Literature Review

Senator Lorraine R. Inouye announces release of $200,000 for Hospice of Hilo Improvements Hawai'i State Senate; 10/22/24Senator Lorraine R. Inouye (District 1 – Hilo, Paukaʻa, Papaikou, Pepeʻekeo) is pleased to announce that Governor Josh Green has released $200,000 in capital improvement project Grant-in-Aid funds for the Hospice of Hilo. ... “This funding will significantly improve the facilities and services at Hospice of Hilo, ensuring they can continue to provide critical care to our community,” said Senator Lorraine R. Inouye. “Supporting organizations like Hospice of Hilo helps build a stronger, more compassionate future for Hawaiʻi ..."

Southern Tier Health helps HomeCare & Hospice, Total Senior Care on USDA grant Olean Times Herald, Olean, NY; by Kellen M. Quigley; 10/22/24 A collaboration between three local agencies looking out for the health and well-being of their clients is getting a modern technological boost thanks to a federal grant. The Southern Tier Health Care System, Inc. (STHCS) was recently awarded nearly $140,000 through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Rural Utilities Service Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program. This funding is meant to empower rural communities by leveraging advanced technology to connect residents and healthcare providers, overcoming the challenges of distance and low population density. Of the total grant, $114,606.80 was allocated to HomeCare & Hospice and Total Senior Care for state-of-the-art digital communication and remote learning tools, including high-definition displays, advanced cameras and integrated audio systems.

Hockey team helps with Hotcakes for Hospice at Oswego Elks Lodge Oswego County News Now, Oswego, NY; by Lauren Royce; 10/20/24 People poured into the Elks Lodge on West Fifth Street in Oswego Sunday morning, happy to buy a breakfast and enjoy some pancakes, eggs, bacon and other staples with friends and family. It was all for a good cause. The Friends of Hospice in Oswego County (FOHOC) hosted its sixth annual Hotcakes for Hospice breakfast with the help of the SUNY Oswego men's hockey team. For head coach Ed Gosek, it is a way to give back to the community while honoring the memory of his wife, Mary, who died in hospice care in 2017. ... The Lakers were outside holding signs by Bridge Street and inside helping serve food and clean tables for guests. ... Elena Twiss, executive director of FOHOC, said that bringing in the hockey team was a great way to bring the community together, and that the players and coaches have been a valuable resource all six years they've helped out.

Pink Ribbon Ride in Houlton raises over $9,000 for local hospice home WAGM-8, Presque Isle, ME; by Rothery Sullivan and Karri Triplett; 10/16/24 Over 64 Jeeps came out to participate in the annual Pink Ribbon Ride held in Houlton this past Sunday. The event consisted of a silent auction, raffle, and jeep ride throughout Southern Aroostook. The County Jeep Riders of Hope hosted the event to raise money for the Aroostook House of Comfort, which is a six-bed in-patient hospice home in Presque Isle. Abbey Clair, the executive director of Aroostook Hospice Foundation, says she is very grateful to have been chosen as this year’s charity.

Hospice of the Western Reserve receives $3M gift Cleveland Jewish News; 10/16/24 Hospice of the Western Reserve announced a landmark $3 million leadership gift from The James and Angela Hambrick Foundation to the Quality of Life capital campaign, according to a news release. The gift to the capital campaign will help build a new Hospice Care and Community Center on Lake Erie in Cleveland, the release said. “The ideal of nonprofit superior end-of-life care for our community runs strong through us,” James Hambrick, retired chairman and CEO of Lubrizol Corp., said in the release. “My wife, Angela, and I are very pleased to make a major leadership gift toward the new Hospice Care center.” ... “We are profoundly grateful to James and Angela Hambrick for their extraordinary generosity,” Bill Finn, president and CEO of Hospice of the Western Reserve, said in the release. ... The new Hospice Care and Community Center, scheduled to open in 2026, will feature 32 private patient rooms, all with views of Lake Erie, enhanced family spaces and state-of-the-art technology to support the increasing complexity of end-of-life care, the release said.

Fun Run participants honor loved ones while raising funds for hospice care The Baynet, Waldorf, MD; by Hospice of the Chesapeaker; 10/14/24 Wearing commemorative T-shirts, flouncy tutus and colorful socks, the runners and walkers in Hospice of the Chesapeake’s Blue Crab Fun Run came to have fun while supporting an essential Charles County not-for-profit organization. They were cheered on by Reuben B. Collins, II, Esq., President of the Charles County Board of Commissioners, who served as Grand Marshal for the inaugural event. Collins said he was grateful for the support and guidance he received while his father was cared for by Hospice of the Chesapeake in 2022. “I am thinking of my father today and I know he is smiling down on us this morning,” Collins said. He encouraged participants to dedicate each of their steps to the memory of a loved one. ... The event raised nearly $30,000, with all proceeds benefitting patients and families in Charles County, ensuring they have access to expert and compassionate supportive, hospice and grief care.

Hospice in a hurricane: How Empath Health responded to back-to-back disasters Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 10/11/24 Hospice providers in the southeastern United States are reeling from the impacts of two massive hurricanes that have occurred during the past two weeks. ... The Florida-based hospice and senior services provider Empath Health saw the majority of its service region affected by [Hurricane Milton], which caused substantial damage to infrastructure in many communities. Empath reported no major injuries among its employees, according to CEO Jonathan Fleece. However, some employees did lose entire homes or experienced significant damage, as well as cars and other essentials. ... “We do our best through pre-storm planning to come up with our communication plans with our patients and their families, ...” Fleece told Hospice News. “When we can’t reach people by phone, once we have any kind of access to roads, we will do our very best to do some sort of a check in.” These efforts are coordinated through an emergency management team, led by commander Matt Chaloux, that engages in disaster planning and response, Fleece said. Building on lessons learned from Hurricane Ian in 2022, Empath also established a mobile response unit — a vehicle designed to provide clinical, communications and logistical support during catastrophic events. The unit is modeled after similar vehicles used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Empath Health has set up a fund to aid employees who were affected by the hurricanes, helping to provide them with housing, transportation, child care and other needs, according to a statement posted by Fleece on LinkedIn. The organization's board of trustees has pledged to mathc donations dollar-for-dollar up to $500,000.Editor's note: Click here to donate to Empath Helath's fund to aid employees. 

[NonProfit Pro] How to develop your year-end ask strategy NonProfit Pro; by Jeff Schreifels; 10/8/24 There’s no doubt about it — as a fundraiser, you are now in the busiest, most productive time of your year. Hopefully you’ve developed a strategic plan for your whole year and know how to approach the next couple of months to reach your organization’s financial goals.Still, even with a strong plan, developing the right year-end ask amounts can be tricky. I can’t tell you the hundreds of times I have talked to major gift officers who don’t know the details of their caseload or their donors’ interests and situations. ... And what’s worse is once that pressure to get the money starts coming down, you may find yourself asking for gifts that harm the long-term relationship with your donor. The goal is to come to your donor from an authentic place of partnership. ... These questions will form the foundation for your ask strategy. ...

SBL Hospice Binga raises record amount for endowment Cromwell Media; by SBL Hospice; 10/8/24 Sarah Bush Lincoln’s Hospice Binga event raised a record amount on September 3, netting more than $33,000 to support the Willow Breeze Hospice House Endowment. Since opening in January, Willow Breeze offers a beautiful home-like atmosphere where skilled care is provided to people in East Central and Southern Illinois to stay during their final days while also offering amenities for their families who visit. Earnings from the endowment help those with limited resources pay for their stay. 

Dame Judi Dench paints watercolour to aid hospice BBC, United Kingdom; by Joshua Askew; 10/2/24 A watercolour painted by Dame Judi Dench has helped raise funds for a local hospice that is struggling financially. The Oscar-winning actress' painting of a Scottish landscape - titled Early Sunset Wester Ross - was used to create £150 hand-signed prints. The artworks are being sold in aid of the St. Catherine's Hospice in Crawley, which provides end-of-life care in Sussex and Surrey. "I am thrilled," said Dame Judi. "All the money raised from these limited-edition prints will help provide care for local people." ... Dame Judi is a long-term resident of Outwood in Surrey, which sits in the hospice's catchment area.

Food with love: A Lafayette kitchen provides meals and 'walks that final walk with families' Nola.com; by Catherine S. Comeaux; 10/6/24 Approaching retirement, Kent Zerangue had the idea of running a small catering business in his backyard kitchen. A bowl of gumbo changed those plans. Now, from that kitchen, he and a team of volunteers operate Food With Love — a ministry that brings food, love and guidance to hospice families. ... In 2016, as his own father was in hospice care, a neighbor brought over a shrimp and okra gumbo. It not only comforted and fed the family, but it also set Zerangue to think, “Why not just cook for people and give it away? By 2017, he and his wife Susie began doing just that — first for a friend whose son had a stroke, then another whose husband was terminally ill. Word-of-mouth spread and by the end of that year, they were feeding 10 families. They also began leaving food for families in the freezers at Hospice of Acadiana. Knowing the hospice nurses’ workload didn’t always allow time for food delivery, a hospice volunteer coordinator asked Zerangue if he would like to deliver the meals to families. His initially declined since he was content with just cooking. That is, until he realized that the frozen meals weren’t moving as frequently as he was cooking them. ....Editor's note: What a meaningful ministry that surely makes a difference. This can be easy to adapt for you own hospice. Assess needs. Brainstorm ideas. Find partners and sponsors. As this article's title voices, "walk that final walk with families."

Mercy House of the Southern Tier breaks grounds for $2 million expansion to enhance end of life care WNBF News Radio; by Traci Taylor; 10/1/24Mercy House of the Southern Tier recently celebrated the groundbreaking of its highly-anticipated $2 million expansion project, marking a significant milestone in its mission to provide compassionate care for terminally ill patients and their families during life's most challenging moments. ... Linda Cerra, the Executive Director of Mercy House of the Southern Tier, expressed gratitude towards their hospice partner, Guthrie Hospice of Vestal, along with the Guthrie and UHS Palliative Care teams, Broome Oncology, BGH PCU, and Endwell Family Physicians. Their unwavering support ensures that residents receive the utmost compassionate end-of-life care, embodying the core values of Mercy House.