STATE NEWS

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Quint Studer, along with Dale O. Knee, President & CEO of Covenant Hospice, a nationally recognized end-of-life provider of hospice and palliative care services, will be holding a two-day Excellence in End-of-Life Care Institute August 17 – 18 at Hilton Sandestin Resort, located in Destin, Florida.

This two-day seminar will focus on this critical time in patient’s lives. Attendees will learn to apply service, quality, people, financial and growth prescriptives and specific leadership principles to strategically improve the quality of end-of-life care in their community, adding life to your patient’s days when days can no longer be added to life.

Seating is limited and overnight accommodations should be made directly with the hotel 1-800-367-1271. When calling, mention Studer Group for special conference rates. To register online or for more information, visit www.studergroup.com

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On May 18, 2006 Hospice by the Sea celebrated at the beautiful Broken Sound Club in Boca Raton, Florida. The hospice has many reasons to celebrate their history, which begins in 1979 when hospice was not a reimbursed Medicare benefit. During those lean years, many volunteers and dedicated staff of nine committed their lives to improving the lives of the citizens of Broward and Palm Beach counties through the fulfillment of their mission and core values.

Over these years the hospice has served over 60,000 patients and has grown to an average daily census of 350 and a budget of over $30 million dollars. Today, over 500 employees call Hospice by the Sea their employer. In 2002, the hospice had achieved the status of the 5^th largest hospice in the United

States.

None of this could have been possible without the leadership of Trudi Webb, the President and CEO since 1985. According to Trudi, she took the challenge of taking the small organization and achieved the goal of the Board of Directors, “to be the best hospice, and I think we’ve done that.”

Trudi has also served Florida Hospices and Palliative Care (FHPC) as treasurer and served on the National Hospice and Palliative Care (NHPCO) board as well. She has presented at numerous conferences and symposiums.

Sid Silverman

She wrapped up her career at the May 18 retirement celebration just after receiving the Professional Hero Award from the Palm Beach Medical Society for her service to the South Florida community. The evening was filled with special tributes and roasts from staff and friends. “The eldest volunteer, “Sid Silverman shared his experience with hospices and how his encounter has now translated into over 8,500 hours of volunteer service. One of the most touching moments was shared by Jerry Gotkin whose wife was served by hospice and said that “hospice was the last special gift” his wife gave him.

Truly, Trudi, thank you for your service and sacrifice. May all who come behind you be as faithful. The retirement of CEOs like Trudi Webb and others throughout the state should humble all of us who are entrusted with the future of hospice by our management of today. Succession planning is important to our future, the maintaining of our core values and principles.

Paula Alderson

Because Hospice by the Sea, and Trudi Webb, planned for the next chapter, their succession plan is working. The new President and CEO, Paula Alderson is on board and moving forward.

Change is never easy, but as one employee of Hospice by the Sea said, “It really is good.”

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LifePath Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc. has named John McElligott executive director of Good Shepherd Hospice, which provides hospice services in Polk, Hardee and Highlands Counties. McElligott joined the organization May 1 and will be responsible for developing and expanding access to Good Shepherd’s hospice services.

“John has vast health care experience and will be a tremendous asset to Good Shepherd Hospice,” said Roxanne Riley, executive vice president – Programs and Services of LifePath Hospice and Palliative Care. “We are very excited that he has joined our organization.”

McElligott most recently was president/CEO of Big Bend Hospice in Tallahassee. He previously held positions with VITAS Healthcare Corporation in Miami and the VNA Healthcare Group in Buffalo, N.Y. McElligott earned his Bachelor’s of Art degree from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas and his Master’s of Science degree in Health Administration from the University of Colorado in Denver.

LifePath Hospice and Palliative Care embraces its mission to make the most of life by relieving the suffering of patients and their families affected by life-limiting illnesses or end-of-life issues. LifePath Hospice is a community-based, not-for-profit hospice that serves Hillsborough, Polk, Hardee and Highlands counties in central Florida. For more information, please visit the LifePath Hospice website at www.lifepath-hospice.org.

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Even before detailed plans for Hospice of Lake & Sumter’s second Hospice House in this community have been drawn, an enthusiastic group of Hospice supporters have raised nearly a quarter million dollars toward its construction.

The Villagers for Hospice, an independent, all-volunteer organization dedicated to raising money for the Hospice organization, presented a check for $200,000 at a luncheon recently, Hospice officials said. The group, headed by co-chairs Arlene Bentz and Pat Reynolds, designated the money to help pay for the second of an eventual four 12-bedroom residences for patients unable to remain in their own homes.

The first residence cost $2.7 million and opened in June, 2003, officials said. It is located on CR 466 just west of the Morse Boulevard intersection and occupies roughly one quarter of a 5+ acre land parcel donated by The Villages developer. “We’d asked them for enough land to accommodate one Hospice House,” explained Hospice CEO Pat Lehotsky. “Instead, they gave us enough for four, saying that they wanted us to be able to meet the area’s growing need for our services well into the future.”

According to Lehotsky, the first residence is adequately meeting community needs at this time. “However, our census continues to rise steadily as more people learn of the special benefits of Hospice care.” While active planning for the second of the four houses hasn’t begun yet, the CEO said it likely would start in the next few years.

In preparation, The Villagers for Hospice have staged an array of major fund-raising events. “Walkin’ in Rhythm” is an annual variety show conceived and organized by Arlene Bentz,” said Reynolds. Also, Villagers for Hospice run an annual golf tournament, a “Hogs for Hospice” barbecue, a “Trees of Love” Christmas fund-raiser, and a yearly cruise, Reynolds said. “Two years ago we went to Russia and Scandinavia and this year we just returned from a cruise to the Greek Isles.”

In addition, Ashley Hux, a former Miss Florida and current Miss University of Florida, stars in an annual concert to help the group.

The Villagers for Hospice also conduct smaller, ongoing fund-raising activities including the sale of inscribed honor/memorial bricks for the walkway fronting the existing Hospice House. Also, local businesses, clubs, organizations and individuals often conduct their own fund-raising events to assist the Hospice support group, Reynolds said.

And while the $200,000 is an impressive amount, the Hospice volunteers know they still have work ahead of them. “Construction costs have gone up considerably in the past few years,” noted Reynolds. “We understand that the second Villages Hospice House will cost somewhere between $3 and $4 million.” It will be similar to the current 12-bedroom residence and, like that facility, will face toward the Serenity Center, a meditation/prayer sanctuary for patients and families, which eventually will be the central focal point for all four hospice houses on the site.

Beyond the $200,000 they’ve raised so far for the second patient residence, the Villagers for Hospice have also collected a whopping $450,000 to help pay for the first Hospice House and the adjacent Serenity Center, Lehotsky stated. And all of that has taken place since the group created itself in 2003, she said. Like the Women for Hospice, a similar but separate Hospice volunteer group based in the Mount Dora area, the Villagers for Hospice play a critical role in ensuring that Hospice care is always there for anyone who needs it, the CEO explained. “We rely heavily upon both of these wonderful groups to enable us to do what we do for the community.”

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Derinda Jo Hamilton has the ability to be in two or more places at once. No, the information technology manager for Hospice of Lake & Sumter Counties is not a character in the new “X-Men” movie.

Hamilton has something more powerful than any comic book hero - a sophisticated package of video conferencing equipment, proprietary software, a high-speed Internet connection, and a drive to bring something better to her co-workers and the patients they serve.

While standing in the conference room of The Villages Hospice House Thursday, Hamilton instructed two hospice employees in the Kissimmee office on how to set up a new projector. She could see them, and using a simple remote control device, she could control the camera in their office to zoom in on faces, and on the equipment they were working with, to give precise instructions.

In a few minutes, the new gear was up and running.

The signal was clear, the sound was crisp, and there was none of the herky-jerky movement most webcam users experience.

“We installed this system in five of our offices, last February,” Hamilton said. “The idea was to cut down on travel time. Our nurses always want additional training. If we have a training program at one center or another, we'd have to take nurses out of the field, away from patients. It would also cost the organization time and mileage, but the important thing is that we were taking a nurse away from a patient.”

According to Roger Ralston, president of DirectView, the company which installed the hospice system, a setup like Hospice of Lake & Sumter's runs about $5,000 to $7,500, depending on the sophistication of the devices. Ralston was interviewed via teleconference from his Boca Raton office.

“The coolest part of this technology is seeing people use it,” he said. “The New York City Police Department is one of our biggest customers - they use the system for traffic court. The Seminole Indians hold tribal meetings via teleconferencing.”

After some initial camera shyness, Hamilton found that the staff adapted quickly to the new technology.

“We also use it for employee orientation. We can do it in our main office in Tavares with an employee in Kissimmee,” she said. “It's completely interactive - you can ask questions and talk just like you were sitting in the room with each other. People are asking if we'll be installing this in other offices.”

That interactivity has led Hamilton to add something to her wish list: a cart which holds a TV, the conference calling equipment and a wireless connection so that hospice patients who are too ill to leave their beds can speak to and see far-off loved ones.

“We had a patient in February whose children were adopted out and living far away,” Hamilton said. “She passed away just before we hooked up this system. They would come here to visit, but if we had had this system, her children could have gone to a location near them that had this system and they could have been able to visit that way as well.”

Ralston said that there are about 2,000 locations worldwide where family members could go for a tele-visit, and that if needed, it would be possible to make other accommodations.

“We can put something together that is completely wireless that will roll right into the patient's room,” Ralston said. “We'll be able to facilitate a call right from their bed.

Once the system is set up, there is no additional charge for the call. People could visit all day, and say prayers together before bed at night. It's everything but handshakes and hugs.”

Ralston estimates that such a system will cost about $5,000 per unit. That is something which is not in the hospice budget right now, Hamilton said.

“I know Roger helped hospice get the system we have because he could see we are passionate about using it,” Hamilton said. “I'll be seeking donations so we can buy that patient unit.”

The equipment is compact; perhaps a little bigger than a few good-sized stacked telephone books. It includes a camera, a microphone, and the computer gear which translate the signals into a digital signal which can be zipped to its destination on the Internet.

Calls are placed almost like a telephone call, with the conferencing equipment “ringing” to signal that someone wants to connect. Hamilton said the signals are encrypted, making it difficult for an outsider to eavesdrop on the connection.

Donna Riley-Lein is a reporter for the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9255, or donna.riley-lein@thevillagesmedia.com.

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Hospice of Lake and Sumter Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) Sharon Kofoed, Betty Luckhardt and Kathleen Wynn (from right) accept a Proclamation from Lake County Commissioner Debbie Stivender (far left) recognizing the caring services provided by CNA’s in nursing centers, hospitals, home care settings, and other healthcare-related areas throughout the state. The three Hospice CNA’s represent the Lake and Sumter Chapter of the Florida Nurse Assistants Association, which arranged for the June 6 presentation, marking National Nurse Assistants Day.

The Florida Nurse Assistants Association is a membership organization that offers education, networking and support on local and state levels for the thousands of Certified Nursing Assistants working in Florida.

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They call it a Hospice Heart. They say you have to have a Hospice Heart to work in this specialty. I heard this phrase only recently. My nursing career spans 3 decades. I have worked in just about every nursing specialty and been certified in two, but never stopped to consider whether I had a Hospice Heart. When I was told by a friend that I might be the right person for a position with our local Hospice, I reviewed my resume, skill set, work experience and everything lined up great, except, did I have a Hospice Heart?

Mentally, I reviewed periods in my career from a new perspective, a Hospice perspective. One of my earliest patient experiences came to mind. When I was a 17 year old nursing assistant, the nurse asked me to sit with an unresponsive 88 year old lady who, I was told, was not going to live much longer. I spent 7 hours taking vital signs every 15 minutes and reporting them to the nurse. Her daughter and I spent the hours turning her, brushing her hair, washing her face, moistening her lips, and talking about how she had been the greatest mother. She told me wonderful stories about her mom. As the evening progressed, her vital signs faded and she passed, quietly, pain free and surrounded by love. It occurred to me that this was hospice nursing. And I was so moved by it, I remember it 35 years later.

I remembered times during my PACU (post anesthesia care unit) years when I had cared for many patients whose surgery had revealed life limiting conditions. I had been there when they and/or their families were informed. My time was spent managing their pain and providing emotional support as they coped in their very diverse and very personalized ways. This too, was hospice nursing.

So, being an oncology inpatient manager and part of the team that cares for hospice patients in our hospital was not my only hospice nursing experience. Working with Hospice RN case managers, social workers, nursing assistants, chaplains, medical staff, volunteers, grief counselors, and hospital staff together to help the patient and their family have the highest quality of life was just the most recent experiences I had within the specialty. Among these recent experiences were memories saddened by the patients and families that did not receive the additional support the Hospice team provides because a referral didn’t get made.

I now know that anyone can and should make a Hospice referral for patients with life limiting illnesses- not just cancer. That Hospice care is provided by a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals that focus on each individual’s quality of life, just like those I had cared for over the years. Routine visits are made by the team as needed to patient’s home, skilled nursing facility, assisted living facility or hospital room. When continuous care is needed, like my first experience, patients may receive the care in their home, facility, or in a hospice residence by a nursing assistant, and a licensed nurse. As with all nursing specialties, Hospice nursing requires professional and personal maturity (not necessarily equated with years). And it does require a Hospice Heart that will allow your humanity to connect with others when they need it the most.

Treasure Coast Hospices is looking for healthcare professionals with Hospice Hearts.

Ms. Gerntrup is the Fort Pierce Director of Clinical Services for Treasure Coast Hospices.