This article was originally published by 100 Days in Appalachia, an independent, non-profit digital news publication incubated at the Media Innovation Center at the West Virginia University Reed College of Media. Sign up for their weekly newsletter here. It has always been Lillian Amanaka’s dream to work with patients at the end of life, she says, her accent…
Emergency plans – something that most of us don’t value or see the importance of until we’re in a crisis situation. At Hospice of the Panhandle, we have seen the value of emergency plans in many different situations – specifically those for optimal symptom management and those who help to prepare our staff, patients, and…
By Ashley Horst, Fundraising & Marketing Coordinator For the last 13 years, I have been educating the community about the importance of an advance directive. I’ve spoken on the subject dozens of times with various groups—church groups, civic organizations, hospice volunteers and more. Each time I speak with a group, I invariably hear a version…
By Katrina Stevens Volunteer Services Manager Over the past year, so much of what we have defined as “normal” has changed. We changed every way we interact with human beings—how we communicate, fellowship, work, see and touch each other. Giving back to society also was affected as many nonprofit organizations switched to a work-from-home model,…
By Julie Sayre, MA, LSW, LMFT Social Work Manager As a social worker for Hospice of the Panhandle, I help our patients complete advance directives so that we can honor their end-of-life medical wishes. Many of our patients have not thought about what they would want for their end-of-life care before having these conversations with…
By Tony Pirrone, Chaplain, Hospice of the Panhandle As a chaplain for Hospice of the Panhandle, it is my goal to help people improve the quality of their life, at the end of life. I have the privilege to journey alongside patients and their families, and the honor of being invited into their lives. My…
By Margaret Cogswell, CEO When I think back over the last 30 plus years that I’ve served as the CEO of Hospice of the Panhandle, some of my most powerful memories center around words that people have said or written to me. These words have helped me with my decision-making, influenced the way we care…
It’s no surprise that Steve Johnston is passionate about his new position as an advanced practice nurse for Hospice of the Panhandle’s new palliative care program. He learned from the best. His late mother, Linda, was an operating room nurse at Jefferson Memorial Hospital for 15 years until she retired. Her passion for nursing was…
By Maria Lorensen Development Director, Hospice of the Panhandle The smell of freshly baked sugar cookies wafts through the air. Volunteers line up around the large perimeter of the room, scoping the hundreds of dozens of cookies that lie front of them. Gloves on, they are ready to pack large pink bakery boxes, adorned with…
The COVID-19 crisis has hit us all hard. Our world today looks very different than what it was a few short (but oh, they have felt long) months ago. We have scrambled to get the equipment our staff, patients and their families need—often paying higher prices than normal to make sure that our staff, patients…