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:

• Caring For Our Community During COVID highlights the many ways we’ve provided care for our patients, participants, families, staff, and volunteers throughout this pandemic.
• TRU’s Path Forward focuses on what lies ahead for TRU, and more specifically, for TRU PACE, TRU Tele-Care, and programming for those impacted by dementia and Alzheimer’s.
• Why I Give features a few TRU staff members talking about why they support TRU.

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.

^{Left to right: Representative Sonya Jaquez Lewis, TRU PACE Executive Director Sam Black, Governor Polis, and Colorado State House candidate Tracey Bernett.}

TRU was honored to receive a visit from Governor Jared Polis, Representative Sonya Jaquez Lewis, and Tracey Bernett this morning. In May, TRU received funds from the Colorado COVID Relief Fund grant initiated by Governor Polis to support communities impacted by COVID-19. TRU’s grant funding was used to help provide adequate PPE for our front line staff.

^{Governor Polis, speaks with TRU COO Jim Woodard and Director of Access and Palliative Care Chad Hartmann.}

While visiting, the Governor and his team toured the TRU Tele-Care Center and TRU PACE and thanked us for the important work we are doing. His team was intrigued by the future of telehealth, and we anticipate further conversations with them about the path forward.

Thank you all for participating in TRU’s second annual “Take Flight” Butterfly Release and Memorial. Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic and the shift to safe, independent butterfly releases, we had 140 participants (not including family and friends), and 367 butterflies were released! Whether you made a donation, joined the virtual program, picked up and released a butterfly for a loved one, or all three, we hope you had a meaningful experience. Please enjoy this compilation of your photos and videos:

A silver lining to the challenges presented this year was the opportunity for each family to choose where, how, and with whom to release their butterflies. Some did so at the cemetery; others in their own back yards. One participant shared, “Such a well organized event, and for our family with no funeral options at this time, it was extremely meaningful and helpful.” Another told us, “I looked so forward to this humbling day; my butterfly was so beautiful and so ready to fly away to live its life just like (my loved one) was ready to live his new life. Thank you so much for giving me this moment.”

Again, thank you. Our hearts are with you all.

TRU Community Care President and CEO Michael McHale joins KGNU News Director Maeve Conran and co-host and end-of-life educator Kim Mooney to discuss the evolution of end-of-life care, advance care planning, and the landscape of hospice and palliative care in the age of COVID-19. Topics include the use of telehealth in the care of hospice patients, the business and ethics of end-of-life care, and the tools available to navigate the relief of suffering, the dying process, and grief support for the family afterwards.

Listen to the discussion here.