Community Memorial Services: A Time for Remembrance

By Calvin Crews Suncoast Hospice chaplain

Chaplain Calvin Crews

It’s that time again for Suncoast Hospice and our community to come together at our community memorial service to remember friends and family members. There’s an added bit of excitement with this service because it will be held at a local faith community, as we’ve done in the past.

Our service will be July 25 at 6 p.m. at Anona United Methodist Church, 13233 Indian Rocks Road in Largo. It’s open to everyone of all faiths. Our services were held at our community service centers in the past several years. We’re looking forward to going back out in the community. As with all of our services, it gives us another opportunity to connect with the families we’ve served and to continue the journeys with them. 

We feel that this is an important service to many in our community because we all come together to comfort one another and share memories of our deceased loved ones. Some have made our services part of their bereavement process, attending year after year. Our services provide the perfect occasions for people to acknowledge and mourn those who’ve died, regardless of when the losses occurred. 

It’s also important for our own staff and volunteers to remember the patients and others we’ve served. In the book, Tuesdays with Morrie, author Mitch Albom states, “Death takes a life not a relationship”. Our services are to help those relationships stay alive through the remembering and honoring of our loved ones.  

Our services include meaningful words, music and other rituals that can support the moment that’s shared. At this particular service we’ll be giving an inspirational stone to each of our attendees to take with them as an expression of the moment and hope of the comfort that they received during the service.

Our society often thinks a funeral or memorial service provides closure. That just isn’t true. At the end of a person’s life, the most important need is to know that his or her life mattered and that he or she will not be forgotten. Our relationships with our deceased loved ones play out in our hearts every day as we remember them. A memorial service gives us another opportunity for remembrance.

It was once stated that if our tears become our stairs and our memories our road, we’ll always be able to travel with our loved ones in this life that is left behind.

We hope you’ll join us at our service on July 25.

If you feel you need support with your grief, you can always call us at 467-7423.

Proud of Our Rich History of Volunteer Service

It’s amazing when a community comes together to care for each other. A small group of Pinellas County, Florida residents cared deeply about improving the quality of life for the dying and their families in the community, and made a giant leap to do it. In 1977 this group of volunteers gave birth to one of the first community hospices in America, the Elizabeth Kubler-Ross Hospice (today known as Suncoast Hospice). 

Our hospice started out small and humble with 50 volunteers operating from a one-bedroom bungalow in Largo. They carried out a mission of end-of-life care that was centered around patients and families. They cared for patients in their homes, giving them comfort and support physically, emotionally and spiritually. They also supported family members as they cared for, lost and grieved their loved ones.


Visionary Leadership, Innovative Care
Soon many more volunteers and employees joined in the mission, including the late Mary J. Labyak, who went on to lead the organization for more than 30 years. Innovative, specialized programs were launched as well, including hospice care for children and AIDS patients and a teen volunteer program.

President & CEO Rafael Sciullo

Suncoast Hospice has grown into one of the nation’s leading hospice and palliative care providers. Our new President and CEO Rafael Sciullo started this past February. He’s a mission-driven, visionary leader with close to 30 years of end-of-life care experience.

Rafael shared, “I believe our organization’s care should encompass the three founding principles of hospice: openness, mind matched with heart and uplifting the spirit. Those principles ignite the passion in what we do. When you uplift the spirit of someone you’re caring for, you transform the person, the experience and yourself.”

Under Rafael J. Sciullo's  leadership, our programs and services continue to expand and touch those who are affected by advanced and chronic illnesses, end of life and grief. This work wouldn’t be possible without the support of the more than 3,200 volunteers who serve. He greatly values all volunteers for their dedicated service.


A Founder Carries On Mission
Volunteer Mary Jean Etten, Phd, one of the Suncoast Hospice founders, is very proud of the organization’s mission. She continues to serve on three boards. Last year, she was honored for her outstanding, longtime service with the dedication of the Dr. Mary Jean Etten Center for Caring at our Mary J. Labyak community service center in Clearwater.

Dr. Mary Jean Etten

“It has been a precious gift to be a founding member of this organization and to watch it grow. Having cared for the dying for many years prior to coming to Florida, it became evident when I was teaching nursing here that there were many lonely, suffering and unattended deaths and families who received little or no support with their grief. The hospice movement brought hope, comfort and peace to our community. Together with our board members, staff and volunteers, we have made a dramatic 

difference in how people live and die in Pinellas County,” Dr. Etten said.   

Interested in becoming a Suncoast Hospice volunteer? Click here.     

New Pet Therapy Cat is Purrfect for Patients

Pals BearBear and Olivia

He settles comfortably into her lap and arms and purrs. BearBear, the charming, 6-year-old black tabby, has made an instant love connection with one of our patients, Sonia Zeluff, in her room at St. Mark Village. She snuggles with him and tells him, “You’re so beautiful, baby. You’re perfect.”  

BearBear’s the new and sole trained cat in our pet therapy program serving with his owner, teen volunteer Olivia Watson. There are 49 trained dog volunteers. The cat and his two sisters were rescued as newborn kittens by Olivia’s family. She marvels at the pure joy he brings to the patients they visit.

BearBear gives some love to Betty

“We knew BearBear had a talent. It’s rewarding to see the patients’ faces light up when we come to visit,” Olivia says.

Later the pair stops by the room of patient Betty Schefter, who gladly welcomes the cat on her lap. “He’s a sweetheart. I think what you’re doing is wonderful because most of us who’ve had pets all of our lives are thoroughly loving this,” Betty says.

Want to brighten the days of patients and families with your animals? Call us at 467-7423 for information on our pet therapy program.

New Suncoast PACE Day Care Center & Medical Clinic Opens in Pinellas Park

By Karen Wells, Suncoast PACE Executive Director                                                                                                            

Karen Wells

Excitement abounded at our Suncoast PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) day care center and medical clinic official ribbon cutting in Pinellas Park on May 14.

Our Suncoast PACE participants advisory council president, Barbara LeFranc, brought the crowd to tears when she shared what PACE has meant to her. Barbara told us that she felt alone after her sister’s death shortly after they had moved to Florida. Barbara enrolled in PACE, and we have become her family and she ours.

Suncoast PACE board chair Kathryn Hyer (left) 
presents Barbara LeFranc at ribbon cutting

Many other supporters graced our opening, including local and state elected officials and representatives from their offices, individuals from our parent organization Suncoast Hospice and its other affiliates, and others who provide services to the elderly in our community.

Improving Quality of Life

If you haven’t heard about PACE, it’s a nationwide program that’s quite special and different from other programs. PACE provides a wide array of services to individuals who:

• Are ages 55 and older
• Live in a PACE service area (for Suncoast PACE that’s all of Pinellas County)
•  Meet the state standard of being eligible for placement in a nursing home but wish to remain at home or in an assisted living facility

Suncoast PACE Day Care Center

The day care center is the heart and soul of PACE, where the sense of family is born. All PACE participants spend time in the center receiving hearty meals (always within dietary guidelines), socializing with peers, and above all, keeping active.

Generally speaking, PACE participants are Medicare and Medicaid eligible. Once participants are officially enrolled in PACE all of their necessary services (whether medical care, therapies, medications or home care) are authorized by the interdisciplinary team and paid for by PACE. For our Suncoast PACE participants there are no co-pays or deductibles for services, helping them to stretch their incomes a little bit farther each month.

Our Suncoast PACE primary care physician, Dr. Laurence Petty, is on staff and available on site in our medical clinic. We contract with a wide range of specialists in the community in order to ensure the highest quality of medical care.

Without seeing Suncoast PACE’s center and clinic it’s very difficult to fully grasp our capacity to change the life of a frail, older adult. We’re located at 6774 102^nd Ave. N., Pinellas Park.

For information on enrollment or to arrange a tour, please call 727-289-0062. We hope to see you soon.

Is it Time for Palliative Care?

By Wayne Anderson, M.D., M.P.H.
Suncoast Hospice Palliative Care Physician

Dr. Wayne Anderson

The number one question I’m asked is, “What do you do as a palliative care doctor?” A primary part of my job is listening.

In my five years as a Suncoast Hospice palliative care physician doing consults in the hospital I’ve heard wonderful stories from patients and families. Couples married for 65 years to those looking forward to their first anniversaries have shared their stories with me. Some people have told me the names of all their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and even a few great-great-grandchildren.

I’ve listened when patients and families need to talk about their feelings. Parents wonder if they’ll see their children graduate from high school or get married. Those who have cancer express concern about losing their hair and experiencing nausea and pain. Others worry about what will happen to their loved ones or how they can help their aging parents.

Education & Coordination of Care

When someone is faced with a serious diagnosis his or her entire world is turned upside down. He or she may ask, “What do I do?” Too many times patients are told by their doctors what they need to do. Oftentimes patients are unaware of the options they have for their treatment. They need their doctors to help them understand all of the options of care and to understand who they are as people.

One option is palliative care – a type of medical care focused on improving the quality of life for patients with chronic or advanced illnesses and their families. Palliative care is an extra resource that works together with the patient’s own physicians to form a plan of care that’s medically sound and fits the patient’s wishes. Palliative care can sometimes include therapies that are designed to bring comfort. Unlike hospice care, palliative care is not confined to the final months of life.

As a palliative care physician, I want to know what my patients actually understand about their diseases. I spend time with them so I can understand their concerns, fears, wishes and goals.

It’s my hope that you’re never faced with difficult medical decisions. However, if you or a loved one is unsure of what to do about care, perhaps talking with a palliative care physician or other care team member may help. We don’t have all the answers, but we’ll work with you to find a level of care that’s right for you.

Call us to learn more about our palliative care at 467-7423.

Saluting Nurses In Recognition of National Nurses Week

Nurses Care at Care Center

It’s National Nurses Week May 6 to 12 and we’d like to acknowledge our fabulous nurses who take loving care of our patients and families.

Our nurses are compassionate and uplifting and bring comfort in so many ways. They’re experts at resolving the pain and symptoms of our patients. They also give education and emotional support to our patients and families, helping them understand what to expect with their illnesses and listening to them as they cope with their feelings.

Working with the Care Teams

Collaboration with the other care team members is also an integral part of their job to ensure the best possible care to patients and families. Melanie Harmon, a registered nurse (R.N.) with our supplemental staff-PRN department, celebrated ten years with Suncoast Hospice this year. She shared how she and one of our chaplains worked together swiftly to bring comfort and peace to a patient right before she died.

R.N. Home Visit

“One of our patients had a debilitating illness and was close to death. I rubbed her swollen foot, and she liked it. I called one of our chaplains to help her and he came that day. He baptized her and said the Lord’s Prayer with her family all around her bedside.  It was amazing what he did and wonderful to be there,” Melanie said.

Fulfilling Careers

Two of our other nurses say that working in hospice care is extremely meaningful. “It has been an honor and educational experience going into people’s homes and hearing their stories,” said Stephen Mitchell, a licensed practical nurse (L.P.N.) with our supplemental staff-continuous care department. Cynthia Peterson, an R.N. with one of our care teams shared, “I just don’t think there’s anything more rewarding than being at the bedsides of the dying and helping their families. It’s the best job.”

Do you want to make a difference in the lives of patients and families? Check out our current job openings.

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.