Ron Pruitt, from left, Kimberly Dunford, Charles Pruitt, Larry Pruitt and Jim Pruitt are children of Hershel Pruitt, a World War II veteran. Charles and his siblings got together with a volunteer and recorded what they knew about their dad's life. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune)The life of Hershell Pruitt was remembered in bits.
His five children each hold a piece. Last week, they gathered at the hospice to say goodbye to their 86-year-old father, a World War II veteran of the Pacific campaign, who passed away Friday after a bout with Alzheimer's disease.
But before he died, his family began putting those stories together to form the arc of a spectacularly full life.
There to preserve Pruitt's story on a digital recording was a volunteer from Silverado Hospice of Utah who interviewed the family, part of a new program to capture the details of terminal patients' lives. The recordings are then pressed onto CDs and given to surviving family members.
"Getting us all together, we each added a little piece to the story," said son Charles Pruitt, 46, of Salt Lake City. "Each of us in turn told a story, and we were engaged and just sitting on the edge of our seats. It was a different perspective on my father's life."
Since the Memory Catcher program started earlier this year at Silverado, a handful of volunteers have recorded the stories of terminal patients for about 15 families, said volunteer Eileen Allen, who interviewed the Pruitts for their father's history. It's a free service operated by Silverado Hospice of Utah.
"We did not do that with my father, and we should have done it," Allen said. Her father was a veteran of World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars. "That's why this program appealed to me when I was looking for an avenue to volunteer."
The Memory Catcher program was inspired by University of Utah English professor Meg Brady, who initiated an audio history program for terminal patients at the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
Brady helped train hospice volunteers in interviewing techniques. Preserving a loved's one voice is significant, said David Pascoe, the hospice center's chaplain. "And when they pass away, you've got this record -- not a written history, but
Mom or Dad's voice."(Upper left-hand corner) Hershell Pruitt on the U.S. Navy Destroyer where he served on during World War II. ( Photo courtesy of the Pruitt family)"We've been doing this for the last several months, and some of these stories are just amazing," Pascoe said. "Some are World War II vets who haven't told these stories before, and they tell these amazing tales of marching across Europe or through the beaches on D-Day."
Hershell Pruitt was reluctant to talk to his family about his war days. "He told us it was not something that he thought was pleasant conversation," Charles Pruitt said. "In fact, he had a very hard time watching any movie or television show that looked at war in any sort of light way. I remember watching 'M*A*S*H,' and he said, 'War is not funny, there was nothing funny about it.' "
But Pruitt, who served on a naval destroyer that once escorted Gen. Douglas MacArthur, occasionally would recount certain stories to his children.
"We all know sort of a few anecdotes," Charles Pruitt said. "He would mention someone he met in basic training in Hawaii, and he would tell small stories about people, and a little bit about places."
The siblings' two-hour recording session at the center proved to be emotional and exhausting. "At the end, we were just tired, but in a pleasant way," Charles Pruitt said. "It was in a way sort of cathartic."
And very much worth it, the son noted, because he and each of his siblings now have a CD that captures the essence and details of their father's incredible life that they can pass on to their children.
"This is something that's going to be in our family forever and will be very important to us," Charles Pruitt said. "I can imagine my daughter listening to it. I hope she'll treasure it and listen to it as often as she likes."
Preserving their voices
-->Catching memoriesFor information about the Silverado Hospice, call chaplain David Pascoe at 801-506-1500.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Preserving their voices: S.L. County hospice records patients' stories - Salt Lake Tribune
Man, 74, turns to hospice to accept death and finds life
A little over a year ago, Smith, 74, endured multiple surgeries to connect three leads to a biventricular device in an attempt to stabilize his improperly beating heart.
Within four months, his world consisted of a large chair in a converted Florida room and his bed.
"I had a urinal, cane and oxygen," he said. "I had no quality of life."
He credits the focused individual care from the social, medical and volunteer staff of Hospice of Marion County for the turnaround that gave him back his life.
Earl and Veronica "Ronnie" Smith, his wife of 52 years, recently shared a crab cake dinner in Huntingtown, Md., with their "overjoyed" daughter, Linda Turner, 46.
The family was celebrating Earl's recovery as well as Turner's college graduation.
The trip to Maryland, and a recent trip to Daytona Beach allowing Earl to fly his beloved specialty kites, seemed unimaginable just months ago, when he and his family considered his death "imminent."
The hospital had discharged Earl with what the family said was end stage congestive heart failure.
"The cardiologist said to 'get his affairs in order,' " Ronnie Smith said.
"My heart function was less than 20 percent," Earl said.
He lost the desire to eat. His weight dropped from 300 to 164 pounds. He suffered a 30-pound fluid build-up in his body.
"He couldn't brush his teeth," Ronnie said, as she described her husband as an active man, Army veteran and antique car and kite buff.
Ronnie called Linda and asked her to come home; then she called the family priest.
"I made my peace with myself and Ronnie," Earl said.
The Rev. Bob Greaves, a neighbor and chaplain with Hospice of Marion County, suggested hospice care for Earl.
"I was angry and in denial, saying 'Why me?' " Earl said as he recalled warding off efforts to bring hospice caregivers to his home under the Transitions program.
And it wouldn't be his first encounter with hospice. He and Ronnie had hospice care in 1997 when their adopted son, Glenn, then 29, died of Ewing's carcinoma.
"I saw an ad about hospice and have volunteered (in Maryland and Florida) since 1980," Ronnie said, explaining that Earl also was a hospice volunteer in both states.
"Glenn said, 'No hospice, Mom, because then I'm sick,' " Ronnie said.
"I told Glenn, 'I need hospice,' " she said.
The visits allowed them more time with their son, a veteran of Navy intelligence operations, without concern for outside details.
"Earl didn't believe hospice care could help in his state," Greaves said as he described explaining to Earl that "the intense care of hospice is what he really needed."
Greaves described that care as a team effort involving physicians, chaplains, social workers and nurses.
"The hospice doctor came out and said, 'No wonder you can't live; you have too much medicine,' " Earl said. "He treated me like an old friend."
"Earl's healing is also attributed to the couple's faith," Greaves said.
Lila Ivey, Community Outreach Director with Hospice of Marion County, calls a case of great improvement such as Earl's a "revocation."
She recounted another revocation story of "terminal emphysema" patient Joey Weisbaum, 54, who "after a year on the program got so much stronger she qualified for surgery and now will probably outlive all of us."
Ivey stressed "the number one fact" is that anyone call make a referral to hospice, although most people wait for the doctor.
"Just make the phone call" and a nurse will visit and make an assessment, Ivey explained.
Transitions is a free community service available to anyone with a life-limiting illness, providing assistance with tasks like running errands, light food preparation and companionship before and after medical treatment, according to Lisa Varner of Hospice of Marion County.
Atwua Middleton, an 11-year employee, works with terminally ill patients.
"Sometimes I am the last word, the last prayer," Middleton said. "It's a ministry."
"Hospice is not really an end of life program," Turner said. "They are caretakers; they are angels."
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Cornerstone SALUTES! honoring U.S. veterans
Some combat veterans who have faced death in wartime are able to integrate their experiences into their lives and then become better equipped emotionally to cope with their own deaths. Many other veterans who had their lives traumatically changed suffer from social isolation, substance abuse and anxieties.
Yet for some veterans, the effects of combat may not surface until they are very sick and facing the end of life. Then they may experience anxiety, agitation and vivid memories connected to war experiences.
To honor veteran patients and their families by meeting their unique needs, Pat Lehotsky, CEO of Cornerstone Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc., recently announced a comprehensive, veterans' hospice program, Cornerstone SALUTES!
A Cornerstone team of professionals and volunteers has been specially trained in a program designed by national VA expert Deborah Grassman and patterned under VA guidelines.
Pat Ludemann, RN and Regional Team Manager at the Cornerstone Hospice operational center in Winter Haven emphasized that many veterans experience traumatic conditions that are present today, even several decades after participation in hostile engagements on behalf of their nation. Veteran patients have very specialized, individual needs that are not solely based on medical, emotional, physical, social and spiritual issues. Their specialized care plan also identifies and treats any differences that veteran patients experience at the end of life.
"Cornerstone SALUTES! celebrates and observes the service to our nation that our veteran patients have rendered, at home and abroad, while it provides Hospice care unique to military families," Lehotsky said.
The program includes a "pinning ceremony" where a Certificate of Appreciation and a special "Honored Veteran" pin are presented to a veteran patient either by a veteran Cornerstone Hospice staff member or a veteran volunteer.
According to Ms. Lehotsky, "There are two types of heroes in military families, those who serve and those who stay behind keeping the family together," Lehotsky said.
Therefore, honoring the families of veterans is an integral part of the overall effort of Cornerstone SALUTES!
A "Journey of Remembrance" tribute is being planned to honor veteran families. Also as part of the program, veterans' stories and/or legacies are being recorded by trained volunteers to submit to the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
This Memorial weekend, a Hospice volunteer for military affairs and Vietnam-era U.S. Army veteran Ernie Ziglar, presented Certificates of Appreciation and the special pins to two Polk county veteran patients.
After presentation, Ziglar stood at attention and saluted retired Korean War U.S. Army veteran Eduardo Conde, 86, of Poinciana and also U.S. Army veteran Gary Irons, age 65, of Polk City during separate ceremonies at their homes.
"This recognition of my Army service has moved me and my family more than I can express with words," Irons said as he was decorated in the presence of his son Loen Irons and daughter Valerie Rhone.
Irons served as a mechanic in the U.S. Army from 1963 to 1966.
Polk County is home to 52,833 veterans. National statistics indicate that eighty-five percent of veterans do not receive care through the VA healthcare system and that most veterans die in the communities where they live.
Cornerstone SALUTES! support groups are held in coordination with other veteran support groups as a supplement to overall services. Networking with other veteran services will assist families in working together and joining in the fabric of veteran support throughout the community.
Since 1984, Cornerstone Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc., a not-for-profit community-based healthcare organization, has provided care and services to Central Florida residents and to American veterans experiencing life-limiting illnesses.
To learn more, call 863-291-5560 or toll-free 1-800-503-5756 in Polk County.
Cornerstone SALUTES! honoring U.S. veterans
Some combat veterans who have faced death in wartime are able to integrate their experiences into their lives and then become better equipped emotionally to cope with their own deaths. Many other veterans who had their lives traumatically changed suffer from social isolation, substance abuse and anxieties.
Yet for some veterans, the effects of combat may not surface until they are very sick and facing the end of life. Then they may experience anxiety, agitation and vivid memories connected to war experiences.
To honor veteran patients and their families by meeting their unique needs, Pat Lehotsky, CEO of Cornerstone Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc., recently announced a comprehensive, veterans' hospice program, Cornerstone SALUTES!
A Cornerstone team of professionals and volunteers has been specially trained in a program designed by national VA expert Deborah Grassman and patterned under VA guidelines.
Pat Ludemann, RN and Regional Team Manager at the Cornerstone Hospice operational center in Winter Haven emphasized that many veterans experience traumatic conditions that are present today, even several decades after participation in hostile engagements on behalf of their nation. Veteran patients have very specialized, individual needs that are not solely based on medical, emotional, physical, social and spiritual issues. Their specialized care plan also identifies and treats any differences that veteran patients experience at the end of life.
"Cornerstone SALUTES! celebrates and observes the service to our nation that our veteran patients have rendered, at home and abroad, while it provides Hospice care unique to military families," Lehotsky said.
The program includes a "pinning ceremony" where a Certificate of Appreciation and a special "Honored Veteran" pin are presented to a veteran patient either by a veteran Cornerstone Hospice staff member or a veteran volunteer.
According to Ms. Lehotsky, "There are two types of heroes in military families, those who serve and those who stay behind keeping the family together," Lehotsky said.
Therefore, honoring the families of veterans is an integral part of the overall effort of Cornerstone SALUTES!
A "Journey of Remembrance" tribute is being planned to honor veteran families. Also as part of the program, veterans' stories and/or legacies are being recorded by trained volunteers to submit to the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
This Memorial weekend, a Hospice volunteer for military affairs and Vietnam-era U.S. Army veteran Ernie Ziglar, presented Certificates of Appreciation and the special pins to two Polk county veteran patients.
After presentation, Ziglar stood at attention and saluted retired Korean War U.S. Army veteran Eduardo Conde, 86, of Poinciana and also U.S. Army veteran Gary Irons, age 65, of Polk City during separate ceremonies at their homes.
"This recognition of my Army service has moved me and my family more than I can express with words," Irons said as he was decorated in the presence of his son Loen Irons and daughter Valerie Rhone.
Irons served as a mechanic in the U.S. Army from 1963 to 1966.
Polk County is home to 52,833 veterans. National statistics indicate that eighty-five percent of veterans do not receive care through the VA healthcare system and that most veterans die in the communities where they live.
Cornerstone SALUTES! support groups are held in coordination with other veteran support groups as a supplement to overall services. Networking with other veteran services will assist families in working together and joining in the fabric of veteran support throughout the community.
Since 1984, Cornerstone Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc., a not-for-profit community-based healthcare organization, has provided care and services to Central Florida residents and to American veterans experiencing life-limiting illnesses.
To learn more, call 863-291-5560 or toll-free 1-800-503-5756 in Polk County.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Mayor Jerry Sanders thanks San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine
The Mayor proclaims - hospice is good.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Click here to set a title.
Welcome Volunteer Coordinators!
This format is being offered to the hospices utilizing the hospice volunteer training online program.
Feel free to post your ads, events, and any announcements related to your agency here.
The social sites that I use will have your information posted on them - increasing your audience exposure exponentially.
For instance, if you are recruiting new volunteers it can posted here. The ad will autopost to Twitter, FaceBook, Digg, Blogger and many RSS feeds.
This is also a good place to look for frequently asked questions about the course sites you manage.
You can also post an article or announcement of events.
Please do not post non-related advertising. Anything health care / hospice related is acceptable.
Hospice and Handling a End of Life Illness – Info Barrel | Senior Home Care Information
Hospice and Handling a End of Life Illness – Info Barrel
Some people get scared and frightened even thinking aboutdeath or dying. But I had to live it; it’s something I never thought I’d haveto face when I had to care for my terminally ill husband. It’s not an easysubject for me, but everyone has to face the subject of dying at some point intheir life. This is where my life changed, after being a wife for 33 years, Inow had to become a caretaker and it wasn’t always the easiest. But when we had to have hospice, they were ofgreat help and were there when we needed them most.
Hospice isprofessionally trained, they helped with pain management a lot, and as thiswas something he dealt with greatly trying new and different medications alongthe way. They are also there for spiritual as well as social support. They arethere to help the whole family deal with issues. He was also able to getwhatever medications he needed for his care without any concerns, the focus wason caring, not curing, making the patient comfortable.
Hospice is availableto anyone regardless of finances, illness, culture, age, and gender. Theprognosis is 6 months or less, and not seeking out a cure. The patient has tohave a referral, and then they bring in a hospice team to evaluate the needs ofthe patient and treatment. They workedwith me as a caretaker learning what to do. From the beginning, when enteringhospice caseload for the critically ill patient, there is nothing that you haveto buy as everything is fully supplied. They were always on call anytime day ornight even for the simplest questions even to check medication at unusualhours.
What was so convenient to us is the fact we never had to go anywhere?It was a blessing because it was hard to move him. He received care at home with nurses comingto our home daily, and the doctor even made a home visit too. Hospice servicesare available everywhere, just talk to your medical professionals aboutit. Most insurance will pay for Hospicecare. We are very thankful for the help we received when we needed it; theyalways knew what to do.
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