Caring for our Country's Military Veterans

"The We Honor Veterans program is an initiative by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs that invites hospices, state hospice organizations, Hospice-Veteran partnerships and VA facilities to join a pioneering effort that focuses on respectful inquiry, compassionate listening, and grateful acknowledgment."

Find out more in the About Us section of the We Honor Veterans website.

As a Level II partner of the We Honor Veterans program, both Medi Home Health & Hospice's offices in Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia seek to continually find ways to honor veterans in our community and partner with other healthcare organizations to educate staff on how to handle veteran specific issues as it relates to their end of life care.

 Our healthcare system is facing an uphill battle in terms of caring for veterans.  Yesterday CNN published an investigative report on hospital delays at times resulting in deaths for some war veterans.  I encourage you to check out the article below and help spread the word on the difficulties facing our healthcare system and our country's military veterans.

Hospital Delays are Killing America's War Veterans

If you or someone you know is an active duty military member or you are interested in helping out military veterans in our community, please contact Medi Home Health & Hospice in Petersburg, Virginia or Richmond, Virginia to find out how to get started.  We hope to hear from you soon!

Memory Bears Lift Hospice Families' Spirits

Terminally ill patients in our communities of Richmond and Petersburg, VA deserve the best, most compassionate care in their final days.  Patient families also deserve attention and care when going through the the lose of a loved one.  Medi Home Health & Hospice continues that attention and care for the family after their loved one has passed away.  Our volunteer led memory bear program provides a special way for families to process their loss and reflect on more positive times experienced with someone they loved.  Sewers take clothing of patients provided by family members and create unique stuffed bears.  These memory bears can be positive, lasting mementos in the lives of surviving friends and family.  Take a look below at some of the delightful craft work by one of Medi's talented volunteers.

Two bears for two sisters made from their mother's green and pink robes.

 Nine little bears for nine grandchildren to remember their grandmother.

One paisley printed bear with nine little bears.

 If you enjoy sewing or begin visiting patients as a volunteer for Medi Hospice, please contact our office for more information as to how you can get started making a special difference in others' lives today!

"I Am Holding Half An Acre"

Heading home can be a revitalizing, humbling experience for those who do not often visit the place in which they grew up.  For me, home is in Virginia.  I look out my window and am thankful for the bright colors of the leaves changing.  Hues of yellows, oranges, greens, browns signify the coming of the Fall season in my home state.  The air outside has a nip of cold that you can feel coming as sure as winter, but the temperature outside is a comfortable 65.  Home to me at this time of year reminds me of the Harvest as many celebrate holidays like Halloween or All Saints' Day.

For others going home or being home is not such a pleasant experience.  Memories of pain, loss or suffering can burden some minds who find it difficult to be at home.

In honor of the idea of returning home now or in the coming months with the holidays, I share with you a song that Medi Hospice Chaplain Erin shared with the hospice staff in efforts to provide a moment of reflection and peace.  The song is entitled "Half Acre" by Hem.  It also happens to be one of my favorites.  Enjoy.

Half Acre

  I am holding half an acre
Torn from the map of Michigan
And folded in this scrap of paper
Is a land I grew in

Think of every town you've lived in
Every room, you lay your head
And what is it that you remember?

Do you carry every sadness with you
Every hour your heart was broken
Every night the fear and darkness
Lay down with you

A man is walking on the highway
A woman stares out at the sea
And light is only now just breaking

So we carry every sadness with us
Every hour our heart were broken
Every night the fear and darkness
Lay down with us

But I am holding half an acre
Torn from the map of Michigan
I am carrying this scrap of paper

That can crack the darkest sky wide open
Every burden taken from me
Every night my heart unfolding
My home

We Honor Veterans - Pinning Ceremony

Petersburg, VA  - 

To publicly acknowledge the military service and sacrifices made by the Veterans of Golden Living – Battlefield Park, Medi Home Health & Hospice in Petersburg, VA along with Active Duty members of Fort Lee held a pinning ceremony at the skilled nursing facility.  Medi Home Health and Hospice is a Level II partner of the We Honor Veterans program and these pinning ceremonies are a small portion of what is being done to give back to the Veteran community.  SSgt Sam Gibbs, SSG Keith Fay, and SSgt Mark Wilson presented the Veterans with certificates and American flag lapel pins as a small token of appreciation for what these Veterans have done for our country.

Take a look at some more pictures from the ceremony below.  The staff of Medi Home Health & Hospice hopes this is the first of many opportunities to recognize and honor Veterans in our community through pinning ceremonies and other events.

If you are interested in getting involved with honoring military veterans in central and southern Virginia, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Travis Kennedy via e-mail at tkennedy@msa-corp.com or call the office at 804-732-0108.  We are always looking for volunteers to join our team.  Whether you are a veteran, you come from a military family, or are interested in simply visiting our hospice patients, but have no military background, we have place for you to make a difference in the lives of those with terminal illness.  We hope to hear from you soon!

Breakdown

In hospice every other week we hold meetings where the entire team comes together to discuss all patient care plans.  These are called IDG, or Interdisciplinary Group, meetings.  During this time the nurses, aides, chaplains, clinical manager, medical director, social workers, chaplains, and volunteers are provided the opportunity to discuss any developments of patients physical, spiritual, psychological, or emotional needs over the previous two weeks.

Before we begin our IDGs at Medi, one of our chaplains usually takes time to reflect on a local or national event which may have impacted us and offer a prayer, song, or reading.  These spiritual moments can help center the team and can give everyone a renewed or unique perspective to take with them through the coming days.

Last week Chaplain Erin was kind enough to share some thoughts about "breaking down" which I would like to share with all of you.  Often times in life we feel special moments passing us by.  There are sights, sounds, smells, conversations, and much more we experience on a daily basis.  We may wish that we could stop time, break down, and hold on to these experiences longer.

It could be a gold, summer sunset.

A long talk with your parent.

The homemade taste of a dinner freshly cooked.

A hug from someone you love.

I was reminded of a scene from one of my favorite shows "Mad Men".  In this scene ad man Donald Draper is pitching his idea for advertising a new product Kodak developed to some of the execs of Kodak.  Draper wants these execs to buy into his advertising approach.  The background information on this scene is less important than the feelings it evokes.  Don's words as he flips through pictures of his family can be both haunting and touching, regardless if we know his story or not, because we can relate to his ideas.  Captured in the soft music, smokey room, and Don's voice is a yearning for the past.  The wish to stop time.  To go back and experience things we once had.

Nostalgia.

These moments can be beautiful, meaningful, and insightful.  And we may wish to hang on to them a little longer than time allows us.  On the other side of these moments is a pain in knowing that they do not last forever.  As if we are passengers on a train chugging down a track, our lives keep moving forward despite the passing of these experiences into memory.  All we are able to do is lock away those memories in our minds and reflect while making the best of the present.  Pictures, songs, thoughts and other things serve as nostalgic tools to bring us back to days gone by.

At the end of her spiritual reflection, Erin shared with us a song.  I share the same song with you here...  And if you are in need of a "breakdown", a little time to stop and take in the moment around you, I hope it comes your way soon.   

We Honor Veterans

Medi Hospice in Petersburg Reaches Level One Recognition

As a proud partner of the national We Honor Veterans program, we continue our efforts to promote awareness of veteran end of life issues in our south side Virginia community.  For those of you in our faithful readership who missed the big announcement, here is the link to the post back in January.

This program looks to create a health care system ready and able to accommodate the unique needs military vets and their families may have at the end of life.  Hospices across the country strive to accomplish these goals of accommodating and appropriately respecting our veterans with this special campaign.  Through continued staff education on topics such as post traumatic stress disorder , community partnerships between organizations providing care to veterans, and events recognizing the sacrifice made by our military personnel, we hope to ensure that veterans are able to enjoy the highest quality of care and life possible while dealing with terminal illness.

The program consists of four achievement levels required of hospices to gain recognition and continue to increase the reach of the We Honor Veterans message, all the while providing practical, useful information to health care providers regarding veterans and recognizing veterans for their sacrifices.  Each level asks hospices to complete specific tasks as a systematic, grassroots way of spreading the We Honor Veterans campaign.   Progress through the four levels is tracked and approved by We Honor Veterans, with level four being the highest, most difficult achievement.

To reach Level One, for instance, a hospice must provide 3 educational in-services on the We Honor Veterans program to its own staff.  The hospice must also reach out to community partners to advertise the program and establish a contact person at a nearby Veteran Affairs office.  In addition to those requirements, a hospice must create and implement a Military History Checklist into the admission process for patients.  The checklist provides the hospice an opportunity to gather details of the patient's military service, such as the branch, time period, and locations they may have served.  Implementing this individualized information into the plan of care allows hospices to understand the patient's military past and see that they are receiving the benefits available to them in their time of need. 

Medi's Partner Level 1 certificate

Medi Home Health & Hospice of Petersburg, VA is proud to announce that we have achieved the Level One milestone as set forth by the We Honor Veterans program!  We are already working hard towards Level Two and would love your help along the way!  If you or someone you know would like to get involved as a volunteer of our hospice, please contact Travis Kennedy, the Volunteer Coordinator at 804-732-0108 or via e-mail at tkennedy@msa-corp.com.  We would be especially grateful for any military veterans who are willing to take the time to visit veteran patients for at least one hour per week, serving as a friend and companion.  A volunteer may be one of the last good things to happen in a patient's life, so please consider donating a little of your time to others.

New Study Finds Volunteering Increases Likelihood of Finding A Job

A new and ground breaking study conducted by the Corporation for National & Community Service shows that volunteering can increase an individuals chances of finding a job by as much as 27% more than those who do not volunteer.  Check on the video below along with the link here to the article, "Volunteering as a Pathway to Employment".

The benefits of volunteering have long been trumpeted as a way to entice the populace to sacrifice their time for a person or cause.  Having a positive impact on your community and building your experience through volunteering to increase your chances of landing that dream job are two great reasons to volunteer.  However, until now there has not been significant measurable data to back up the idea that volunteering can be a pathway to a paid position in the working world.

Volunteering for hospice helps prepare those who want to work in the medical field become more equipped and knowledgeable in their desired area of work.  Unquestionably, the compassionate and sometimes difficult work of a hospice volunteer helps individuals prepare for all kinds of workplace obstacles.  Aspiring medical social workers can help learn to navigate fragile family situations and relationships, perhaps even improving the way families get along in certain fortunate circumstances.  Those who wish to become nurses or case managers will interact with medical staff during their volunteer experience, seeing the ins and outs of what a day on the job for a traveling hospice nurse might be like.  Individuals who wish to work in an office or familiarize themselves with medical records can gain valuable experience as an office hospice volunteer.

One of the beautiful things about hospice is that the volunteer is not restricted to any particular type of service area.  There are volunteer positions for musicians, landscapers, gardeners, beauticians, cosmetologists, singers, clergy, seamstresses, pet therapists, military veterans and more. You could use your talents to benefit others in need of a helping hand all the while learning new and challenging ideas about life and death.  You could take care of a terminally ill patients lawn or help them paint their nails while watching Oprah or enjoy the big game on TV on Sunday.  

The possibilities are many and varied when volunteering with hospice.  And do not forget you would be boosting your chances at landing a job!  All the more reason to begin today in the compassionate work as a hospice volunteer!

If you are interested in volunteering for Medi Hospice to help our patients at the end of their lives, please contact me via e-mail at tkennedy@msa-corp.com.