Increasingly, research shows that older adults can benefit in myriad ways from the companionship of an animal.

Physical health benefits

Pets seem to help us stay calm in the midst of stress:

- Reduced blood pressure and heart rate. Some research shows improvement even when the “pet” is fish swimming in an aquarium!
- Strengthened immune system. One study found an increase in an infection-fighting blood factor.
- Fewer pain medications. Adults who had pet therapy while recovering from joint replacement used 50% less pain drugs than those who did not.

Mood and activity benefits

For elders living alone, pets may provide a kind of companionship essential to well-being. Older pet owners are believed to be more active than their peers. One study even showed that older adults with pets go to the doctor less often than those without.

Read the entire article…

For more information about Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, visit http://www.hospicecarecenter.org!

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For most family caregivers, frustration and guilt are common, as is anxiety. These feelings are normal and reasonable under the circumstances. And it’s not realistic to eliminate negative emotions. Caring for an ailing family member IS emotionally taxing, especially in the case of memory loss.

But you can avoid amplifying a downer mood. According to stress and coping research, you can reduce your distress by concentrating on the present moment, the here and now.

To interrupt the downward spiral

– observe yourself. Practice noticing your thoughts and feelings. Get curious about your emotions. Explore them objectively, as though you were outside yourself. Your thoughts and feelings aren’t “you”; they are one part of your total experience.

Read the entire article…

For more information about Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, visit http://www.hospicecarecenter.org!

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For most family caregivers, frustration and guilt are common, as is anxiety. These feelings are normal and reasonable under the circumstances. And it’s not realistic to eliminate negative emotions. Caring for an ailing family member IS emotionally taxing, especially in the case of memory loss.

But you can avoid amplifying a downer mood. According to stress and coping research, you can reduce your distress by concentrating on the present moment, the here and now.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE

For more information about Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, visit http://www.hospicecarecenter.org!

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Depression is common in older adults living with a serious illness.
It’s long been known that brisk exercise can help reduce depression. Perhaps as a result of an “endorphin high” or changes in other brain chemicals.

But the exercise doesn’t have to be vigorous, according to new research. Even mild exercise can help combat disease-related depression. This is good news for people who are ill or disabled. Researchers have found that

- completing an exercise task yields a sense of achievement
- achievement boosts our sense of personal power
- increased self-confidence reduces feelings of depression and fatigue

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For more information about Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, visit http://www.hospicecarecenter.org!

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We’re breathing all the time. But when it comes to stress relief, not all breathing is equal.

The body’s stress cycle

- Our bodies are built to handle periodic crises. When we sense danger, our bodies release “stress hormones” that enable us to respond powerfully and fast. When the crisis is over, those hormones are no longer released. The body returns to relaxed, “normal” mode.

- But chronic stress is damaging. When we’re stressed every day, the “fight-or-flight” hormones keep running. Not a lot, but enough to upset the body’s balance and undermine physical health and mood. The body is distracted from its routine tasks of repair and maintenance. This can result in significant consequences.

Read the entire article…

For more information about Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, visit http://www.hospicecarecenter.org!

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The Promise Partnership
A thoughtful and ongoing COMMITMENT to provide HOPE. For $30 a month, $360 a year, Promise Partners gain real ownership – ensuring that we will be here in the future to help anyone in our community who needs the compassionate end-of-life support.

By United Way Designation
You can choose to designate a specific charity to receive your United Way pledge dollars. Hospice & Palliative CareCenter is listed on the United Way pledge form as a choice for your designation.

By Company Matching Gifts
Many companies match charitable donations made by their employees. Your Human Resources Department should be able to provide you with the necessary forms. Please be sure to find out if this is true at your place of employment and send us the matching gift form to increase the impact of your gift.

Through Special Events
Hospice & Palliative CareCenter hosts several fundraising events each year. Click here for more information on ways to support Hospice & Palliative CareCenter.

Through Your Will and Other Planned Gifts
Your will is the cornerstone of your estate planning efforts – your most important legal document. Many of our supporters choose to name Hospice & Palliative CareCenter in their will. Bequests take many forms and require special language. For information on Bequests, Estate, Deferred, Planned Gifts or more. Click here for more information.

Gifts of Stock or Other Property
Many donors find it convenient and beneficial to make gifts of appreciated securities. You can also make gifts of other property such as real estate, life insurance, or retirement accounts. Please call us at 336-768-3972 to discuss your gift of property.

Instructions for Donation of Securities
Please call us at 336-768-3972 to discuss your donation of securities

Memorial or Honorary Gifts

Memorial gifts honor the memory of someone who touched your life in a special way. Many families name Hospice & Palliative CareCenter in obituaries or funeral notices as the preferred beneficiary of memorial gifts. Sample language is as follows:

The family requests that memorial gifts be made to Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, 101 Hospice Lane, Winston-Salem, NC 27103.

Another way to remember your loved ones is to purchase a plaque with your loved one’s name which will be permanently installed on the Remembrance Wall at the Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home on the Winston-Salem campus.

Honorariums provide a way to express appreciation for a living person. The person honored will receive acknowledgement of your gift. Honorary donations are a thoughtful way to remember a person on a special day or holiday.

HOW YOUR GIFT WILL HELP

In addition to providing hospice care, your gifts support needed programs available to our entire community. Most of these programs are available at no cost to anyone in the community. Your contributions support these programs, including:

• Grief counseling to anyone in the community who has lost a loved one
• Advance Care Planning so that end-of-life care choices will be known and legally documented
• Residential hospice care at the Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home for those who cannot be cared for in their own residence
• Education of healthcare professionals in the important areas of end-of-life care and pain or symptom control
• Complementary therapies designed to help patients and families experience the best possible quality of life

For more information on contributing to Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, please contact one of the following staff members at 336-768-3972 or 1-888-876-3663.

For more information about Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, visit http://www.hospicecarecenter.org!

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June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Exploitation of seniors is an issue none of us likes to think about. But it’s a growing problem. Well over a half-million incidents of elder abuse are reported each year.

Elder abuse includes intentional acts of malice, as well as simple acts of neglect or ignorance.

There are seven types of abuse:

• Self-neglect. When a mentally confused elder’s actions threaten his or her health or safety. For example, not eating or not bathing because of dementia.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE

For more information about Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, visit http://www.hospicecarecenter.org!

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Consider taking your career in a new direction!

We are searching for compassionate and caring people to become a part of the HPCC team.

Spotlight positions for this week are:

- Community Outreach Coordinator
- Hospice Home Care Nurses
- Hospice Inpatient Facility Nurses

For more information about Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, visit http://www.hospicecarecenter.org!

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21st Annual Camp Carousel for children, teens, and adults
July 25 – 29, 2011!

Camp Carousel is a bereavement retreat for children ages 6-12, teens, and adults who are grieving a death-related loss.

Campers will find support through small group grief sessions that provide them with a natural outlet for expression of feelings and healthy coping skills.

Special experiences include: creative play, art therapy, expressive movement, music therapy, animal-assisted therapy, and more!

Camp Carousel is open to the community!

Click Here for a registration brochure!

For more information about Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, visit http://www.hospicecarecenter.org!

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This is not a unique story. It’s told over and over. Many of the details and most of the emotions are shared by thousands who choose quality end-of-life care at Hospice & Palliative CareCenter.

The power in Madlon Glenn’s story lies in the very fact that it is not unique. It is the same story. It is a story of caring, compassion and comfort.

Madlon’s Story
Madlon’s mother, Hawley Chambers, suffered a serious injury in January 2008. At first, her family was hopeful that she would survive, but after two months and two unsuccessful surgeries, they called Hospice.

“The Hospice nurse gently broke the news to us that our mother would never recover,” Madlon says. After accepting the care and support from Hospice, the family’s story of pain and despair became one of peaceful acceptance.

“Hospice knew what to do for her and for us,” Madlon says. “They were always so kind. And we were grateful for the option of having around-the-clock care at the Hospice Home.”

When Madlon and her brother, Thornton “Butch” Chambers, visited their mother at the Hospice Home for the first time, they were amazed to see her looking so well. “She was sitting up for the first time in two months, her hair was fixed and she’d had a manicure,” Madlon says.

But the intense level of care Mrs. Chambers enjoyed during her time at Hospice went deeper than a beauty makeover. “She was frightened in the hospital but not at Hospice,” her daughter says. “She was never alone and she seemed more relaxed. She was at peace.”

With Hospice’s help, Mrs. Chambers’ family members found their own peace. As Madlon tells the story, “Hospice makes the patient’s last days mean something and prepares the family to let go.”

For more information about Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, visit http://www.hospicecarecenter.org!

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