Thank you to everyone who participated in our Perfect Peaches fundraiser!

TRU staff and volunteers spent a fun morning greeting customers, loading cars with fresh Palisade peaches, and sharing stories about our connections to TRU Community Care. Thank you to all of our staff and volunteers who helped out! With your help, we were able to put 400 boxes of peaches into peach-hungry hands, and we had a pretty great time doing it!

View our Facebook Photo Album from the day!

A big thanks to all of you who purchased peaches by the box or half box to take home to your families and friends! It was a real pleasure seeing all of you on Saturday, and, by enjoying the peaches we bring in from White Orchard in Palisade, Colorado, you’re helping to support TRU hospice, palliative care, PACE, memory care, and grief services.

And finally, we greatly appreciate the crucial support of our sponsors without whom this event would not be possible. Thank you!

We want to continue to share with you the stories behind some of the faces of TRU. This year’s focus is on a few of our staff and volunteers who have gone above and beyond to care for our community during the pandemic. and today we feature a TRU volunteer.

We hope you will consider making a gift in support of our work and the people we serve. Make your donation today in support of the faces of TRU.

In 1995, my husband and I were living in a small town near Durango where I volunteered for a rural hospice. I also worked for them as a grant writer and volunteer coordinator, and while there, I realized I had a hospice mentality. Later, when we settled in Longmont, I took a job at TRU as an executive assistant. I did this for five years before retiring, but I continued to volunteer at TRU and also worked part-time in scheduling and then finance.

Volunteering has allowed me to make a difference each day. I get to stay engaged, connect with others, and meet our patients where they are during crucial times in their lives. Before the pandemic, I volunteered at the TRU Hospice Care Center, where I did comfort touch, aromatherapy, and pet therapy with my dog Molly, helped the nurses, and made care shawls.

When COVID hit, volunteers were no longer allowed at the Care Center. I was able to return there in early Fall, though volunteers were still not permitted to enter patient rooms. I’ve been able to help out at the Care Center front desk, stock cabinets, and order meals for patients. It’s such a stressful time and hard to see patients and families isolated and unable to take advantage of all the services volunteers usually provide due to COVID restrictions.

TRU staff and volunteers positively impact the people in our community daily. Even during a pandemic, TRU continues to help those living with illness and loss. I’m grateful for my health and the opportunity to be a part of this work.

Volunteers are an essential part of TRU Community Care. More than 300 volunteers assist in providing patients and families emotional, spiritual, and practical support. Complementary therapy volunteers perform energy work, aromatherapy, music, visits with certified pets, and more. Highly-trained volunteers facilitate many of our grief support groups and staff the TRU Thrift Shop.

Please consider supporting TRU with a donation today.

We want to continue to share with you the stories behind some of the faces of TRU. This year’s focus is on a few of our staff and volunteers who have gone above and beyond to care for our community during the pandemic. and today we feature TRU CNA, Tim Lopez.

We hope you will consider making a gift in support of our work and the people we serve. Make your donation today in support of the faces of TRU.

As a CNA, my job is to help patients with activities of daily living – like bathing, grooming, toileting, eating, and moving. But I also see it as my job to make them laugh. I’m here to make somebody happy and to make their dying process as comfortable as I can. I’m here to help people through this journey.

When I meet a new patient I ask, “Where are you from and how did you get here?” I love getting to know them as people. I recently lost a patient I’d gotten really close to. It hurt so much when he passed away that I questioned if I could keep doing this work. I talked to his son about a week after and he made me feel so good about what we do. He kept me going.

During COVID, I’ve worked at a senior living facility with strict limitations on visitors. I see families standing outside of first-floor windows talking to their loved ones and I think, “What about the people on the second floor?” It has to be so hard on them. It’s been nine months like this.

It’s hard for me when I see people not wearing masks and not doing their part. We wear our masks all day, every day, along with additional PPE. It’s hot and it’s uncomfortable, but it’s part of taking good care of our patients and ourselves. I have my parents nearby; I have my grandkids; I have my wife. I need to stay safe and healthy, too.

What am I most thankful for? I’m thankful for work. Especially work at TRU. Of all the jobs I’ve ever had, I’ve never had anybody pat me on the back and tell me so often that I’m doing a good job the way the people at TRU do. Every time a patient’s family member sends in a note of thanks, I get a note from our CEO thanking me. I’ve never had so much affirmation and support.

Please consider supporting TRU with a donation today.

As we come to the end of another year of service, we want to share with you the stories behind some of the faces of TRU. This year’s focus will be on a few of our staff and volunteers who have gone above and beyond to care for our community during the pandemic.

We hope you will consider making a gift in support of our work and the people we serve. Make your donation today in support of the faces of TRU.

I was working in long-term care and had been interested in the PACE model of care for a few years when TRU started building TRU PACE. Having lived in Boulder for a long time, I knew TRU as a reliable hospice with great people, so I was thrilled to pursue and land a role in the physical therapy department.

As a physical therapist, I’m here to help PACE participants reach their goals. The majority of participants are working to reduce pain or to increase balance, but they often have other goals.

One man wanted to be able to walk to his mailbox on his own. One woman wanted to be able to do stairs so she could visit her sister. One participant – an artist – wanted to be able to stand long enough to give a presentation on his artwork.

Pre-COVID, PACE participants would come to physical therapy appointments in our rehab space within the Day Center. Sometimes the gym would be hopping – it was quite a lively place! We weren’t doing many home visits and we were not using tele-care. We miss the buzz and excitement of a full day center.

When we first shut down, we scrambled to put personalized home exercise programs in place. We made a lot of phone calls in the early days to check in. I appreciated the attitude often embraced by this generation – they seem to say, “Okay, we’ve got this. We’ve lived through hardship before. Let’s do what we need to do.” They are the population most vulnerable to this illness, and they are determined and resilient.

We started seeing participants at home and by tele-care, which was a big adjustment. There was a steep learning curve for video visits, but we’re getting there. We still see a handful of participants in the rehab gym – a limited number – masked, and spaced far apart.

At TRU PACE, every team member plays a role in educating and caring for participants. It’s an honor to be part of such a collaborative team. I am really thankful during this pandemic that I have a job that I like and where I feel supported. And I’m thankful that my family is healthy.

Please consider supporting TRU with a donation today.

Tuesday, December 8th is Colorado Gives Day, and we’d like to share with you a few of the many faces of TRU – the people behind the work we do.

Please consider supporting our work with a tax-deductible donation to TRU. You can schedule your donation today, or revisit the link on December 8th.

To help TRU Community Care reach its goal of $45,000 raised on Colorado Gives Day, the Paige Family Foundation is matching the first $15,000 donated to our Colorado Gives Day campaign! Help us take advantage of this generous matching gift!

I served in the military, was a firefighter for 21 years, and a police officer in Longmont before becoming a nurse. I’ve always been called to help people. I see the dying process as a natural part of our life cycle – a part that people need help and support with because they aren’t used to dealing with it.

Hospice is for people with six months or less to live, and I focus on patients who are at the very end – those we think are in their last seven days of life. It’s a critical time to support patients and families. I help with pain management but much of what I do is education – helping people know what to expect.

Once, a patient’s son asked if I could tell his mom that she was doing a good job caring for his dad. I was glad to tell her quite sincerely, and I was moved by the relief, gratitude, and pride that washed over her at that moment. Caregivers don’t get nearly enough credit. They just don’t know the signs that they are doing things right, and I get to educate and validate them.

When COVID hit, we focused on making sure patients and families had everything they needed to get them through the shutdown. We made a lot of phone calls. We trained people on how to participate in video visits. I remember driving into work as an essential employee in those early days and seeing only one or two other cars on the road. That’s when the severity of the situation first hit me.

I have had the experience on multiple occasions of walking in to care for a patient who is COVID-positive. It is important to me to support my patients and families, no matter what. My role remains the same – manage pain, ensure comfort, educate, provide compassionate care – I’m just more suited up. I believe in the difference hospice makes at the end of life, so I’m going to keep suiting up and showing up.

I am thankful for a wonderful family and that I have a job helping people. As we said in the military – one team, one fight. We’re all in this together.

Please Consider Supporting TRU for Colorado Gives Day.