Blog

Holiday Grief – You’re Not Alone

December 16, 2016 by TRU Community Care

Do the holidays make you feel uneasy? They are fast approaching. If you’re dreading them due to the loss of someone you love, know that your feelings are normal and you are not alone. Read on for tips on how to get through these days.

Be Open to New Traditions
For some, continuing traditions without their loved one there may be an important way to continue sharing their memory. For others, it may be more comforting to develop new rituals to help lessen the pain and immediacy of the loss.

Accept the Sadness
Let yourself feel your feelings. By allowing yourself to experience the sadness, it will pass more quickly than if you ignore it, hoping it will go away.

Remember Your Loved One
Light a candle, tell a funny story, create ornaments using photos, and talk about your special someone to keep the memories alive.

Reduce Your Stress
Take the time to prioritize what should be done, such as holiday baking, shopping for gifts, and decorating. Don’t try to do everything at once, and don’t overextend yourself or the commitments you make to others. Trust yourself first and foremost.

Practice Extreme Self-Care
Be gentle with yourself. You’ll feel so much better when you listen to your body and nurture it with the things it needs. Be just as kind to yourself as you were to your loved one.

Discover Small Joys
Gratitude makes for a happy heart. Take delight in the little things. Whether it’s the laughter of children or a hot mug of coffee, look for the good in each day.

Get more information on TRU Community Care’s grief services by calling 303.604.5300 or visit our Grief Services page.

Don’t Wait to Talk About Hospice

December 14, 2016 by TRU Community Care

It’s an all too common situation. A family is at the bedside of a loved one who is seriously ill and nearing the end of life. Each member of the family has a different idea of what should be done and what the patient would have wanted.

Far too many people wait until they are in the midst of a health care crisis before thinking about what options are available or what type of care they or their loved ones would have wanted.

Often, by waiting too long to learn about possible options, like hospice care, people end up spending difficult days in the hospital or the emergency room and opportunities to be with loved ones at home are lost.

What Is Hospice Care?

When a family is coping with a serious illness and a cure is no longer possible, hospice provides the type of care most people say they want at the end of life: comfort and dignity. Considered to be the model for high-quality, compassionate care for people with a life-limiting illness, hospice care includes expert medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support. Care is provided by an inter-disciplinary team of professionals and trained volunteers. The wishes of the patient and family are always at the center of care.

Most hospice care is provided in the home – where the majority of Americans have said they would want to be at this time. Care is also provided in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospice centers, wherever the patient resides.

Who Pays for Hospice?

Hospice is paid for by Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance plans and HMOs, and patients with advanced illness are eligible for hospice when the have a life expectancy of six months or less. Many hospice patients live longer than expected when they begin receiving the high-quality care that the hospice team provides. On average, hospice patients live another 21 days beyond their peers who did not receive hospice services.

In addition, TRU Community Care is a local nonprofit 501[c]3 hospice; we will not deny an eligible hospice patient care due to lack of ability to pay for services.

TRU Community Care provides families with information about care options that help to ensure patients live as fully as possible throughout their entire life.

One of the best ways to make sure you and your loved ones benefit fully from hospice, should you ever need this care, is to talk about it before it becomes an issue. Remember, the sooner you call us, the more we can help. 303.442.0961

Homeless Dog Gets New Vest Thanks to TRU Hospice Thrift Shop and Caring Man

December 9, 2016 by TRU Community Care

Yesterday, a man named David was walking along and saw a homeless woman with a dog outside where it was freezing. The dog was so cold it was shivering. David drove to our thrift store, but we didn’t have any dog coats. So, our volunteer Heide helped him find a people vest that could be adapted for a dog. David purchased the vest and took it back to the woman and the dog. This is a pic of Thor in his almost-brand-new dog coat courtesy of David and TRU Hospice Thrift Shop.

Thor staying warm in his new vest from TRU Hospice Thrift Shop.

Boulder Food Group and Conscience Bay Company Donate Funds to TRU Community Care

December 2, 2016 by TRU Community Care

Local companies Boulder Food Group and Conscience Bay Company recently hosted their 929 PRL Summer Series event on July 14 benefiting TRU Community Care. Each year, the two companies choose local nonprofits and host a benefit on their behalf. The festivities on Pearl Street include live music, delicious food and drink, great company, and individuals who have dedicated their careers to helping others.

This year, BFG and Conscience Bay generously donated $2,733.61 to TRU. We are extremely grateful for this donation, as all proceeds go toward funding hospice care for those who otherwise couldn’t afford to pay. Thank you Boulder Food Group and Conscience Bay Company!

Tom Spier (left) Founder & Managing Partner of Boulder Food Group and Eli Feldman (right) of Conscience Bay Company

TRU Community Care Joins the Global #GivingTuesday Movement – Pledges to Raise Funds for Uninsured Patients

November 28, 2016 by TRU Community Care

For Immediate Release: November 28, 2016

Contact:
Maria Thomas, Communications Coordinator
mariathomas@trucare.org

(Lafayette, CO) – TRU Community Care has joined #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving that harnesses the collective power of individuals, communities and organizations to encourage philanthropy and to celebrate generosity worldwide. Donations to TRU Community Care can be made here and support hospice care for uninsured patients. Occurring this year on November 29, #GivingTuesday is held annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday to kick-off the holiday giving season and inspire people to collaborate in improving their local communities and to give back in impactful ways to the charities and causes they support.

During 2015, TRU served 1,411 patients and families who were living with a terminal illness or with an advanced disease, offering their expert medical, emotional, and spiritual care and support.

1,153 patients received hospice care
258 received palliative home health and social work counseling
422 stayed at the TRU Hospice Care Center at some point during their treatment

Of these patients, $67,495 was provided in indigent services to people who did not have the means to pay for care.

92Y − a cultural center in New York City that, since 1874, has been bringing people together around its core values of community service and giving back − conceptualized #GivingTuesday as a new way of linking individuals and causes to strengthen communities and encourage giving. In 2015, the fourth year of the movement, #GivingTuesday brought together over 45,000 partners in 71 countries and helped raise nearly $117 Million online in the US alone.

“We have been incredibly inspired by the generosity in time, efforts and ideas that have brought our concept for a worldwide movement into reality,” said Henry Timms, founder of #GivingTuesday and executive director of 92Y. “As we embark on our fifth year of #GivingTuesday, we are encouraged by the early response from partners eager to continue making an impact in this global conversation.”

Those who are interested in joining TRU Community Care’s #GivingTuesday initiative can visit the Ways to Donate page for more information. For more details about the #GivingTuesday movement, visit the #GivingTuesday website, Facebook page, or follow @GivingTues and the #GivingTuesday hashtag on social media.

About TRU Community Care

TRU Community Care serves Boulder, Adams, Jefferson, and southwest Weld counties. TRU Hospice of Northern Colorado offers services in Greeley and extends to Weld and Larimer counties. Additional services include grief support groups, which are available to anyone in the community free of charge. It is a privilege for us to help those who are grieving regain their balance and resume healthy living. Grief groups include adult, teen and child as well as equine therapy. At TRU Community Care, we add life to days, because that’s what TRUly matters. The sooner you call, the sooner we can help – 303.442.0961 or visit trucare.org.

About #GivingTuesday

#GivingTuesday is a movement to celebrate and provide incentives to give—the 2016 iteration will be held on November 29, 2016. This effort harnesses the collective power of a unique blend of partners—nonprofits, businesses and corporations as well as families and individuals—to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. #GivingTuesday inspires people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they celebrate and help create a better world. #GivingTuesday harnesses the power of social media to create a global movement dedicated to giving around the world.

It’s Never too Late to Thank a Veteran, Even at the End of Life

November 10, 2016 by TRU Community Care

Americans across the country celebrate Veterans Day on November 11, a special day to salute the men and women who have bravely served our country in the military.

These fellow Americans have made profound sacrifices in defense of freedom and they deserve our heartfelt thanks and appreciation. Honoring our nation’s Veterans includes supporting them throughout their entire lives, especially at the end.

As our nation marks Veterans Day, TRU Community Care deepens our commitment to increase Veterans’ access to the compassionate, high quality care available from the nation’s hospice and palliative care providers. One of the ways we’re making this happen is through our active involvement with We Honor Veterans, an innovative program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization that was created in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

There is something else that’s important for every American to do – and that is to say, “thank you” to our country’s Veterans. Not just on November 11 but all year long.

Ask your friends, neighbors, coworkers, and others in your community whether they have served in the military (you may be surprised how many have)—and thank those who have served for their sacrifice.

It surprises many Americans to learn that every day, 1,800 Veterans die. That’s more than 680,000 Veterans every year – or 25 percent of all the people who die in this country annually.

If you know a Veteran who is in need of the special care hospice brings to people facing serious and life-limiting illness, please reach out and help them learn more about care options by visiting trucare.org.

To all of our nation’s Veterans, thank you.

Hospice Helps Patients and Families Focus on Quality of Life

November 3, 2016 by TRU Community Care

For Immediate Release: November 3, 2016

Contact:
Maria Thomas, Communications Coordinator
303.624.5245
mariathomas@trucare.org

TRU Community Care Makes More Meaningful Moments Possible

(Lafayette, CO) – November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month and hospices across the country are reaching out to raise awareness about the highest quality care for all people coping with life-limiting illness.

“Every year, nearly 1.6 million people living with a life-limiting illness receive care from hospice and palliative care providers in this country,” said J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. “These highly-trained professionals ensure that patients and families find dignity, respect, and love during life’s most difficult journey.”

Hospice is not a place. Hospice and palliative care programs provide pain management, symptom control, psychosocial support, and spiritual care to patients and their families when a cure is not possible.

Hospice and palliative care combines the highest level of quality medical care with the emotional and spiritual support that families need most when facing the end of life. Through this specialized quality care, we see many patients and their families experience more meaningful moments together. Hospice helps them focus on living despite a terminal diagnosis.

Although the word ‘hospice’ may carry a heavy weight, the weight seems lighter when you have good people on your side. That has been our experience with TRU. Their kindness has made this very difficult window of our lives just a little easier to cope with. We are very grateful. – Ciara, daughter of a TRU patient

Throughout the month of November, TRU Community Care will be joining organizations across the nation hosting activities that will help the community understand how important hospice and palliative care can be.

More information about hospice, palliative care, and advance care planning is available from TRU Community Care at trucare.org.

Stories showing the many ways hospice makes more special moments possible can be found at www.momentsoflife.org.

TRU Community Care serves Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette, Broomfield, Erie and beyond. TRU Hospice of Northern Colorado offers services in Greeley and extends to Weld and Larimer counties. Additional services include grief support, which is available to anyone in the community free of charge. It is a privilege for us to help those who are grieving regain their balance and resume healthy living. Grief groups include adult, teen and child as well as equine therapy. At TRU Community Care, we add life to days, because that’s what TRUly matters. The sooner you call, the sooner we can help – 303.442.0961 or visit trucare.org.

TRU Grief Services Invites Community to Lights of Life Holiday Remembrance

October 27, 2016 by TRU Community Care

This holiday season, TRU Community Care invites you to remember someone who has been special in your life by attending our Lights of Life Holiday Remembrance Event on Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 5:00 p.m.

Join TRU Community Care’s Grief Services department for a holiday remembrance ceremony on Dec. 8.

Our indoor event will feature a reading of names, music, and a luminaria ritual, along with light refreshments. You will have a chance to connect with others who are in similar situations and feel more supported going into the holidays.

Guests are invited to bring a photo or memento to place on our memory table. If you choose, you may also bring a story, poem, or reading to share during a designated time in the service. You may also come and just sit quietly.

Directions

2593 Park Lane, Lafayette, CO

TRU Community Care’s Grief Services office is located on the corner of Forest Park Circle and Park Lane in Lafayette, near the intersection of 95th and Arapahoe. The building is cream stucco with stone and has signs out front indicating that both TRU Grief Services and TRU Pace are housed in the building.

From the West
On Arapahoe going East, you’ll cross over 95th Street and take your first right on Forest Park Circle. Our building will be the second building on the left.

From the East
Going West on Arapahoe, you’ll cross over HWY 287 and drive about 1.3 miles. You’ll take a left onto Forest Park Circle and the office is will be the second building on the left.

Gold Hill Inn Raises Over $1,500 for TRU Community Care

October 21, 2016 by TRU Community Care

Gold Hill Inn‘s concert on October 9th to benefit TRU Community Care raised over $1,500. Brian Finn, owner of the Gold Hill Inn and the Bluebird Lodge (the 2-story building next door) has been supporting TRU since we took care of his parents, the original owners of the Inn. Brian’s daughter, Katie, is now serving as a social worker with TRU Community Care, keeping it in the family!

Thanks to everyone who attended the Bob Dylan tribute and supported the important end-of-life care, grief services, and community education we provide for Boulder County and surrounding areas.

Brian Finn, owner of the Gold Hill Inn, hosted a Bob Dylan tribute concert, with all proceeds benefiting TRU Community Care.

The Bluebird Lodge

PIZZAZ! Celebrates 40-Year Mission

October 14, 2016 by TRU Community Care

Blast-From-the-Past Event Raises $80,000 for TRU

Guests of TRU Community Care’s annual fundraising gala arrived at the Denver Marriot Westminster decked out in disco clothes, Vietnam vet attire, and groovy 70s prints. This year’s theme—Peace, Love & PIZZAZ!—celebrated TRU’s 40th anniversary of serving the community. In honor of those 40 years, the blast from the past included a 1970s-themed dance party. Attendees enjoyed the music of live band Soul School as they bid on items in the silent and live auctions, drank signature psychedelic cocktails, and boogied the night away.

Eric and Jessica Beck, with Jessica’s father Bob Von Eschen, boogied the night away.

Saying Yes When It TRUly Matters

Throughout the evening, guests were reminded of TRU’s mission: to ensure that everyone in our community can live with advanced illness as comfortably, confidently, and fully as possible. We say yes to anyone needing our help, regardless of their ability to pay.

Can you imagine being in one of the most vulnerable times of your life and not having any support? Would you feel safe? Imagine what it feels like to be told no during a time when yes matters. One day you, too, will face death, and you won’t want to be alone. And at TRU, we strive to say yes to everyone, no matter their circumstances.

Recently, our TRU Hospice Care Center staff and volunteers cared for a man named Steve.

Steve came to us having suffered a massive stroke. His care needs were great, and he was not able to return home from the hospital; he needed help beyond what anyone in his life could offer, and like so many times in the past 40 years, because we have a care center for the most acute and most complex cases, we were able to say, “Yes, we can help.”

Adding Life to Days

The goal of our healthcare system is to cure the incurable; to fix the unfixable; to use our vast systems of technology and know-how to make people whole again, and when that isn’t possible, it’s hard for us to accept. Well, Steve was in a place of acceptance; he knew that what he needed was a place for compassion and a place for peace.

You Can Help Us Close the Gap

At TRU, we take on the most difficult end-of-life cases; we say yes because we know that people like Steve have no other place to turn. We are able to say yes because community members like you understand that with your help, we can take care of Steve in the most respectful, most compassionate way possible. One guest who attended PIZZAZ! remarked,

In the midst of the festivities, we were rightly called back consistently to the mission of TRU Community Care. PIZZAZ! is a good instrument over the years to span the reality of end of life care with vitality and hopefulness. The 40th anniversary added meaning to this rendition.

We are grateful to each and every one of you who attended PIZZAZ! to offer hope and comfort to those in our community requiring such important and dignified end-of-life care. Your decision to say yes helps us further our mission.

L to R: Maria Thomas, Communications Coordinator; Pat Mehnert, Interim President & CEO; Diana Slough, Event Chair; Annette Mainland, VP of Philanthropy; Jessica Sharley, Philanthropic Services Specialist

View more photos on the TRU Community Care Facebook page.

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