Dedication in Action

Many Agape staff members work behind the scenes during back-to-back weekend hours to help train new volunteers.  Most of these folks work a full week, and then join us at the office on the weekend to provide required hospice education to our unpaid employees.  

This dedicated group includes Debra Goodstein, Karrie Filios, Kellie Berry, Kelly Bastian and Eve Brogan.  In fact, I don’t believe that Debra, Karrie nor Kelly has missed a volunteer training in many years!  

This past Sunday, we honored our regular weekend and night crew with a pancake breakfast. Aaron C, Kelly B, Scott P, Heather B, Mary F, Leslie A and Claire N all got up with the roosters to come and say an in-person thank you to these weekend and night warriors, working 24/7 to make certain Agape is there when patients and family need us.  

This high level of dedication and care is one of the reasons we provide the best hospice care in the Denver Metro area!  Thank you all.  

Beth  Kelley
Volunteer Services Manager

Veterans Serving Veterans

Gary Gustin served in the US Army during the Vietnam era and started as an Agape Twilight Brigade volunteer just one year ago. In that short time he has made 75 patient visits and an indelible mark on many lives.

Deborah is the daughter of an Agape patient, and she can’t say enough about the ways in which Gary served her father and their family during her dad’s last months. She describes her father as a 6’ 2” tall drink of water, a 91-year-old Army vet who had always been a big, capable guy.

Gary would visit, bringing his unassuming and respectful presence, and over time, the two men forged a friendship.

“The way he loved my dad was remarkable,” Deborah says. “It was amazing to see Daddy revered at that stage in his life.”

She notes that Gary always seemed to know when to stay and when to go.  His presence over the weekends meant that Deborah and her family could take off to go camping and know their dad not only had company, but a person who truly cared for him.

For Gary’s part, he feels honored that families allow him into their lives during this sacred time. He was touched by the way Deborah’s family treated him as one of their own. Gary notes his shock and sadness at encountering a good number of patients who don’t have friends or family, who face the last phase of their lives on their own.

In keeping with the Twilight Brigade motto that no veteran should die alone, Gary has stepped in with his caring presence and the understanding of a fellow service man.

Deborah says that the day her dad died, this past July, the room was wall-to-wall people, including Gary. He attended the memorial service, another gesture that touched Deborah and her family, paying his final respects to a fellow veteran and friend.

You Got the Brains, We Got the (100lb) Brawn

In this edition of Wednesday Warmth I want to tell you about two young and able-bodied volunteers, Rene Rodriguez and Kate Edwards. Last week we got an "emergent call" that the spouse of a patient needed to raise some quick funds and thought she would have a garage sale within a day or two. 
Her husband, our patient, resided in a care center, but she was still in their home. 


Her goal: To empty the garage and make some fast money. 
Problem: How to get everything out of the garage and make it available for sale. 
Enter: Rene and Kate... a.k.a. "Agape Volunteer Movers!" 

The spouse felt she had the brains to run the sale, she just needed some brawn! No problem! Of course, neither Rene nor Kate weighs much more than a hundred pounds apiece, but they each gave up part of their Saturday to make the garage sale happen! And so it did! 

Thanks to our mighty movers and everyone on our fabulous team of volunteers....

Beth 

Lyrical Grace & Full-Circle Gratitude

Over the past few weeks, our wonderful volunteer partner, Moon Over Mountains Threshold Choir, has brought lyrical softness and grace to the rooms of several Agape patients. In two instances, I received extraordinary feedback from family. 

The dying process is clearly intimate, but the time at the 11th hour feels even more profound. Sometimes I'm surprised that families let us in -- and that the choir is not only willing, but feels passionate about, responding to these calls and honored to provide this gift

Last week, I happened to be speaking with the husband of one of our patients about an hour before she passed away. He was telling me about the bedside sing that had happened the night before. He said: 

"Oh my goodness, what soulful women and what an amazing and deeply spiritual experience…it added a softness to the room, and my wife was more calm." 

 I was moved by his words, I hardly knew what to say. In turn, I contacted the song mother from the night before. She said she was thankful for "the nourishment and generosity of the family” in for letting the choir into their lives at such a significant time. Again, I hardly knew what to say. 

It was awesome to witness the full circle of gratitude. 

With thanks to all our volunteers, staff, patients and families.

Beth Kelley
Program Manager

Two to Make a Thing Go Right

Yet another unforeseen pleasure in my job has been watching our volunteers become colleagues to one another. In multiple instances over the past year, some have teamed up to be of collective service to our hospice patients. Not only do they see their patients and submit their visit notes, they also coordinate with one another to stay in-sync in the care they are offering. Two recent examples come to mind with teams Erin and Rene and Ilyse & Gretta. As a result, their respective patients frequently receive 2, 3 and 4 volunteer visits each week -- including, but not limited to, massage, Reiki, Comfort Touch, companionship and laundry (EVERY Saturday at 7:30 AM by request of the patient....). 

These are situations where the patients are intensely lonely and/or alone, young, scared -- or agitated and uncomfortable. The sense of pride and awe I regularly feel in being witness to this collaboration of goodness is extraordinary! 

Here is a recent excerpt from the note written by volunteer Ilyse:

Initially we tried the patient's massage with him semi-reclining in his bed, but he quickly became uncomfortable and breathless in that position. Roseanne, Agape Nurse, was so helpful in calming him, helping him find his "peaceful place" after we had transferred him to the rolling chair. With his afternoon meds, soft New Age music, and Roseanne's coaching, the patient relaxed with the gentle chair massage work. After about 25 minutes he asked to lie down again because, as only this patient could express so perfectly, "That would be ungodly good." So we lowered the head of the bed slightly to a 30 degree angle and used just one pillow( plus the U-shaped neck pillow) and he was able to rest comfortably while I did gentle manual lymph drainage on his legs and feet...and finally he slept.

With deep appreciation for all our volunteers during National Volunteer Appreciation Week ~ and always....
Beth Kelley

Agape RN Wins Caregiver of the Year Award

John Horan, President Horan & McConaty, Agape RN Leslie Abbot,
Judy Pring, Executive Director Sunrise Senior Living at Pinehurst
and Jennifer McBride, MA, FT, DM VP Horan & McConaty

Warmest congratulations to Agape RN Leslie Abbot for winning the Horan and McConaty 2013 Caregiver of the Year Award! She was among 11 other individuals who had received Caregiver of the Month awards throughout 2013 (including Agape's own social worker Clorinda Salazar: AugCaregiverAward).

Leslie was nominated for Horan & McConaty monthly Caregiver Award by Judi Pring, Executive Director at Sunrise Senior Living at Pinehurst. Leslie won this award January 2013. 

Judy had this to say about why she nominated Leslie:

"She is compassionate, knowledgeable and professional. When families are struggling with the dying process, Leslie has a way of putting them at ease through her presence and her vast knowledge. I really appreciate Leslie's understanding of the Alzheimer's disease process and the impacts of dementia on a person and on families. She is an expert with this population and understands the unspoken needs of these residents. She displays an extra measure of compassion to families as they deal with their struggles watching a loved one suffer from this disease. If I had to choose a hospice care provider for my own family, I would not hesitate in choosing Leslie."

Join us in congratulating Leslie for this well-deserved recognition!