Volunteer NewsletterVolunteer Newsletter

Honoring Life ~ Offering Hope

www.seasons.org

“Great things are brought about and burdens are lightened through the efforts of many hands anxiously engaged in a good cause.” ~ Elder M. Russell Ballard

2017 / Volume 1

Examples of legacy projects can include framed handprints, thumbprint pendants, photo albums, music CDs, written books and poems, and Memory Bears that our talented volunteers create out of the patient’s clothing. Volunteers are invited to participate in these projects because of the strong and intimate bonds volunteers often form with patients. We challenge our Volunteer Coordinators and our volunteers to be more involved in these projects that honor life through a tangible item for our incredible patients and their families.

An example of a legacy project that a volunteer took part in comes from Volunteer Coordinator, Denise Welsh, and Social Worker, Irene Ona, at Seasons Hospice of San Diego. Denise shared with us how one of her volunteers, Judith, created a beautiful needlepoint for one of our patients. When Irene asked the family if they would like to create a legacy project the patient’s daughter Val, took Irene aside and presented her with an incomplete craft. Val stated, “My mom started this needlepoint project. She could only finish a quarter of it before she couldn’t needlepoint anymore. Recently, her caregiver told me that my mom (Seasons’ patient) wanted to give this needlepoint as her last gift to me.” Denise asked Seasons Hospice volunteer, Judith, to complete the project. Irene presented the gift to Val who was so grateful and touched by the quality of work. The needlepoint is a beautiful memory of and tribute to her mother!

Of course, that’s not the only way our volunteers help to offer hope to our patients! Recently at the Seasons Hospice Inpatient Center (IPC) in Newark, Delaware, our IPC staff and other Seasons team members pulled together a very special legacy project. When a new patient, Mr. Strong, was admitted to the hospital, the staff were made aware that the patient and his longtime partner planned to be married the next day. They had already made arrangements through the hospital social worker to have a minister come to his room to marry them. Our Seasons team offered to decorate his room with

Volunteers Supporting Legacy Projects Carrie Criss, Volunteer Coordinator, Newark, DE

Our mission at Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care is “Honoring Life ~ Offering Hope.” One of our favorite ways to live out our mission is through our “Legacy Projects.”

Honoring Life ~ Offering Hopewww.seasons.org

Improving Your DocumentationThe Bereavement Team, SHPC of DFW, TX

wedding decorations and flowers. Our team created a bouquet and boutonniere, and the wedding began once he was moved to our unit. Jill and Steve, the Seasons music therapists, played a Pink Floyd song of their choice as his partner walked down the aisle with her mom. Many friends and family members packed the room, along with most of the staff from the IPC and palliative care program. They exchanged vows, toasted with sparkling cider, and shared the wedding cake with everyone. Our staff and volunteers were honored to celebrate with them! Mr. Strong died early the next morning, a happily married man.

As vital members of the Seasons team, our volunteers are encouraged to work alongside our staff in creating lasting memories for the patients and families we serve. Whether you can sew, sing, take photos, paint, scrapbook, shop or attend any upcoming legacy project events – we need you! Thank you for your time, talents, and treasures as Seasons volunteers!

(Volunteers Supporting Legacy Projects continued from page 1)

D Data: What is the patient doing when you enter the room? How do they appear? A Actions: What did you do during the visit? This should match your Volunteer Plan of CareR Results: What did the patient/caregiver do during your visit in response to your actions?O Observations: Why is this patient appropriate for hospice? How have you, as a volunteer, noticed their decline?P Plan: When will you visit again? Do you need to call Seasons to report a change in the patient’s condition?

Volunteer visit notes are written in a “DAROP” format, the same that our supportive care staff use. Volunteers support the hospice appropriateness of patients by charting toward the hospice diagnosis and documenting signs of decline.

“DAROP” format

Some tips to improve your documentation:• Ask your Volunteer Department for the prognostic indicators for the patient’s hospice diagnosis; these are the criteria that make a patient eligible for our services. Knowing the “progs” will help you identify signs of decline.

• Be specific! If you provide socialization and companionship, how much is the patient able to engage? Are they repetitive in their stories or statements? If they can ambulate, do they need to stop and rest periodically?

• Look for physical, emotional and spiritual decline. This often requires some probing questions such as:

“Is our patient eating an adult size portion or a child’s size portion? Are they taking longer to eat? Do they require assistance with meals? Are their food choices changing?”“Are you feeling overwhelmed or concerned about anything?”

• Ask family members to compare the patient’s current condition to the last major holiday; this is a much easier comparison than asking them how the patient is doing now compared to last month.

• If you need further direction, please ask your Volunteer Manager/Coordinator!

Honoring Life ~ Offering Hopewww.seasons.org

Angela Peterkin, M.Div, D.MinVolunteer Services CoordinatorHamilton, New Jersey

Mneme Therapy

About Terry and Mneme Therapy (in Terry’s own words): MnemeTherapy® was first introduced to me when my mother was living at a memory care center in New Jersey. Mom was the first person who received this wonderful gift at her center and I was there to see it. I had no clue that day how it was going to change my life. Mom passed a few weeks later and they gave me her painting. I just wanted to give back to others the gift I received.

Terry Rosiak is a Master Mneme Therapist, and the only one in the state of New Jersey. Terry is a member of Art Without Boundaries and founder of Art 2 Empower. We are so proud to have her volunteer with patients and their families at our New Jersey program.

Art is my passion, both as a photographer and a painter. I am forever amazed at nature’s beauty. I find joy, love and pride in my family. My art allows me to feel that wonderful feeling of sharing what I see with others. It also allows me to feel overjoyed when I see someone I’m working with finish their painting and watch the amazement in their eyes at what they have just accomplished.

Q: What on earth is MnemeTherapy? Is it Art Therapy?

A: MnemeTherapy® uses everyday pleasures such as singing, movement, painting and story-telling in a unique combination to stimulate dramatic changes in the brain. Although our goal is to provide a rewarding experience, documented testimonials show significant improvement in some participants’ verbal skills, mobility, short and long term memory, combativeness, spatial acuity, understanding instructions, and much more. It is not Art Therapy, which is a psychological process and uses expressive or creative art with the goal of exploring feelings.

One of the upsides of MnemeTherapy is that we only use everyday activities that don’t require supervision or certification from the government (you don’t have to ask permission from Uncle Sam to paint and sing!). So we can certify our students for competency and enjoy the autonomy and freedom of running our own show.

The Art Without Boundaries (AWB) Association is a 501(c)(3) organization. AWB has over 70 artists who are Certified in MnemeTherapist throughout the United States.

In the words of the founder of Mneme Therapy, Noell Hammer-Burns:

“[I] feel overjoyed when I see someone I’m working with finish their painting”

Honoring Life ~ Offering Hopewww.seasons.org

MnemeTherapy® (pronounced Nemma Therapy) helps people with cognitive impairments feel good about themselves and what they are able to do. Each session incorporates simple, enjoyable brain-strengthening exercises that include singing, movement, painting, storytelling and praise. By engaging the brain through visual, verbal and sensory exercises, MnemeTherapy seeks to stimulate the brain’s natural ability to adapt and find new ways to rebuild lost functions in adults. In children, MnemeTherapy helps build new pathways in their developing brain, which can help with learning new things. Paintings are chosen by the participants and are completed in one session using a step-by-step process called Directed Painting.

MnemeTherapy provides a sense of success as participants experience the joy of creating something beautiful and going beyond their perceived limitations. All supplies are provided, as well as lots of positive encouragement! The only requirement is a willingness to try.

Who is it for?

Each session is tailored to the needs, abilities and interests of the participant. MnemeTherapy has been used successfully with low to high functioning individuals (children and adults), including those affected by:

• Autism spectrum (Autism, Asperger Syndrome, PDD, ADD, ADHD, etc.)

• Traumatic brain injuries and severe head trauma

• Cerebral Palsy

• Visual and auditory impairments

• Stroke

• All types of dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy Body dementia, MCI, Pick’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Frontotemporal dementia)

Thank you, Terry, for the education on MnemeTherapy! We are thrilled to have you shareyour talents with our patients and their families! You can learn more by visiting http://artwithoutboundaries.one/index.html

(Mneme Therapy continued from page 3)

Honoring Life ~ Offering Hopewww.seasons.org

Volunteering Can Lead to Employment!Ryana Goldberger, MSW, LCSWNational Director, Supportive Care & Patient Experience

Our volunteers join the Seasons family with the intention of sharing some of their free time and the goal of serving others. Some of you have experienced personal loss and want to do your part to help create the perfect end of life experience for those in need. Others have not had any experience with death but feel called to participate in this privileged work. At Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care, we love our volunteers so much that we have hired many of them! We currently have five volunteer coordinators and managers who first started as volunteers. Their personal understanding of volunteer needs and the importance of good matchmaking makes them a more effective leader.

Sarah Hewes, the Volunteer Coordinator in Los Angeles, started as a music companion. “I knew I wanted to help people but had floundered in trying to find it. Rolling my harp across the street in Pasadena and entering the patient’s home felt like the most ‘normal’ thing I had done in a long time. This very anxious patient fell asleep as I played, and I knew I needed to keep helping people at the end of life.” Sarah’s passion and humility were quickly identified, and she was hired by the Los Angeles team.

“Rolling my harp across the street in Pasadena and entering the patient’s home felt like the most ‘normal’ thing I had done in a long time. [...] I knew I needed to keep helping people at the end of life.”

Denise Welsh started as an office volunteer in San Diego, CA, and within nine months had been asked to fill in for the receptionist who was scheduled to be out, recovering from surgery. Denise’s ownership and responsiveness led to a position as an admissions coordinator and later as the Manager of Volunteer Services, which she has held for the past two and a half years.

Honoring Life ~ Offering Hopewww.seasons.org

Barb Cottrell started with Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care with the Maryland program, often giving 40 hours of volunteer time per week, working in the office and assisting the team. She was so dedicated to Seasons and displayed such passion that she was encouraged to apply for a Team Assistant position in Delaware. She took the plunge and has been with the Delaware team since August 2012. Joni Newby, Director of Supportive Care in Delaware, states, “What is amazing about Barb is that although she works 40 hours a week as the team assistant, she still continues to serve as a volunteer. She is one of the dedicated sewers of Memory Bears for the Delaware team. At one point, she was the ONLY sewer of Memory Bears for us. She takes pride in the legacy that she is creating and every stitch that is placed into making these bears reflects her love and commitment to caring for these patients and their families. She has embraced the new volunteers coming in to create these bears and is always striving to make them the best they can be. Thank you, Barb Cottrell, for your dedication, hard-work, and passion as an employee but also as a volunteer!”

Hannah Macy in our Indiana program started off as a volunteer, moved to a part-time position as the administrative assistant and then became a team assistant in 2012. Hannah expressed, “Volunteering definitely prepared me for my position. I didn’t really have to go through orientation when I was hired on since I learned most of the job during my externship.”

We have also hired volunteers as nurses, hospice care consultants, and administrative assistants. Volunteering with Seasons allows the individual and the site to get to know each other, and it doesn’t take long to recognize the TRUE HOPE values in our volunteers who are looking to advance their career.

“Volunteering definitely prepared me for my position [as a team assistant]”

If you know someone who is interested in working in the hospice field,encourage them to volunteer first and try it out!

(Volunteering Can Lead to Employment! continued from page 5)

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