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JANUARY 2019

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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 so much for the competent and compassionate care that you provided for my brother. Our family was very pleased and grateful for all you did."

"Thank you is not enough to express our gratitude for all that you did for my family and my brother in the final days of his life. You brought us all comfort and provided my brother the dignity and care he deserved."

Sometimes the Little Things are the Big Things

Dr. Leslee B. Cochrane

Executive Medical Director

Dr. Leslee Cochrane - Hospice of the Valleys"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."

ROBERT BRAULT - American Writer

As we enter into the New Year I am reminded of how very beautiful and precious the "little things" of life really are. Perhaps my most favorite of "little things" in this season of life is time spent with my family over the holidays. Now that three of our four children are in college, my wife and I really cherish every moment we have to spend together as a family. When we get together around the dinner table, we each list off our top 1-2 things we would like to do during our time together and then we work out our schedule to try to squeeze in as many of the items on the wish list as possible. Each year there are so many fun things to choose from that it is difficult to decide just what to do.

We all make choices each day about where we will go and what we will do with our time. Some of these choices are more difficult than others; but the ability to make our own choices is one of those "little things" that turns out to actually be a very, very "big thing." Granted, sometimes having too many choices can be a bit overwhelming. For example, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal there are over 87,000 coffee drink combinations available at your neighborhood Starbucks. Now you know why it takes so long for the folks in front of you to make up their mind.

The ability to make our own choices becomes especially important when it involves decisions surrounding our health such as who our healthcare provider will be. Although many people are enrolled in health care plans that severely limit their choices to a small group of providers, the Medicare Hospice Benefit allows all Medicare beneficiaries to choose their Hospice provider, even if you are enrolled in Medicare HMO. If you are not satisfied with the care you are receiving, the Medicare Hospice Benefit also allows you the option to switch to another Hospice provider of your choice. At Hospice of the Valleys we believe that the patient is the one who should be in control of their plan of care and each member of our team endeavors to treat each patient the way they would want their family to be treated. As a locally based non-profit agency, Hospice of the Valleys has been serving the patients in our community for over 35 years and we believe that when it comes to your health care, it is your life, your journey and your choice.

Your Life, Your Choice

By: Dr. Lynn Euzenas

Director of Spiritual Care & Bereavement Services

Dr. Lynn Euzenas - Hospice of the ValleysDear Friends:

Choice is a powerful thing. It profoundly impacts us on a daily level. We may choose to sleep in, and then get caught in that "next wave" of traffic. We may choose to check out the weather forecast before leaving the house, and be happily warm cuddled in the sweater we chose to wear. We may choose not to return that email that angered us right away, but to let ourselves calm down and avoid a misunderstanding. Some of our choices are less mundane: we may be making choices on the survival of a relationship or a career, or be making critical health care decisions about life changing treatments.

Choice is a powerful thing. Knowing that, I have come to believe in the phrase, "Your life, your choice." So many people suffer from what Vanessa Scotto calls "fear of selfishness syndrome';" that is, if we undertake an action based upon self-care, that others might think us selfish. We've been programmed, as humans, to hold in high estimation the belief that caring for others is more virtuous that caring for ourselves. In many ways, this is a truth which is a hallmark of being human. But when that is always all that we are doing, to the depletion of our own health and well being, we can be in danger. Self-neglect is the silent partner of a lack of self-care: which is why people who run support groups for caregivers encourage self-care as a primary action. A noteworthy 1999 Stanford University study reports that caregivers have a 63% higher mortality rate than non-caregivers: putting one's vital needs second and not refreshing one's mental, spiritual and physical well-being, can be deadly.

A quote by Parker Palmer captures the importance of embracing your life and your choice as a matter of self care: "Self-care is never a selfish act-it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on this earth to offer to others."We have more to give when we care enough to care for ourselves. Self-care is not selfish. Self-care, however, is a choice.

Choice is a powerful thing. Erica Cornwall writes, "Decide you want to thrive. That you deserve the best life possible and that you wan to show up as often as you can." This is your one life: what choices will you make that will let you live it to the fullest, and with great joy and love? How will these choices strengthen your ability to care for others, to make a difference, to be a better spouse or father or grandmother or friend? It is your life...and your choice.

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