Saint Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a special time of year for many lovers who might exchange cards and heartfelt messages, go on dates, and enjoy quality time together.  Working in hospice as a volunteer coordinator, I have come to value time spent with others.  Confronting mortality with hospice patients and their families has provided me a better understanding that we are all given a limited time on planet earth.  Though it can be sad and difficult for us to understand, death is just as much a part of life as is birth.  At the end of life we say goodbye to those we love and go our separate ways.

Goodbyes such as this are hard.  When one watches their life long spouse pass away as a terminally ill hospice patient, the surviving spouse is left with grief that might be harder to cope with on special days such as Valentine's Day.  Time previously spent conversing over a hot meal might then be spent alone, making life that much more difficult to handle.  A special day of  the year many lovers use to exchange heartfelt moments and enjoy quality time together could no longer retain that meaning to someone grieving. 

Because of moments like this, Medi Hospice in a total family care approach keeps contact with the loved ones of patients for a 13 months after their loved one has passed away.  Bereavement support is an essential piece to hospice care.  Mailings about grief, telephone calls, group support meetings and even visits from hospice staff to family members help them work through the grief process.  All this is done with genuine compassion and concern so that families may better deal with emotions of loss in a healthy, positive way.  That way the first Valentine's Day without your partner will hopefully be a little easier to get through.

2014 National Patient Safety Goals

Hospice in the United States is strictly regulated by the Joint Commission on Health Care.
Take a look at the 2014 Home Care National Patient Safety Goals as developed by the JCHC.


- Identify patients correctly
     Use at least two ways to identify patients.  For example, us the patient's name and date of birth.  This is done to make sure that each patient gets the correct medicine and treatment

- Use medicines safely
     Record and pass along correct information about a patient's medicines.  Find out what medicines the patient is taking.  Compare those medicines to new medicines givne to the patient.  Make sure the patient know which medicines to take when they are at home.  Tell the patient it is important to have their up-to-date list of medicines every time they see a doctor.

- Prevent infection
     Use the hand cleaning guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization.  Set goals for improving hand cleaning.  Use goals to improve hand cleaning.

- Prevent patients from falling
     Find out which patients are most likely to fall.  For example, is the patient taking medications that might make them weak, dizzy, or sleepy?  Take action to prevent falls for these patients.

- Identify patient safety risks
     Find out if there are any risks for patients who are getting oxygen.  For example, fires in the patient's home.

These are some of the basic standards which home health care organization must meet to qualify as an accredited institution caring for patients as designated by the JCHC.  More information can be found on their website.

The Joint Commission of Home Care

Medi Home Health & Hospice seeks to meet and exceed these standards in our care for patients and their families.  Every Medi staff member, including hospice volunteers, are educated on the basics of hospice.  We strive for excellence and personal attention in our care, to create a safe, comfortable environment for all.  

Each volunteer completes a comprehensive hospice training to become prepared to support and visit terminally ill patients.  Volunteers must be comfortable with the special task of caring for others who are at the end of their life.  If you are interested in learning more about volunteering for hospice, please contact our office at (804) 282 - 4301.

We Honor Veterans Pinning Ceremony

Saturday December 21, 2013 at Dinwiddie Health and Rehab located in Petersburg, VA, United States Army Lieutenants training at Fort Lee came to visit and honor residents at the facility who were military veterans themselves.  As a We Honor Veteran partner, Medi Home Health & Hospice seeks to recognize and honor veterans in our community.  This turned out to be wonderful event where current soldiers and past military service men had a chance to connect, reflect, and enjoy quality bonding time.  Here is a look at some of the moments that afternoon. 

 

 

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!