“More men are choosing to become hospice volunteers as they see other men struggle with end of life issues,” said Dottie Hildebrand, hospice volunteer coordinator. Tony Sagare is one of those volunteers who believes in ‘hands on’ work.
Tony grew up in England and moved to Yakima [...] Continue Reading…
“No, thanks, I don’t need a chaplain.”
We in hospice hear this sentiment expressed frequently.
And I admit: If I was eligible for hospice, and a nurse and social worker came to officially admit me to the hospice program, and I was told that a chaplain would be contacting me [...] Continue Reading…
Talking with Kids about Loss
Joanne was 12 years old when her mom died. She was not allowed in her mother’s bedroom those last days of her mother’s life. When it came time for the funeral, an aunt (whom Joanne had never met) stayed with Joanne while the adults went [...] Continue Reading…
“Hospice volunteers play a myriad of roles in the holistic hospice setting,” said Mark Young, hospice development director. Henny Gasparac is one of those volunteers who goes beyond the expectations – always giving so freely of herself and her talents.
Henny grew up in the Yakima Valley and [...] Continue Reading…
It was a sunny but cold afternoon when I took Bob Brown and his son, Chris, out to the Cottage site. Many in the Yakima community know them as the owners of Wray’s Supermarkets. Bob and his family have underwritten the Library/Reading Room in the Cottage in [...] Continue Reading…
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Many grievers express a variation of this feeling:
“I need something to distract me from my grief.”
Makes sense. Problem is, it’s easy for that kind of distraction to turn into unhealthy escapism: staring at a screen for hours; retail therapy (aka, shopping); becoming reclusive; diving into the potato chips or [...] Continue Reading…
Helping Your Kids Cope with Loss—Part II
How can we help kids either prepare for a loss or walk through a loss? Continue to look at how we adults are acting, and then back-track.
For example, there’s an exotic and mysterious woman named Laurie (it’s not me, of course, but, er, [...] Continue Reading…
“Betty lost her husband this year. I want to invite her to our Christmas party, but I’m not sure how. I don’t want to say the wrong thing, of course, and I find myself nervous about talking with her. What should I do?”
How about being honest? Put yourself in [...] Continue Reading…
I was glad to have the opportunity to show several of the Hospice Steering Committee members the construction progress on Cottage in the Meadow. They were pleased to see so many workers on-site working to keep the project on schedule.
With the framing just about done [...] Continue Reading…
