December Newsletter 2024 - Hospice of the Valleys

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HAPPY Holidays 2024 ONE OF THE REAL JOYS OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY, THANK YOU AND TO WISH YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Valley of the Mist We are so grateful for the continued support of Hospice of the Valleys from the community. Valley of the Mist has generously donated to our organization for several years. They are so amazing and so philanthropic!

Notes from Friends Hospice of the Valleys serves hundreds of patients every year. We honor them by sharing their stories. They remind us every day of the meaning and purpose of our work and that human connection is at the heart of the hospice experience. The following are notes Hospice of the Valleys has received from the families of patients that we have been privileged to provide hospice care. "I'm very appreciative of all of the support and help that Hospice of the valleys offered our family." "I attended the 8 week sessions of grief support and the experience was invaluable! I don't feel that I would be where I am today on my grief journey if it weren't for this group." "Thank you Hospice of the valleys for all that you do!" THANK YOU!

Celebrate the Heart of Volunteering Become a Hospice Volunteer Hospice is about family and community... And volunteers bring heart to hospice. Our team always had the need for volunteers in patient support, music, veteran to veteran support, fundraising, administrative support and more. Hold a Hand-Give a Hug-Touch a Heart. Becoming a hospice volunteers is a meaningful and rewarding experience. You can make a difference! *Seeking bi-lingual volunteers for patient support and music* Hospice of the Valleys: Canyon Lake, Fallbrook, Hemet, Homeland, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Murrieta, Nuevo, Perris, Quail Valley, Romoland, San Jacinto, Sun City, Temecula, Wildomar, Winchester Please contact Chrisy Lawless, Volunteer Manager 951-200-7800 or CLawless@hovsc.org for more information. You may also refer to our website page HospiceoftheValleys.org for new training updates.

Seeking Fundraising Volunteers - You can make a difference - Outgoing and Self-Motivated - Detail-Oriented and Good organization skills - Ability to Interact Positively with Guests and a Team. If this sounds like you, we'd love to talk with you about how you can help! Please contact: Chrisy Lawless 951-200-7800 | CLawless@Hovsc.org

Thank you for an Amazing 2024! It is our joy and honor to serve so many in our community facing life's end and to support families during challenging times of loss, healing, and transition. We find that walking alongside families is a sacred experience for everyone at Hospice of the Valleys, and after 40 years, we are so blessed to continue caring for so many in need. This can only be possible because of the generosity of our community. Please consider a generous and tax-deductible gift to Hospice of the Valleys this holiday season. You can feel good knowing that your kindness is allowing all in need to receive the special kind of loving care that we are known for and that your dollars will stay right here in our community. Your kindness will allow us to never turn anyone away, regardless of their inability to pay for hospice care. Additionally, your gift will allow us to pay for so many services not covered by insurance. An example of what your gift means: Recently, the wife of one of our patients shared her experience with Hospice of the Valleys. She told us that her husband had initially been admitted under the care of another hospice provider that was located over an hour's drive away. As her husband's condition progressed, she became overwhelmed as she was not receiving the care and support, she felt she needed. When there was a sudden change in her husband's condition and they did not offer to send out a nurse, her caregiver recommended that she call Hospice of the Valleys. Within an hour, a caring nurse arrived at the patient's home and spent the next several hours attending to the patient's needs and ensuring that he was comfortable. This gift of time was immeasurable when she expressed her appreciation for the ongoing compassionate care provided by the Hospice Team from that first day until her husband's peaceful passing. Because of your support, we can respond quickly to our patient's needs and give the gift of un-rushed, loving care like we were able to do with this family. Your support provides families with peace of mind and knowing that their loved one is not in pain and is being cared for with compassion and competence. Thank you for making a difference in our community. We wish you a happy, safe holiday season filled with cherished moments with family and friends. We give thanks for your valued partnership.

Mary's Bench (Part 4) Mike Patton Bereavement Counselor/Spiritual Care Friendships are maintained by perceived connection, whether routine or serendipitous. Our friendship with Mary was nurtured by near daily connection for the better part of six years. She and several women who lived in the area spent time together, before and during her battle with cancer. Now, since she and Bill moved out of state, and since her death 8 months ago, our connection has changed. Mary's bench on Treasure Island serves as a place to nurture friendships. The two women seated on her bench in the picture below were among the women mentioned above. While the bench will often sit empty, it always has the potential for sharing life together while relaxing on it. Besides being named "Mary's Bench" this double seat is purposefully designed to maximize connection while minimizing distractions. It is placed in a secluded area with a beautiful view... a pleasant distraction, at least. Whenever Mary's Bench is occupied by two friends who knew Mary, there is the likelihood of them experiencing the presence of our missing friend. The privacy of their conversation is protected by the seclusion, but the opportunity to acknowledge their shared grief is magnified by the collective memories they each have of Mary. I'd like to think that people grow in their humanness whenever they embrace their grief; talking about Mary certainly leads to memories of her goodness... an inspiration to all who knew her. Dr. J. William Worden, author of Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy, says that a task of mourning is "to find an enduring connection with the deceased in the midst of embarking on a new life." Grieving Mary's death does not end the tremendous relationship that her friends shared, but provides a way to stay connected with Mary while continuing to live meaningful lives and maintain meaningful friendships. The bench represents "shared" life, a key ingredient to friendship. I encourage you to find an enduring connection with a loved one who has died. Nurture your relationship by sitting with someone who shared the relationship that you are grieving, listen to the stories inspired by your shared grief. We are better people for the relationships that we honor. We grow deeper friendships in the present through enduring connections with the special people in our past.

Jr. Advisory Club We'd like to give a special thank you to our incredible Jr. Advisory Club for their "Love Project". They made Holiday Cards for our patients and their families.

Fighting Feelings of Lone- liness during the Holidays Leslee B. Cochrane, MD. Executive Medical Director In this current age of information, we are now more "technologically" connected than ever. Although the internet has created numerous social-media platforms offering to help us "connect", it seems that people are actually feeling more isolated than ever. Studies have shown that chronic loneliness is a major problem and can increase the risk of premature death by up to 26%. The Holidays are especially challenging for those suffering from loneliness. So what can be done to combat this silent epidemic? Dr. John T. Cacioppo who served as the Director of the University of Chicago's Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience wrote a book entitled: Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection. In an article by Laura Entis titled: Chronic Loneliness Is a Modern-Day Epidemic, Dr Cacioppo explained that a study by the University of California at San Francisco found that 43% of older adults suffer from chronic loneliness compared to only 20% who reported loneliness in the 1980s. When asked to explain this dramatic increase Dr. Cacioppo replied: "We aren't as closely bound. We no longer live in the same village for generations, which means we don't have the same generational connections. That releases social constraints-relationships are formed and replaced more easily today. We have Tinder, Match, eHarmony and all these kinds of places you can dial up and find friendships, connections and opportunities that didn't exist. In the last 15 years or so, many of those face-to-face connections have been replaced with social networking. We've found that if you use social networking as a way to promote face-to-face conversation, it lowers loneliness. But if you use a (social network), as a replacement for the face-to-face, it increases loneliness." So what is the solution to this epidemic of increasing loneliness caused in part by our technology? It would seem obvious that we need to "unplug" from some of our technology in order to reconnect and rebuild our social connections with our family, friends and community. Family traditions such as the dinner table conversations, vacations and holiday gatherings are great opportunities to unplug the phone and reconnect. Finding time to reach out and connect with family and friends during the holiday season can be very beneficial to everyone involved. Another way to address the epidemic of loneliness is through connecting with your faith community. Multiple studies have shown that those who regularly attend religious services experience less depression and anxiety and have lower blood pressure and fewer strokes leading to prolonged survival. Our traditions help us to connect with one another and allow us to share our joys, our pains and our sorrows. If you know of someone who is lonely this holiday season, please reach out and invite them to join you for a time of celebration at home or at your place of worship. In doing so, you will not only help them; but I believe you will find out for yourself that it is more blessed to give than receive.

Volunteer Corner As the holidays approach and we prepare to ring in 2025, our heartfelt thanks goes out to our amazing volunteers! Thank you for making this time of the year brighter for us. We wish you a joyous holiday season and a prosperous new year!

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