Caring For Our Community Since 1976.
We want to continue to share with you the stories behind some of the faces of TRU. This year’s focus is on a few of our staff and volunteers who have gone above and beyond to care for our community during the pandemic. and today we feature a TRU volunteer.
We hope you will consider making a gift in support of our work and the people we serve. Make your donation today in support of the faces of TRU.
In 1995, my husband and I were living in a small town near Durango where I volunteered for a rural hospice. I also worked for them as a grant writer and volunteer coordinator, and while there, I realized I had a hospice mentality. Later, when we settled in Longmont, I took a job at TRU as an executive assistant. I did this for five years before retiring, but I continued to volunteer at TRU and also worked part-time in scheduling and then finance.
Volunteering has allowed me to make a difference each day. I get to stay engaged, connect with others, and meet our patients where they are during crucial times in their lives. Before the pandemic, I volunteered at the TRU Hospice Care Center, where I did comfort touch, aromatherapy, and pet therapy with my dog Molly, helped the nurses, and made care shawls.
When COVID hit, volunteers were no longer allowed at the Care Center. I was able to return there in early Fall, though volunteers were still not permitted to enter patient rooms. I’ve been able to help out at the Care Center front desk, stock cabinets, and order meals for patients. It’s such a stressful time and hard to see patients and families isolated and unable to take advantage of all the services volunteers usually provide due to COVID restrictions.
TRU staff and volunteers positively impact the people in our community daily. Even during a pandemic, TRU continues to help those living with illness and loss. I’m grateful for my health and the opportunity to be a part of this work.
Volunteers are an essential part of TRU Community Care. More than 300 volunteers assist in providing patients and families emotional, spiritual, and practical support. Complementary therapy volunteers perform energy work, aromatherapy, music, visits with certified pets, and more. Highly-trained volunteers facilitate many of our grief support groups and staff the TRU Thrift Shop.
We want to continue to share with you the stories behind some of the faces of TRU. This year’s focus is on a few of our staff and volunteers who have gone above and beyond to care for our community during the pandemic. and today we feature TRU CNA, Tim Lopez.
We hope you will consider making a gift in support of our work and the people we serve. Make your donation today in support of the faces of TRU.
| As a young man, I had an accident while working on a dairy farm that landed me in the hospital with severe burns. While there, I was inspired to pursue a career in health care and have been working in the field on and off for nearly 30 years. |
As a CNA, my job is to help patients with activities of daily living – like bathing, grooming, toileting, eating, and moving. But I also see it as my job to make them laugh. I’m here to make somebody happy and to make their dying process as comfortable as I can. I’m here to help people through this journey.
When I meet a new patient I ask, “Where are you from and how did you get here?” I love getting to know them as people. I recently lost a patient I’d gotten really close to. It hurt so much when he passed away that I questioned if I could keep doing this work. I talked to his son about a week after and he made me feel so good about what we do. He kept me going.
During COVID, I’ve worked at a senior living facility with strict limitations on visitors. I see families standing outside of first-floor windows talking to their loved ones and I think, “What about the people on the second floor?” It has to be so hard on them. It’s been nine months like this.
It’s hard for me when I see people not wearing masks and not doing their part. We wear our masks all day, every day, along with additional PPE. It’s hot and it’s uncomfortable, but it’s part of taking good care of our patients and ourselves. I have my parents nearby; I have my grandkids; I have my wife. I need to stay safe and healthy, too.
What am I most thankful for? I’m thankful for work. Especially work at TRU. Of all the jobs I’ve ever had, I’ve never had anybody pat me on the back and tell me so often that I’m doing a good job the way the people at TRU do. Every time a patient’s family member sends in a note of thanks, I get a note from our CEO thanking me. I’ve never had so much affirmation and support.
As we come to the end of another year of service, we want to share with you the stories behind some of the faces of TRU. This year’s focus will be on a few of our staff and volunteers who have gone above and beyond to care for our community during the pandemic.
We hope you will consider making a gift in support of our work and the people we serve. Make your donation today in support of the faces of TRU.
I was working in long-term care and had been interested in the PACE model of care for a few years when TRU started building TRU PACE. Having lived in Boulder for a long time, I knew TRU as a reliable hospice with great people, so I was thrilled to pursue and land a role in the physical therapy department.
As a physical therapist, I’m here to help PACE participants reach their goals. The majority of participants are working to reduce pain or to increase balance, but they often have other goals.
One man wanted to be able to walk to his mailbox on his own. One woman wanted to be able to do stairs so she could visit her sister. One participant – an artist – wanted to be able to stand long enough to give a presentation on his artwork.
Pre-COVID, PACE participants would come to physical therapy appointments in our rehab space within the Day Center. Sometimes the gym would be hopping – it was quite a lively place! We weren’t doing many home visits and we were not using tele-care. We miss the buzz and excitement of a full day center.
When we first shut down, we scrambled to put personalized home exercise programs in place. We made a lot of phone calls in the early days to check in. I appreciated the attitude often embraced by this generation – they seem to say, “Okay, we’ve got this. We’ve lived through hardship before. Let’s do what we need to do.” They are the population most vulnerable to this illness, and they are determined and resilient.
We started seeing participants at home and by tele-care, which was a big adjustment. There was a steep learning curve for video visits, but we’re getting there. We still see a handful of participants in the rehab gym – a limited number – masked, and spaced far apart.
At TRU PACE, every team member plays a role in educating and caring for participants. It’s an honor to be part of such a collaborative team. I am really thankful during this pandemic that I have a job that I like and where I feel supported. And I’m thankful that my family is healthy.
Tuesday, December 8th is Colorado Gives Day, and we’d like to share with you a few of the many faces of TRU – the people behind the work we do.
Please consider supporting our work with a tax-deductible donation to TRU. You can schedule your donation today, or revisit the link on December 8th.
To help TRU Community Care reach its goal of $45,000 raised on Colorado Gives Day, the Paige Family Foundation is matching the first $15,000 donated to our Colorado Gives Day campaign! Help us take advantage of this generous matching gift!
I served in the military, was a firefighter for 21 years, and a police officer in Longmont before becoming a nurse. I’ve always been called to help people. I see the dying process as a natural part of our life cycle – a part that people need help and support with because they aren’t used to dealing with it.
Hospice is for people with six months or less to live, and I focus on patients who are at the very end – those we think are in their last seven days of life. It’s a critical time to support patients and families. I help with pain management but much of what I do is education – helping people know what to expect.
Once, a patient’s son asked if I could tell his mom that she was doing a good job caring for his dad. I was glad to tell her quite sincerely, and I was moved by the relief, gratitude, and pride that washed over her at that moment. Caregivers don’t get nearly enough credit. They just don’t know the signs that they are doing things right, and I get to educate and validate them.
When COVID hit, we focused on making sure patients and families had everything they needed to get them through the shutdown. We made a lot of phone calls. We trained people on how to participate in video visits. I remember driving into work as an essential employee in those early days and seeing only one or two other cars on the road. That’s when the severity of the situation first hit me.
I have had the experience on multiple occasions of walking in to care for a patient who is COVID-positive. It is important to me to support my patients and families, no matter what. My role remains the same – manage pain, ensure comfort, educate, provide compassionate care – I’m just more suited up. I believe in the difference hospice makes at the end of life, so I’m going to keep suiting up and showing up.
I am thankful for a wonderful family and that I have a job helping people. As we said in the military – one team, one fight. We’re all in this together.
Please Consider Supporting TRU for Colorado Gives Day.
TRU held our 3rd Annual TRU Cares Fundraising Luncheon last week which was, for the first and hopefully last time, a virtual event. If you were able to join us, thank you for being there and sharing in an inspiring hour together. If you were unable to join us, we still want to give you the opportunity to view the event. To everyone, thank you for believing in our mission and supporting our work. We hope to be back in person with one another next year.
Here is a link to the recorded live stream on YouTube of the full event.
We heard great feedback on the videos we shared during the event. In case you want to revisit them without viewing the full program, here are the links to find them:
We want to again thank Bob Von Eschen for offering a $15,000 matching gift in memory of Becky Hayes which intended to double the impact of donations made at the luncheon. I’m happy to report… you did it! We raised more than $24,000 during the virtual event to support TRU’s mission, not including sponsorships and the matching gift. In total, the luncheon brought in more than $80,000! And if you missed it, here’s the video in which Bob shares why he was moved to make such a generous contribution.
Thank you to those of you who submitted photos for our memorial slideshow and to Scott Johnson for writing the beautiful song, As the Leaves Fall. We’re grateful to everyone who participated in this moving portion of the event.
We’re sending our heartfelt gratitude to all of our sponsors, founders, board members, volunteers, staff, advisory council members, patients, participants, and families. We feel incredibly honored to be on this journey with each and every one of you.
As in previous years, TRU Community Care invites you to remember someone who has been special in your life by joining our Lights of Life Remembrance Service.
This year’s Remembrance will be an online memorial that will launch on November 14 and will feature music, the lighting of candles, and a celebration of lost loved ones.
We want you, our community members who have experienced loss, to feel supported going into the holidays.
We hope everyone is enjoying Colorado’s often too-short Fall with its colors, cooler weather, and – yes – TRU’s Fall Newsletter. Take a peak inside to see what we’ve been up to. Read about our recent acquisition of Landmark Memory Care, The Conversation Project Updates, high tech (and low tech) ways of coping with grief during the pandemic, and more.
Read TRU’s Fall 2020 Newsletter here.
Today, TRU is announcing its acquisition of Landmark Memory Care Located on South Public Road in Lafayette, Landmark Memory Care has distinguished itself as a quality provider of care for those in our community living with Alzheimer’s and dementia diagnoses. TRU has a number of its PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) participants residing at this small, high quality, family-owned, memory care facility. Landmark, which opened in 2016, employs 20 staff and currently houses 18 residents, approximately half of whom are TRU PACE participants.
“The presence of TRU PACE residents at Landmark and the ongoing relationship between our organizations has been significant in the decision to pursue this acquisition. We have a responsibility to ensure safe and adequate housing for these participants,” said TRU Board of Directors Co-Chair Jim Williams. The relationship also provides for future PACE growth and the concurrent opportunity for Landmark’s offerings to expand.
“This is an incredible opportunity, not just for Landmark and TRU, but for our community,” said Deborah Hanson, Landmark Founder and Administrator. “Our greatest concern has always been the welfare of our residents, and we know that TRU shares that priority and will continue to provide an excellent living environment and quality care for them.”
The acquisition of Landmark was guided by TRU’s mission and its commitment to the community to expand programs and services to meet emerging needs. As the population ages, the needs of people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related illnesses are increasing, and TRU is positioned to expand programs and services in response.
“Meeting the needs of the growing PACE program and the potential to expand Alzheimer’s and dementia care services for the community were primary drivers in this move,” said TRU Board of Directors Co-Chair Martha Coffin Evans. “But we’re also excited by opportunities that a small campus will provide for the continued growth of TRU’s hospice, palliative care, grief services, and the recently opened Tele-Care Center that supports all of our programs.”
Heather Bowie, TRU’s Director of Quality and Compliance, will move into an on-site role as Landmark’s Director of Senior Housing, reporting to TRU PACE Executive Director Samantha Black.
Though last year seems but a distant memory, we would like to share our 2019 Annual Report with you. This publication captures TRU’s 2019 accomplishments and milestones, and it highlights how our staff and volunteers support our community members throughout their journeys with illness and loss. We hope that you enjoy the information and stories we have compiled.
Please view the Annual Report at your convenience, and thank you for the role you play in helping us fulfill our mission. Please continue to support TRU’s important work by making a donation today.
