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Hospice Honors
Top Work Places 2014-2021
We Honor Veterans

FEBRUARY 2022

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Volunteer Corner
Notes From Friends

Hospice of the Valleys serves hundreds of patients each and every year. We honor them by sharing their stores. They remind us every day of the meaning and purpose in 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.

"Thank you for the respect, kindness and honor you showed our father. Please accept this gift with gratitude. What you do means so much to so many people. So once again thank you."

Our Community's Choice - Trusted since 1982
Top Work Place's 2021
Valentine's Day
Military Veterans: Filing your taxes doesn't have to be stressful!

Caring for the Caregivers

By: Dr. Leslee B. Cochrane
Executive Medical Director

Dr. Leslee Cochrane - Hospice of the Valleys

According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, about 34.2 million Americans have provided unpaid care to an adult age 50 or older in the last 12 months. In most cases, these caregivers were a spouse, partner of family member who provided care to a frail elderly person who required assistance with activities of daily living and medical tasks. Although they do not receive a salary, the estimated value of services provided by informal caregivers has steadily increased over the last decade, with an estimated economic value of well over $470 billion.

Being a caregiver is quite challenging under normal circumstances as many caregivers feel guilty if they spend any time on themselves rather than focusing on the needs of their loved ones. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the need for prolonged periods of isolation and the constant fear of their loved ones contracting the virus has greatly increased the stress on caregivers. These dynamics have placed caregivers at high risk of burnout, which is a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion.

This extra workload acts as a "stress-test" on the caregiver and in order to avoid burnout, caregivers need to have a plan. Caregivers are often so busy caring for the needs of others, that they frequently neglects themselves. To endure the additional stress of caregiving during the pandemic and avoid burnout, it is necessary for caregivers to regularly practice selfcare. Below are several recommendations from the CDC[i] listing steps that caregivers can take to deal with the increased stress associated with the Covid-19 Pandemic:

  • Eat a healthy diet, avoid using drugs and alcohol, and get plenty of sleep and regular exercise to help reduce stress and anxiety. Activities as simple as taking a walk, stretching, and deep breathing can help relieve stress.
  • Establish and maintain a routine. Try to eat meals at regular times, and put yourself on a sleep schedule to ensure you get enough rest. Include a positive or fun activity in your schedule that you can look forward to each day or week. If possible, schedule exercise into your daily routine.
  • Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting. If you want to stay up-to-date on the pandemic, visit CDC's website for the latest recommendation on what you can do to protect yourself and those you care for.
  • Make time to unwind. Try to do activities you enjoy.
  • Connect with others. Reach out to family and friends. Talking to someone, you trust about your concerns and feelings can help.
  • Call your healthcare provider if stress gets in the way of your daily activities for several days in a row.
  • Have a backup caregiver. In case you become sick with COVID-19, a backup caregiver will ensure that your loved one continues to receive care. You can focus on caring for yourself.

Healthcare workers and first responders have been hailed as "heroes" during the Covid pandemic; but I would like to recognize the true unsung heroes of the pandemic - the caregivers who have been providing the day-to-day care for the disabled and the frail elderly! If you know if someone who is serving as a caregiver, please take a few moments to give them a call or send them a letter of thanks in recognition of the amazing work they are doing.

The Life of a Tree

By: Dr. Lynn Euzenas
Director of Spiritual Care & Bereavement Services

Dr. Lynn Euzenas - Hospice of the Valleys

Last weekend I watched a most remarkable nature film, "Borealis." In extraordinarily beautiful images, it tells the story of the Northern Canadian forest unveils the life of a tree. Did you know that the trees of different species connect feelers with other trees so that the forest will survive? Or that individual cells in leaves actually breathe? That trees produce more seeds when another species needs them for food? Or that the seed cones of some trees can only be unlocked to reproduce through the destroying heat of a wildfire?

I was stunned by the coursing of life through the trees and how the forest itself is created by the extension of each to the other. I was struck by how dependent one is upon the others, for life, oxygen, beauty, and as a sheltering habitat for many other species. Most stunningly, I was astonished at how deeply life is both sustained and imprinted upon these magnificent beings. And I was captured by thoughts of how human loving could learn and grow from these lessons.

Love is our very life source. It is the thing which allows us to breathe and grow and sustains and steels us against adversity. It teaches us again and again how vital we are to each other. We cannot live and thrive without love. Love is our life force which acknowledges that we are not meant to be isolated or alone: as we give love, we receive love. Love is that power which allows us to be a sheltering habitat for others, to share sustaining breath, and to recognize how interconnected we all truly are. For as the forest teaches the diversity of the wood is essential for its survival: at is very roots. Love too carries that lesson to us. If understood as that force which connects us all and gives us true life and breath, we can come to understand that there are the seeds which do come to fruition only when heated under the fires of adversity: the is the power of Love.

Life's most profound lessons are often revealed in the wonders of nature. Look to the trees and ponder their beauty. Look into your heart, and ponder the roots and nature of Love.

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  • Top Work Places 2014-2021 Award
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  • We Honor Veterans
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  • Hospice of the Valleys IEHP Quality Hospice Network
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