hospice Archives - Page 2 of 3

A Day in the Life with Heidi, a Therapy Dog

May 9, 2019 by Elizabeth Neufeld

On a cold and dreary April morning, Heidi, a shiny-eyed Golden Retriever, is ready for the task she feels made for. Her vigilance for the patients at TRU Community Care’s in-patient Care Center at Longmont United Hospital is unmatched. Heidi has found her joy and ultimate purpose in providing the care needed to support the patients and their loved ones. Every visit she brings a ray of sunshine onto the unit, as she struts off the elevator, ready for the task at hand.

TRU Community Care has provided pet therapy services to patients since 2010, and Heidi has been one of their star volunteers for several years. On this particular Tuesday morning, Heidi is going to be visiting with three patients. She pokes her nose into the first patient’s room without hesitation and then quickly backs up and retreats before Heidi’s human companion, Beth Risdon, can assess the situation. The patient is sleeping and Heidi seems to know that she isn’t needed in that room, or at least not yet.

Heidi looks to Beth, as Beth inquires with the nursing staff as to which patients Heidi should visit with next. As if she understands English, Heidi is up and walking toward room number 5 before the nurses have even finished giving Beth some details on the patient.

Heidi wags her tail as she walks down the hall, eagerly anticipating the visit ahead. Beth knocks and Heidi wags gently at the door. Together they walk in to approach the patient who is sitting facing the cloudy skies out of the window.

Without missing a beat, Heidi walks right up to the patient, who eagerly scratches her head and coos at her. She takes it all in and seems to know that this is what life is all about. After having immersed herself in the love and healing energy of Heidi, the patient looks up to see Beth standing there and begins to tell a story about her two dogs, one of which only knew French commands.

Heidi’s beginnings were on a farm in Nebraska. Her human got sick when Heidi was about two and had to abandon all the animals on the farm. She quickly found herself adopted by Beth’s family in Longmont, Colorado. It was shortly after Beth’s family brought her home that they realized that Heidi possessed the qualities of a great therapy dog. After some time, Heidi started going on walks with a group of retired me who all worked together at IBM, now retired. Bernie, their neighbor, comes to get Heidi and take her on these walks every day except Sunday for a 3.5 mile loop. Heidi is very aware that this walk is a part of her routine.

Her disposition is sunny and bright with a love for routine. Beth realized that Heidi was special and would make a great therapy dog. Two and a half years ago, Beth began the process of getting Heidi and herself certified and trained as a pet therapy team. Heidi was five and a half when she got certified; she is now eight years old. After Beth and Heidi’s final evaluation, Beth reached out to TRU Community Care to see if they would be interested in having the therapy session trainings. And thus, the idea of Heidi being a therapy dog for patients at the end of their life in need of this type of healing support, was born.

The first day on the job, Beth knew that TRU Community Care was going to be a good fit for Heidi. “She walked into a patient’s room and immediately knew what to do.” says Beth. The patient had breast cancer and asked if Heidi could join her on the bed. Beth checked in with the caretaking team and they gave the okay. With that, Heidi jumped up and plopped her head down right on the patient’s chest–where she knew her cancer lived. The patient looked up at Beth and said with a smile, “She knows.”

And that she does.

Now, they both have a weekly session every Tuesday morning at the care center. Beth and Heidi are available to anyone who wants to see them or be with them during this time. Heidi’s work with family members has been incredible. It varies in reaction, but if their loved one loved dogs or they miss their companion, then it can be a very emotional experience. Heidi becomes a vehicle for conversation, re-counting of their history, and ultimately creates an environment that they open up to.

At times, Heidi will come in when a patient has just passed away. Beth will introduce Heidi and she will lie down while everyone begins to pet and love on her. Gradually, everyone will begin to tell stories and open up about their experiences. Heidi is super clued into the emotion about the death and is able to provide a level of empathy that doesn’t come with words.

When Heidi’s therapy vest goes on, she can’t wait to get to the care center. She is all in, going every Tuesday for two years.

For more information about TRU Community Care’s Pet Therapy Program, please visit trucare.org.

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TRU PACE Celebrates 2nd Birthday with a Prom!

April 29, 2019 by Elizabeth Neufeld

TRU Community Care’s program, TRU PACE, celebrated its second year with a prom last Thursday for all of their participants and staff!

A day to honor the success, growth, and future health of the TRU PACE community.

Since opening the TRU PACE program in 2017, this innovative model has served more than 154 participants. The PACE model is designed to provide a community of all-inclusive care for individuals in need of nursing-home-level services, helping them to live as independently as possible. Events like the TRU PACE Prom highlight the many social benefits of the PACE model.

Joy, laughter, and smiles fill the room, making it quite evident the value and need of this program for the elderly, in illness and in health. TRU Community Care is devoted to making sure that life is supported and cared for at every moment.

PACE, Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, is a permanent Medicare program, established in 1997. The program is an essential part of TRU Community Care as it supports a variety of acute, preventative, and long term continuance services that are sustained in health care services and integrated by the community of TRU.

The purpose of the PACE program is focused on providing a unified community of health care services to support the following:

An enhanced quality of life
Maximized dignity of and respect for older adults
Participants autonomy – to live at home, with their community, for as long as medically and socially possible
Preservation and support of the participant’s family unit

Each service of PACE is crucial to providing well-rounded health for the participant that supports their mind, body, and disposition in life.

All of the members that make up the TRU PACE program are essential to supporting TRU Community Care’s mission and experiences like the TRU PACE Prom!

According to the 2010 census, only 3.1% of older adults in need of care lived in nursing homes, most prefer to stay at home. TRU Community Care provides every service possible for these transitions faced later in life, in and with a community of experts, volunteers, and families.

2010 Census

TRU PACE is a program of TRU Community Care, a Colorado-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Though the PACE program is a part of the Medicare/Medicaid governmental program, donation-based support is necessary to maintain a high level of health, community, and support that is so necessary to the participants.

You can donate is so many ways!

To learn more about how you can volunteer and/or donate, please visit: https://www.trucare.org/giving-back/ways-to-donate/.

For more information about TRU PACE, please visit: https://www.pace.trucare.org/.

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Spring News!

April 12, 2019 by Elizabeth Neufeld

The snow is melting, the sun is out, and we are looking forward to the spring season with updates on the latest from our donors, care specialists, group meetings, volunteer appreciation, and more! Read more to find out the latest from our Spring Newsletter. A few highlights are included below:

Understanding Palliative Care, palliative care is often misunderstood to be one and the same as hospice care, but palliative care is NOT hospice care. It does not replace the patient’s primary treatment but works together with the primary treatment being received. It focuses on the pain, symptoms, and stress of serious illness most often as an adjunct to curative care modalities.

TRU Community Care is excited to introduce our renovated TRU Palliative Care (TPC) program which takes an interdisciplinary approach! This approach provides coordinated care with the patient’s primary physician in order to enhance the patient’s healthcare experience, improve the patient’s quality of life, and ensure that treatments and care are focused on the patient and family’s goals of care. TPC is a collaborative approach to managing your physical, emotional, and social needs depending on your needs.

Tele-Consult Study Partnership with mHealth Impact Lab and CU, TRU recently solidified a partnership with mHealth Impact Lab at the Colorado School of Public Health, CU Anschutz Medical Campus. This partnership will lend additional strength and validity to TRU’s tele-consult study, which was launched in October, thanks to a grant from NextFifty Initiative. TRU strives to better meet patients’ needs in the most efficient and affordable way possible; the final study results will be shared with CMS and NHPCO in an effort to influence the ability of hospices to use the tele-consult model to complete regulatorily required face-to-face visits.

We Honor Veterans, Our veterans have bravely served us. It is now our privilege to serve them. Veterans with life-limiting illnesses face unique issues that can exacerbate physical and emotional symptoms at an already difficult time. In response to these challenges, TRU Community Care offers TRU Heroes, a special end-of-life care program that’s based on the principles of comfort, choice, dignity, and respect and tailored to the specific needs of veterans and their families. If you are a veteran or someone who is passionate about serving veterans and would like to assist with our We Honor Veterans efforts, please contact info@trucare.org.

We Honor Volunteers, This week is national volunteer appreciation week and we celebrated with a luncheon to honor our loyal volunteers. Our volunteers serve the TRU Community Care mission by supporting our patients and their families, in grief, and with administrative tasks. We’re so thankful for the important work they do to support our cause. Special thanks to the youth group of First United Methodist Church in Lafayette for donating decorations, Chili’s of Lafayette for donating the food, the Threshold Singers and Brune Macary for providing musical entertainment, and TRU staff who helped put the event together. It was a wonderful occasion!

TRU Grief Groups Explore Expressive Arts, we are thrilled to offer two new grief groups, Yoga After Loss and Writing Through Grief.

Yoga After Loss is a support group for those who wish to explore grief through the practice of yoga, using breath-work, poses, and meditation. This group meets on Wednesdays in Lafayette from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. for six consecutive weeks.

Writing Through Grief is a support group that meets on Wednesdays in Boulder from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. for six consecutive weeks. Loss and writing are both very personal experiences. This class provides the opportunity to blend the two in a safe, non-judgmental setting.

Visit here to register.

TRU Ethics Committee, Founded in the 1990s, TRU’s ethics committee was among the nation’s earliest hospice ethics committees in the country. The committee serves in an advisory capacity to:

Provide input to TRU administration on program policy that has ethical dimensions
Assist in developing guiding documents related to ethical issues
Provide an arena in which staff can discuss current clinical/patient care dilemmas, prepare to prevent and resolve ethical dilemmas, and conduct retrospective review of difficult cases
Plan educational offerings for staff on ethical issues

The process of ethics consultation helps answer the question, “what is the best/right thing to do here?”

TRUe Friends Give Back, Dr. Alan Snyder, the founding Medical Director of Boulder Hospice (now TRU Community Care), created the “Circles of Life” sculpture, inspired by TRU’s mission. Dr. Snyder generously donated the sculpture to TRU on behalf of TRUe Friends, a group dedicated to supporting and advancing exemplary care at the end of life, including the leaders (*) who founded TRU as Boulder Hospice in 1976. Thank you to the members of this incredible group: Al Canner, Jane Carlson, John Fleagle, Carolyn Henninger, Ardee Imerman, Jean Jasmine, *Marcia Lattanzi Licht, Heather Le Masurier, Jere Mock, *Kathryn Oakes, *Beau Rezendes,
Peggy Richardson, Claire Riley, Judy Schilling, Darv Smith, *Alan Snyder, *Karin Sobeck, and Peg Young. “Circles of Life” is located outside the main entrance to TRU PACE on Park Lane in Lafayette. Please stop by to see the sculpture and to take a tour of PACE!

Donor Spotlight, TRU PACE recently received a generous $15,000 grant from the Herbert and Judy Paige Family Foundation in support of
our work to provide preventive, primary, acute, and long-term care services that enable elderly individuals to continue living safely in the community. This grant specifically allows TRU PACE to expand usage of MedaCubes, which are “medication robots” with web portal analytics to help frail elders take their medications as prescribed and maintain their independence.

Save the Date! These events are coming up this spring and summer:

Veteran Benefits Seminar: Education on End of Life Care Planning, Wednesday, May 1, Howe Mortuary in Longmont
Caregiver Symposium, Wednesday, May 22, Boulder Jewish Community Center
Butterfly Memorial and Release, Saturday, June 22, TRU PACE Labyrinth in Lafayette
TRU Palisade Peaches Sale, Peach Pick-Up: Saturday, August 10, TRU PACE in Lafayette

Visit trucare.org/events for more information!

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Four Siblings, 2400 Hours Of Volunteer Work, and One Hospice

April 9, 2019 by TRU Community Care

In honor of Volunteer Appreciation Week, we sat down with four of TRU Community Care’s longest standing volunteers; a family of four siblings. All of whom have dedicated over 2400 hours to supporting TRU’s mission. We wanted to better understand their motivation for being a hospice volunteer and gain a better understanding of what it takes to do this kind of work.

When Steve Boselli first started volunteering for a hospice organization, it was during the AIDS epidemic in the late 1980s and early 1990s in downtown Denver. He was drawn to the Mother Teresa’s organization, Seaton House which helped the ailing by providing respite and hospice care.

Little did he know, that this would turn into over 1300 hours of volunteer work with TRU Community Care for himself and an additional 1200 hours of volunteering for three of his twelve siblings.

Don Boselli, Steve Boselli, Denise Boselli, and Sharon (Boselli) Thomas are brothers and sisters from Boulder County. All of whom share a passion for serving others and have collectively served over 30 years with TRU Community Care in both the in-patient TRU Care Center and in-home hospice with TRU Community Care.

Their family’s passion for helping others is apparent and understandable given their upbringing with a father who was a Deacon in the Catholic Church. The fact that all four of these siblings have chosen to volunteer with TRU is what makes this family unique.

“Spending time with people at the end of their life is really peaceful and beautiful. You are there to hear their story, to comfort them, and to give a little relief to their caretaker” as told by Denise Boselli.

These siblings don’t have training in healthcare or caretaking other than the robust training that is provided by TRU Community Care. They did however care for their sister, Mary, who died in 1999 of ALS, and also their father, Bud, who died in 2010. They set up hospice in the home for both their sister and father and the twelve siblings took shifts for over three months to support the process.

While it was a different feeling in caring for his sister and father, Steve tells us that working with TRU Community Care patients, “ is about learning from those that we work with, their families, their lives, their gratitude toward others. You don’t always know the situation that you are going to walk into, so you need to be flexible and accepting to the environment, but caring for them is the easy part.”

TRU realizes that there are a lot of misconceptions about volunteering for a hospice organization, including that you have to be there for the patient when they die and hold their hand. Don explains that this really isn’t the case. “Most of the time patients are awake and sharing stories with you. And when they aren’t feeling up to being social, you can just sit there and be a presence in the room in case they need something.”

All the siblings explain that a big part of the volunteer job is being there for the nurses, who are working 8-12 hour shifts. In order to support them, they bring them food, coffee, cheers, and are there to really pump them up.

“If more people know about the reality of this type of service, perhaps more people would volunteer for TRU Community Care–there are so many different ways to show up.” says Sharon.

It’s the small things that matter when doing hospice volunteer work including gestures, reading, music, listening, and showing up. The Boselli family has learned to do these things well and to teach others along the way. They all plan to continue their work with TRU and share their stories, so that perhaps others will be motivated to volunteer as well.

— Thank you Boselli Family for sharing your story with TRU Community Care!

If you are interested in volunteering for TRU, please visit the volunteer section of our website to learn more.

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One Year of Volunteering with TRU

March 26, 2019 by TRU Community Care

My name is Stephanie and I have been a volunteer at TRU Community Care for a year. Working with TRU Community Care has helped me put my own life in perspective. It has been a learning experience about the challenges and experiences and, yes, joys people go through at the end of life and it has taught me to treasure each moment with my family and friends. In my year, I have worked with people from age 25 to age 100. Some of them lived with disease for years and one of them had been diagnosed the month before going to the care center. I have realized that none of us has a contract on our lives, and I have learned to take advantage of the times I have with the people I care about.

There are a wide range of options for volunteer experiences with TRU. This last year, I worked as a companion, provided respite care, provided transportation, and provided assistance with patients in the care center. The staff at TRU tries to match the volunteer experience that fits your talents and provides the most personal satisfaction for you. I have found that no matter what I was doing, It was a deeply touching and meaningful experience.

When I retired, I had to recreate myself and decide what I wanted to do now. I ended up with a goal of finding a head job, a heart job, and a job that would make use of my creative talents. TRU provides the heart job that I need. It is not unusual for people to ask, “How can you do that type of work?” and, “Isn’t it uncomfortable for you?” Volunteering with TRU can sometimes be an emotional experience, but as a volunteer, I am doing whatever I can to make sure that the patient has the opportunity to live every moment until they die. One patient was talking with me about her fear of dying, and it led to a conversation about her family that had us both belly laughing. She looked at me and said, “Thank you for making me laugh.” That was a moment unlike any other and the reason why I volunteer.

My family has used hospice twice in the past several years. Both times I watched the compassionate hospice team care for my loved ones. I will never forget how helpful, kind, and compassionate they were for me and my family who found ourselves in unusual, confusing, stressful, and emotional circumstances. We learned that hospice isn’t something to fear. It would have been much more difficult for us if hospice had not been there to provide day and night advice and assistance. I put it in the back of my head that I would try to give back if the opportunity came up for me.

The first assignment that I took after I completed hospice volunteer training was with an 89-year-old woman. She wanted to memorize the Gettysburg Address before she died. I was so impressed that a woman who was at the end of life still had a bucket list that I jumped at the chance to work with her. We spent many hours over a few months time going over and over the Gettysburg Address. When she got tired, she would recite poetry to me that she had memorized over the years – The Village Smithy and The Children’s Hour. I heard about her life with her husband – they had been together since kindergarten. I met her family. It was an honor to spend time with her, and I had a real sense of satisfaction in knowing that, in a small way, I helped her achieve a goal she set for herself. I am amused with the idea that somehow, somewhere she has run into Abraham Lincoln and they had a good old time discussing the Gettysburg Address. I’m sure she told him how difficult the last two sentences are.

There have been many moments of hospice volunteering that I will treasure. The 100-year-old woman who played the piano for me as we sang Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill. Her daughter told me she had not played the piano in months before that point. There was a gentleman who I took to the grocery store to buy cigarettes and a lottery ticket so he could win and give his son a lot of money. He had not lost his interest in what was going on in the world and we had rousing political discussions. There was the man who wanted me to read Hank the Cowdog to him. And the woman who couldn’t speak, but she FaceTimed with her grandchildren regularly.

Volunteering with TRU has also helped me understand how important it is to make my family aware of my end of life wishes. Death is, perhaps, the hardest thing to talk about. But having that conversation before the emotional distress of a crisis kicks in will help my loved ones know the setting that I prefer, with the amount of end-of-life intervention that I want to have. The medical staff who takes care of me will be able to work with my family to provide the care I want, and my loved ones will have better grief outcomes.

My first year at TRU Community Care has been a special one. Every person I have worked with has had different needs, but I found that no matter what kind of person they are or what kind of life they have led, when it comes to the end, something as simple as listening, smiling, offering a caring touch, or just being there can provide real comfort. Volunteering with hospice is a genuinely gratifying experience.

If you are interested in volunteering with TRU, please visit the volunteer section of our website to learn more.

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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

Boulder City Officials Volunteer at TRU Hospice Thrift Shop

September 26, 2016 by TRU Community Care

Friday, September 9 was United Way’s Annual Day of Caring, the largest single-day volunteering effort. More than 1,000 volunteers donate their time and effort on this special day, and this year’s event was no different.

Employees from the city of Boulder volunteered their time at the TRU Hospice Thrift Shop, located at 5565 Arapahoe Ave in Boulder. Among them was David Farnan, Library & Arts Director. As he was sorting clothing to be priced and merchandised, he came across a darling shawl from the 70s. “Check out this pattern. I think it has some pizzaz.”

David Farnan, Library & Arts Director for the City of Boulder, volunteers at the TRU Hospice Thrift Shop

While many people know about TRU’s thrift shop, there are still those who don’t. For every item donated and then sold, a piece of TRU goes home with the recipient. All proceeds from the thrift shop are reinvested in TRU hospice care in Boulder and surrounding counties. At TRU Community Care, hospice patients and their families receive peace, comfort, and the ability to experience end of life as comfortably, confidently, and fully as possible.

View more Day of Caring photos on our Facebook page.

To become a volunteer at the thrift shop, contact Lynn McCullough or call 303.604.5353.

Our Care Center Has Moved!

May 25, 2016 by TRU Community Care

TRU Community Care has relocated its hospice inpatient unit to Longmont united Hospital, 4th Floor South as of April 2018.

Since 1999, TRU has operated a hospice inpatient unit – the only facility of its kind in the area. The hospice inpatient unit offers patients around-the-clock nursing care, state-of-the-art pain and symptom management, emotional and spiritual support, and personalized attention. These services will continue at TRU’s new inpatient unit, located on Longmont United Hospital, 4th Floor SOuth, 1950 Mountain View Ave. Longmont, CO 80501.

We remain committed to making space available for hospice patients and their families, and are excited to be working with Longmont United Hospital.

Father’s Day Butterfly Memorial is set for June

May 10, 2016 by TRU Community Care

Remember the fathers, stepfathers, uncles, grandfather and other special men in your life at our annual Father’s Day Butterfly Memorial on June 19.

Both kids and adults are invited to come create mini butterfly gardens to attract your own butterflies at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster. Art and gardening supplies will be provided.

The event will start at 11:30 a.m. as attendees plant mini gardens filled with flowers and plants that attract butterflies. At noon, there will be a short ceremony and those who wish to share a memory may do so at that time and leave a love note at the memory table. There will be cake and juice to follow.

The butterfly release will be 12:30 pm in the rainforest wing. The Butterfly Pavilion is offering discounted admission of $5 per person for this segment of the program. Pre-registration is required.

If you go …
What: TRU Community Care’s Father’s Day Memorial and Butterfly Release
Where: The Butterfly Pavilion, 6252 W 104^th Westminster, CO 80020
When: June 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
How much: $5 admission to Butterfly Pavilion
More info: RSVPs are required to Michon by calling 303-604-5330

Join us for our 40th bash!

May 10, 2016 by TRU Community Care

Mark your calendars! In celebration of our 40^th, TRU Community Care will be hosting an anniversaryparty on Sunday, June 26 from 2 to 5 p.m. and all of TRU’s supporters are invited to attend. The celebration will also include the grand opening for our new PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care of the Elderly) and Grief Services building. PACE is a comprehensive program that helps nursing-home eligible seniors live as independently as possible.

The event will be held at 2593 Park Lane in Lafayette, around the corner from our existing administrative offices on Trailridge Drive. We hope to see you there!

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What Is Hospice Care?

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