Caring for the Human Spirit in the Hospice Setting When it comes to the care of the terminally ill, there can be any number of spiritual needs. When those needs are not met, a dying person and family can suffer. When those needs are met, there can be a relative sense of well-being and joy […]
Advance Directives-We Can Help
Advance directives are a way of communicating who you want to make health care decisions for you in the event you are unable to make them yourself. This is a legal document in Michigan. Making Choices Michigan is a great resource for a simple advance directive form. Check out their website at www.makingchoicesmichigan.org and click […]
Love On A King Size Bed
A family gathers The yard was packed with cars as I pulled into the driveway. A few grand-kids were gathered in a circle out in the yard having a smoke, perhaps relieving the stress of the moment. A loved one lay dying inside. When a family experiences this kind of grief, they come up against […]
Fundraising IS a Profession!
Professional Fundraising A friend of mine has been a professional fundraiser for over 30 years. She has worked for many nonprofits raising millions of dollars. When she got her first fundraising job, her father said to her “They PAY you to do this?!!” Yes, they paid her. It is a profession. There are university degrees […]
My Experience as a Volunteer at Wings Home
Giving Back I had often thought because I had been blessed with the wonderful support of Wings of Hope Hospice in the past for both my Dad and Mom in their final days that I would like to volunteer at Wings Home some day and return the favor for the blessings my family had received. Late […]
The Final Voice
Introduction As the generation of people who are faced with decisions for our parents, we are so very many times their final voice. We are a society that plans for almost all changes in life. We plan for graduation, our wedding, the birth of a baby, college and retirement yet most of us avoid planning […]
Hospice Volunteer – Bereavement
I have been a hospice volunteer in bereavement for Wings of Hope Hospice for 16 years. This ‘job’ came about as a way for me to give back after I had been helped through a rough patch myself. Open Door Grief Support Policy I am very proud to be associated with Wings and am proudest […]
Being a Healing Listener
Healing Listening ‘Healing listening’, a term used by both James Miller and Paul Feider in their writing and their work with individuals who are grieving, is a priceless gift you can give someone who has experienced a loss. Regardless of the type of loss, the person experiencing it feels pain, and that pain must be […]
When Is It Time For Hospice?
Hospice Benefit in Last Months Hospice care is a benefit for individuals in their last months of life. Hospice regulations say that if a physician’s best estimate is that the individual has 6 months or less to live if his or her disease follows its typical course, that person is eligible for hospice services. Hospice […]
Life, Death, Hospice & Holidays
The Last Christmas I am reflecting this Christmas Eve on the people my hospice serves. Most of our patients are celebrating the last Christmas they will ever have. Families are poignantly aware that at this time next year, their loved one will not be with them. I think that for some, this thought must be […]