Walk for Hospice Photos

You can view Walk for Hospice Photos on Flickr!

Help others by sharing your story

There are many ways your hospice experience can help others — We are actively seeking hospice families who are willing to help make a difference. To learn more, contact Bob Escher at 607-432-6773 or email bob.escher@cahpc.org

Remember someone special this holiday season

Sunday, November 21, 2010 at 2:00 pm

This holiday season, honor and cherish the memory of your family member, dear friend or even your pet. Our trees, draped with names on heart-shaped ornaments offer a meaningful and special way to remember those near and dear to our hearts.

Tree locations are in Oneonta, Delhi and Cobleskill.

See ornament order card inside For additional information, call 607-432-6773. Ornaments are available all holiday season long.

Short Takes

Helping Hospice Families for Generations to Come

You can assure the future of hospice in our community by making a provision in your will. Your bequest will serve as a timeless legacy for you or your family and provide support to thousands of individuals and families for generations to come. For more information, call Huemac Garcia, Director of Development at 607-432-6773.

Hospice Wish List

There are many ways to support the hospice mission. One way is to donate or help to purchase “Wish List” items. The wish list is always changing and evolving as needs arise. If you would like to support Hospice in this meaningful way, please contact Pamela Finch at 607-432-6773.

Community Events

Many community groups or individuals have created fundraisers to support the efforts of our hospice program. Their efforts are meaningful and essential to the continuity of our services in Otsego, Delaware and Schoharie counties. If your event is not listed below, please let us know and we will publish it in our next issue. If your company or group is interested in fundraising for hospice, please contact Huemac Garcia, Director of Development at 607-432-6773.

We’d like to thank the following groups, their sponsors, volunteers and participants:

• $100: Annual Richmondville Days
• $116.25: Diana Friedell Psychic Readings
• $200: 3rd Annual Antiquarian Books “Private Seller Book Sale”, Hatherleigh Press Ltd, Hobart
• $107.58: Applebee’s July 27th Fundraiser
• $800: Central Catskill Trail Association’s 2010 Poker Run
• $1,000: Delhi Telephone Company’s 2010 Open House Fundraiser
• $48.27: Charles S. Endress – proceeds from Farm and Field Seasonal Decorations Sale
• $100: Gilboa Conseville Central School’s Dress Down Friday “Jeans Day”
• $10,570: 15th Annual Goodyear Lake Polar Bear Jump
• $525: Hudson Highlands Retreat Motorcycle Club’s 2010 Annual Poker Run
• $1,010: Laurine Jennings – 5th Annual “Hotdogs for Hospice and Bake Sale” in memory of Ted Jennings and dear friend Ransom “Carver” Palmer Jr.
• $2,379: MARK Project, Inc’s Catskill Mountain Ride N Bike Cycling Event
• $120: Oneonta Country Club Women’s Golf Association “Beat the Pro Day” in memory of Freda Scavo and Carol Fuller and in honor Golf Director Mitch Milavec
• $5,388: Summit Snow Riders 15th Annual Poker Run
• $27.50: Walgreen’s Customer Appreciation Day

Eleventh Annual Epicurean Better than Ever!

Thanks to everyone who contributed and attended. The Eleventh Annual Epicurean Festival, Food Tasting and Auction was another success this year. Total amount raised was more than $60,000 that will directly benefit local hospice families and children.

Held on April 18, at The Otesaga Resort Hotel, Cooperstown, this was made possible, in part, by our Lead Sponsors: A & D Taxi, A.O. Fox Hospital, Benson Agency Real Estate, Best Wine & Spirits, Clark Companies, Country Club Automotive Group, The Daily Star, Dr. & Mrs. Bryan S. Evanczyk, Gregory Plumbing and Heating, Information Systems Division, Inc. (ISD), Liquor Depot, Dr. & Mrs. James McChesney, MeadWestvaco, and The Shipping Room.

Everyone attending thoroughly enjoyed sampling the delicious food provided by more than 25 local restaurants, caterers and educational food programs, including Alex & Ika Restaurant, A Taste of Europe Restaurant, The American Hotel, Bassett Healthcare, Bella Michael’s, Doubleday Cafe, The Farmers Place, The Golden Guernsey, Good Cheap Food, Heidelberg Baking Company, hoffman lane bistro, It’s All Good, Magnolia’s Fudge, McCadam Cheese, Mt. Fuji Japanese Restaurant, The Otesaga Resort Hotel, Palatine Valley Dairy, Patty Cakes, Quarter Moon Café, Redneck Bar-B-Que/Jive Café, Sodexho Education and Stella Luna Ristorante, SUNY Delhi, which donated the ice sculpture, and Undercover Eggplant Company.

The auction items, many and varied this year, were enthusiastically bid on and our raffle, won by three local residents giving winners
$500, $300, and $200 worth of groceries, helped us reach this year’s total. The musical entertainment was by Big Fish Combo and lovely table arrangements were provided by A Rose is a Rose of Cherry Valley. All our attending guests enjoyed a wonderful afternoon. We wish to also thank the Benefactors, Patrons, Supporters, advertisers, auction donators, everyone who attended and The Otesaga Hotel, for their participation. Support of this worthy cause is truly appreciated.

The Charity Event of the Summer!

Thank you to Mark May and all of our celebrities, ESPN’s John Buccigross, SU’s “Voice of the Orange” Matt Park, our golf and party sponsors, party ticket buyers, auction item donors and winning bidders, Craig Gelbsman and all of our wonderful volunteers who made The Charity Event of the Summer a tremendous success!

Hospice Celebrity Party!

Presenting Sponsors

NBT Bank / Mang Insurance Agency

Corporate Sponsors

Venture Sales Group

Participating Sponsors

New York Central Mutual Insurance

Supporting Sponsors

Brewery Ommegang

Central New York Radio Group

College Association at Delhi

Hometown Oneonta

Meridian Group

Northern Eagle Beverages

PJ Green

Randy Mowers - Auctioneer

The Daily Star

Time Warner Cable Media Sales

Tyson

WKTV

Walter Rich Memorial Hospice Celebrity Golf Classic

Tournament Sponsors

Walter Rich Charitable Foundation

Jett Industries

Major Sponsors

Adirondack Combustion

Astrocom Electronics

John Bertuzzi

Energy East

Meridian Group

New York Central Mutual Insurance

Security Mutual Life Insurance Company

Walter Rich Charitable Foundation

Participating Sponsors

Bill Weldon

Catskill Eye Care Associates

Ferguson Enterprises

Lou Holtz

Karine, Stephanie & Derik Rich

Koester Associates

MAMCO

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Matthew J. Sohns

NBT Bank

New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway

Preferred Mutual Insurance Company

Awards Banquet Sponsors

In Honor of Barbara Ann Jaeger Woods

Lunch Sponsors

Eastman Associates

Golf Cart Sponsors

Weber Oil Company

Family Health Care Decisions Act

June 1, 2010, marked the implementation date for the Family Health Care Decisions Act, a new law that allows family members and others who are closest to the patient to act as surrogates and make decisions regarding medical treatment for a loved one in certain limited situations. The law includes numerous safeguards to ensure sound medical treatment and that decisions are made consistent with the patient’s wishes and best interests. The current law applies only to patients in general hospitals or residents in nursing homes; it does not apply to people at home, in assisted living facilities, or in hospice care. There is, however, a separate section on out-of-hospital do not resuscitate (DNR) orders.

This act establishes a process for determining whether an adult patient without a health care proxy has decision-making capacity. If an attending physician and a consulting physician agree that the patient lacks the capacity to make health care decisions, the law establishes a priority list for choosing a person to be the surrogate decision maker. Anyone lower in the hierarchy (e.g., an adult child instead of a spouse) or in the same category (e.g., another sibling) can challenge the designation. The law also sets out a series of procedural requirements intended to protect vulnerable patients and make sure that the choice of surrogate and the surrogate’s decision are subject to review.

Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care is supporting the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State to ensure that this landmark legislation is expanded to include all patients in all settings. If you have any question on this issue, contact Lola Rathbone at 607-432-6773.

Message from President/CEO: “It:” Media Captures Americans with Palliative Care News

We’ve known it. The study’s show it. Legislation affirms it. The media is sharing it. Every family can benefit from it.

The New York Times, NPR and local media across America have been reporting the study findings in the New England Journal of Medicine that “It,” “Palliative Care” not only helps people live better, it helps them live longer.

Why? People receiving palliative care feel better. Why do they feel better? Their pain is controlled, their symptoms are managed, their fears are addressed, and their burdens are relieved. This immensely eases the experience of living with an advanced illness (for the whole family) and actually promotes the desire to live and live more fully. Palliative care also fosters the opportunity to discuss and make plans for their own futures such as advanced directives and other important life planning decisions.

I offer you the following quote from a daughter of one of our patients, “We were stunned when hospice was presented as an option, but ultimately Mom made the decision herself saying, “We can give it a try. If I don’t like it, we don’t have to keep them.” The consistent monitoring and continuity of care provided by hospice extended her life, without a doubt.”

There has been extensive research on this phenomenon for the past 10-15 years. I wrote the article “Hospice Patients Live Longer – Live Better” for The Daily Star in 2004 quoting research that not only showed that the patients lived longer but also that their spouses lived longer!

This recent study looked at lung cancer patients who along with their cancer treatment received care from a palliative care team. These patients had significantly less depression, had better quality of life, were less likely to receive aggressive end-of-life care, involved Hospice earlier, were more likely to remain at home and lived nearly 3 months longer than those patients who did not receive palliative care.

For the past 10 years we have been providing various levels of palliative/hospice services to thousands of families seeking quality of life.

Recently we have formed a partnership with At Home Care to provide a Palliative Care Pathway which our Certified Palliative Care Nurse, Nurse Practitioner or Social Worker will visit their patients for a palliative care consultation/symptom management assistance. We have also collaborated with the Bassett Healthcare Network to establish an inpatient palliative care team to be launched in the near future.

More and more people are choosing palliative/hospice services. Nearly half of our patients live longer than their six month prognosis in robust fashion. Why? They began receiving palliative/hospice services much earlier in their illness. We have always believed that patients should not be asked to give up anything when they seek palliative/hospice services. Palliative/hospice care is about the abundant services you are getting, not about what you are giving up.

Next time you hear that a friend, neighbor or family member has a serious, progressive illness, do them the good deed of mentioning “It” to them.

“Just Be Happy”

The secret to surviving a plane crash, a flood
and living to be 107 years old
by Ellen Marcantano

Twenty five years ago at the age of 82, Helen Weeden decided to go to an art exhibit in Washington D.C. with a teacher friend of hers from Sidney. They boarded the plane in Binghamton never expecting that upon take off the plane would crash. Helen’s friend was among several people killed in the crash. After being rescued, she spent three months in a local hospital recovering from extensive injuries.

Then at the age of 102, she survived the flood in 2006 that devastated the village of Sidney. She had to flee from her beautiful historical home to get to safety. After the flood, it took time but she was able to return to her restored home in its original splendor after suffering extensive damage.

February of this year proved to be very special. It was the month that Hospice received a lovely gift. Helen became our patient. She was a composite of wisdom, wit and old fashioned charm. She was forthright, amusing and had a wonderful sense of humor.

Helen attained professional goals at a time in history when most women did not pursue a college education. She was born on a farm in New York.

Her mother was a teacher. It did not take her long to decide that she wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps. She was educated at Potsdam Teachers College. Her first teaching assignment was in a one room schoolhouse in Gouverneur, New York. Mrs. Weeden accepted a second teaching assignment in Sidney shortly after her position in Gouverneur. She remained in Sidney and taught 3rd grade for many, many years.

She was a pioneer in managing the concept of a woman “Having it All”- career, home and family. She met her husband shortly after arriving in Sidney. She was married to her husband for 40 years before being widowed. Her daughter Esther lives in California and son Edward passed away on her 90th birthday. She was also a grandmother of two grandchildren and a great grandmother of three. A multi talented woman, her many gifts included writing poetry and painting.

When I first met Helen, she was sitting in her favorite chair reading Ogden Nash in Latin. She shared with a smile that although Nash was interesting, her favorite book of all time was “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott. Helen proved to be just as interesting on a personal level as was her reading material. I was curious to know whether or not she had some secret to being able to attain the wonderful age of 107. I was expecting a revelation about some magical herbs or special foods. She freely disclosed her recipe for life with a huge grin on her face, “Just be happy.” She added that it is important to do all things in moderation.

Beloved by her family and as a friend to many, Helen would use her very special writing talents to honor an individual with a poem carefully written just for them. There is an old fashioned guest book that is carefully placed on an antique podium in her parlor. The yellowed pages reflect the many people who were guests in her home and who had left their names and messages over the years. The grace of this simple practice from days gone by defines the elegance and charm of this very special woman.

The New York State Retired Teachers Association awarded her the honor of being the oldest living retired school teacher in New York State. She also received recognition from the New York State Assembly for her 107th birthday.

Helen was cared for by her beloved caregiver M&M. She had been with Mrs. Weeden for more than 25 years. They had a loving rapport that was carefully nurtured and a mutual respect that was truly enviable. Mrs. Weeden described Hospice as “Being right for me.” Her daughter Esther felt that the presence of Hospice was “reassuring.” She and M&M both agreed that it is a comfort to be able to count on Hospice whenever a problem arose.

Esther stated that she appreciated the fact that Hospice helped educate her family to ensure a working knowledge of situations that her family may find stressful. She most appreciated how Hospice supported her family by letting them know what a wonderful job they were doing as her caregivers -she knew that when doubts and fears would surface, their spirits would need a boost.

All who met Helen were captured by her elegance will truly miss her gentle spirit. For those who only know her by reading this article, may each of you embody her 107 year old secret: “Just be happy.”

Ellen Marcantano, MSW is a Social Worker for Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care. Helen Weeden passed away on June 12th.