TRU Community Care Interim CEO Pat Mehnert recently was interviewed by Kaiser Health News for their Navigating Aging column. Read the article here.
TRU Celebrates National Nursing Assistants Week June 15-22
Who are Career Nursing Assistants?
Nursing assistants (also known as CNAs) are key players in the lives of the people in their care. Each day, more than 4.5 million caregivers provide hands-on care to our nation’s frail, elderly, or chronically challenged citizens in nursing homes and other long-term-care settings. These important workers have various titles including: Nursing Assistant, Direct Care Worker, Nurse Aide, Care Assistant, Caregiver, Hospice Aide, In-Home Care Aide, ED Assistant, Resident Assistant, Hospice Assistant, Patient Care Assistant, Personal Care Assistant, Geriatric Aide, Restorative Aide, Health Care Assistant, and many more. Source: cnanetwork.org
Thank you to our TRU Community Care and TRU PACE CNAs! We couldn’t do it without you. Head over to our facebook page to meet some of our amazing CNAs throughout the week.
TRU Celebrates National Nurses Week
Dear TRU Nurses,
May 6th is recognized as National Nurse’s Day, kicking off the beginning of National Nurse’s Week. The provision of hospice care is first and foremost an interdisciplinary team model of care, as the end-of-life process is so much more than a physical experience. Yet, the physical care of a person during the dying process is often the most visible to the observers.
Some of us have been blessed to be able to perform the art of nursing for 30+ years, some for a handful of years. The one common thread for almost every nurse we have ever met is “I wanted to help people.” The nursing teams at TRU, TRU Hospice of Northern Colorado, and TRU PACE come from all “specialties” in nursing: critical care, med-surg, long-term care, psychiatric, pediatrics, ob/gyn, etc. And, here we are, sharing all of our experiences to form an amazingly talented team who cares for all people, regardless of their need, in the final years, months, weeks, and days. Sometimes it takes all of us putting our skills together, giving credence to “it takes a village.”
Over the years, as each challenge has come along, someone has picked up the gauntlet and said, “I can help.” To the many nurses who share their nursing skills, who share themselves as human beings, we offer you a profound thank you. We are proud of the nursing care that you provide to our patients.
We share this brief paragraph with you:
There is a deep river of meaning that runs through this work. Remembering this meaning daily is what keeps us alive in this work and protects us from exhaustion. The meaning of this work has not changed in thousands of years. It is part of our lineage.
May you all have the opportunity to take a step back this week and appreciate all you have contributed to the community we call TRU, and to the communities we all live in. You make a difference every day.
With profound respect and gratitude,
The Executive Team
TRU Honoring the Contributions of Hospice Volunteers April 23 – 29
During National Volunteer Week, April 23 – 29, TRU is honoring the 555 dedicated volunteers from our community who ensure that patients and families facing serious and life-limiting illness find hope, dignity and love.
Hospice volunteers play an indispensable role in enabling TRU to offer the best care possible for our patients, their families and caregivers. By sharing their time, energy, and expertise, our volunteers bring compassion and caring to the lives of those in need,” said Maria Thomas, Communications Coordinator.
Hospice volunteers often serve patients and families at the bedside but they also assist in the office, help raise awareness, contribute to educational programs, and provide fundraising support and more.
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization reports that there are an estimated 430,000 trained hospice volunteers providing more than 19 million hours of service to hospice programs each year.
An estimated 1.6 million patients in the U.S. are cared for by hospice every year.
Hospice and palliative care volunteers help the people they serve live every moment of life to the fullest and enable the organizations they work with to achieve their mission in the community. Most hospice volunteers choose to give their time helping others because of their own experience with the compassionate care hospice provided to a dying loved one.
It is federally mandated under Medicare that five percent of all patient care hours be provided by trained volunteers reflecting the vital role that volunteers play in the provision of care.
For those interested in learning more about hospice or volunteer opportunities, please call us at 303.604.5226.
TRU Grief News: Getting Relief From Powerful Emotions
Image Credit: Ben White
- Identify your guilty feelings and regrets, and think about what might give you relief.
- Try to be objective about what happened.
- Remember you were doing the best you could under difficult circumstances.
- Be prepared to forgive yourself.
- Find ways to work through your feelings, such as service in the community.
- Look for the lessons to be gained.
- Most importantly, don’t forget the good things you did in your relationship.
Adapted from The Mourning Handbook by Helen Fitzgerald
Bumbuli Fundraiser – Let’s Taco ‘Bout It
Employees at TRU Community care enjoyed a taco and dessert bar as part of their recurring fundraising efforts for Bumbuli Hospice in Tanzania. The event raised $208.00!
Seeking to embrace and support a mission beyond our local community, in 2006 TRU Community Care formed a partnership with Bumbuli Hospice in Tanzania. This special relationship remains strong, with TRU employees making generous contributions and traveling to Tanzania to work alongside Bumbuli’s team to learn more about the challenges they face.
Through these experiences, we’ve recognized the immense need for end-of-life care in Bumbuli. We’ve also witnessed the remarkable compassion and efficiency of the team in responding to area needs.
March Is National Social Work Month
Image credit: Mitch Rosen
March has been recognized as National Social Work Month. As core members of the hospice, home health, and TRU PACE interdisciplinary teams, social workers carry an incredible responsibility to support not only patients but also families in their unique end-of-life journeys. At TRU, social workers also provide grief counseling and make up a significant portion of our grief counselor team.
Please join us in recognizing our immensely talented group of social workers in all areas of our organization……BRAVO!
How Does Hospice Add to Life?
MYTH: People on hospice are in bed, waiting to die.
FACT: Hospice enables special moments and memories at the end of a life that would otherwise not happen.
Our patient Tom called hospice because he wanted to live happily and with dignity, restoring a quality of life that he would have otherwise lost to invasive treatments and surgeries. When Tom’s needs were too much to handle at home, he moved to the TRU inpatient care center, where our staff made sure Laura was comfortable, too. They arranged Tom in his bed and made room so she could slip in beside him. Suddenly this man, who had been so strong, was vulnerable. Staff could see that and were responsive to his pain and to the myriad emotions Laura was feeling, too.
Read about another special moment – a wedding at the TRU Care Center!
To learn more about what TRU Community Care can do for you and your family, call 303.442.0961 or visit trucare.org.
Savvy Caregiver Group Begins in April
Are you a caregiver who wants to better understand dementia, increase your confidence, and reduce the adverse effects of caregiving? The Longmont Senior Center can help! This FREE 6-week course is led by Jessica O’Leary, MA, a gerontologist and specialist in dementia.
Please note: this course is for those caring for a friend or loved one and is not for professional caregivers. It also is for caregivers of those with early or mid-stage dementia.
When: Wednesdays 6 – 8 pm from April 5 thru May 10
Where: Longmont Senior Center located at 910 Longs Peak Ave in Longmont, CO
Advanced registration required! Beginning Feb. 13 please call 303.651.8411
When Does Hospice Care End?
MYTH: Hospice care ends when someone dies.
FACT: Hospice organizations offer bereavement services for all ages.
Hospice counseling services that deal specifically with grief and coping after the loss of a loved one are available at no cost for up to a year after someone dies. For example, TRU Community Care patient Tom’s wife, Laura, credits hospice as something that she and her family can always look back and reflect on in a positive way. “TRU’s grief counselor helped me heal immensely during such a difficult time.”
