer coordinators and other employees supervise and support volunteers who serve in many areas, including in our resale shoppes, community service centers and care centers and with our care teams, providing comfort, assistance and companionship to our patients and families. Our volunteers are loved and appreciated for their dedicated service.

Several staffers have expressed their pleasure of working with our volunteers. “It’s wonderful to nurture teen volunteers and hear how their hospice experiences have enriched and changed their lives,” said Laura McGary, a teen volunteer coordinator. Jill Pelletier, a finance department administrative assistant shared, “One of the things I love here is our wonderful volunteers. I really enjoy interacting with them. They do a lot for us.”


Showing Appreciation

Janet Pattison, a volunteer coordinator with one of our south Pinellas care teams, has been touched by her volunteers’ support to our patients and families. “I have the privilege of hearing their stories. They’re doing amazing things,” Janet said.

Picnic Time

Janet along with three other south Pinellas care team volunteer coordinators hosted a volunteer appreciation picnic at Sawgrass Lake Park in St. Petersburg last week. The volunteers enjoyed their special celebration and some delicious food grilled by a psycho-social team leader with one of the teams and her husband.

Please check out our debut issue of Suncoast Hospice Spotlight online magazine showcasing our volunteers and the many ways they support our mission. Click here to read it.

Do you want to make a difference as a volunteer? See our many volunteer opportunities.

Make Your Healthcare Wishes Known: An Advance Care Planning Q&A

   

Project GRACE 
Exec. Dir. Tracy Christner

Suncoast Hospice and our affiliate Project GRACE join in recognizing National Healthcare Decisions Day on April 16. This day is an important reminder to us all to communicate and document the medical care we would want or not want if we could no longer speak for ourselves because of a life-limiting illness or injury.

Project GRACE’s staff and trained facilitators are available throughout Tampa Bay to assist with advance care planning. Tracy Christner, Project GRACE executive director, encourages everyone to discuss and plan their healthcare wishes with their families and healthcare providers so their wishes may be honored.

Here Tracy answers a few frequently asked questions about advance care planning and Project GRACE’s services:

Q: What is advance care planning and how long does the process take?

A: Advance care planning is a thoughtful process of planning for future medical care. It involves education, reflection, communication and documentation. The process is different for each individual and how long it takes depends on your specific situation. Some individuals may be able to sit down with their loved ones and begin a dialogue and others may need some guidance. Studies show that families who engage in the advance care planning process have less stress, confusion and guilt about their decisions.

Project GRACE can provide tools and educational resources to guide individuals through the process. We also have more than 100 trained facilitators in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties to help families facilitate these important conversations. The Project GRACE website, www.projectgrace.org, is a good place to start for current information, news articles and easy-to-download living wills in English and Spanish.

Q: What are advance directives?

A: Advance care planning terminology can vary from state to state and among various healthcare organizations. In the state of Florida, an advance directive is defined as a written or oral statement that allows you to convey your decisions about end-of-life care ahead of time. Many documents are considered advance directives: for example, living wills, designation of healthcare surrogate, medical durable power of attorney and organ/tissue donation.

The most important advance directive is the designation of healthcare surrogate. This document allows you to name another person to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to make them yourself. You want to be sure your healthcare surrogate is easily accessible and a person who you can count on to honor and communicate your personal wishes even if they do not agree with them. Most people choose a relative or friend who knows them best.

Q: What are some ways to bring up the subject of advance care planning with family members or friends?

A: Open and honest conversation with family and friends about your values, spiritual beliefs and hopes and fears about the final stages of your life are the best way to begin. Some conversation starters include newspaper and magazine articles, movies, the recent death of a loved one or well-known person, sermons, television shows or recent medical check-ups.

Have you made your healthcare wishes known? Contact Project GRACE at 727-536-7364 to help you get started.

Counselors Help Community Heal from Loss & Grief

Counselor Dee Brandon

When someone you love dies or a traumatic death happens in your community, your world may start spinning. You don’t have to go through it alone.

Suncoast Hospice’s Center for Loss and Healing offers a broad range of counseling and support groups for those who’ve experienced loss and grief. Services are available to anyone in the community and provided based on an individualized fee scale.

Help with Loss of Loved Ones

Deangelis “Dee” Brandon, MSW is one of the center’s counselors who help people find their grounding and healing. She has served with Suncoast Hospice for 15 years, including working as a children’s counselor with one of our care teams and a counselor with our Stepping Stones children and families program.

In her role with the center, Dee does grief counseling with adults, children and families and works with support groups. Her mission is to help them find understanding and peace.

“I love what I do because I get to help people, which may mean holding their hands, bringing them coffee or listening to their stories. It may be a widow or widower or someone who’s dealing with a loved one’s sudden, unexpected death, such as a heart attack, suicide or accidental overdose. They want somebody to listen to them, help them problem solve and let them know that everything they’re going through is ok. It’s ok if they don’t want to eat or they want to cry,” Dee said.

Support with Traumatic Events

Her work also includes support for people who’ve been newly diagnosed with an illness, as well as crisis intervention, grief–in–the–workplace and other traumatic loss counseling.  

“We do a lot of crisis intervention, including counseling when there are shootings in the community. We reach out to police officers, firefighters and other professionals and give them education and support because they’re on our front lines and see a lot,” she said.

She helps others in the community who’ve been shaken by traumatic news stories. “That news may trigger something, so they’ll come in for a few sessions. Some examples include the recent sinkhole event or loss of homes or family members’ loss of homes. Those can be traumatic. We’ll get referred to families and give them support or information they can take to their loved ones.”

Do you think counseling might help you or someone you know?

Please call 727–467–7423 any time for information or visit our events calendar for a listing of our support groups.