Hospice means so much more than end of life

Valley Hospice Resources, a Mat-Su based nonprofit, helps dozens of families each year as they care for loved ones living out their last days. It's been doing so for nearly 30 years.

Pat Karella, chair of the Valley Hospice board, recently said that some people find the word "hospice" fearsome. But hospice isn't about dying -- it's about making every day left to live the best it can possibly be.

Valley Hospice Resources partners with Mat-Su Regional Home Health and Hospice, a program run by the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. The program is certified to accept Medicare and offers nursing and respite care for hospice patients and their families.

Valley Hospice Resources supplements that care with programs aimed at enriching the hospice experience. One provides palliative art for patients. Artist-in-residence Sandra Falkner Chandler visits patients and their families and designs art projects to meet their needs. Chandler said her work is aimed at empowering the patient, so they can talk about something aside from their illness when visitors stop by.

Chandler also helps patients make hand-painted Christmas cards to give family and friends. Many patients also make cards for Valley Hospice to sell to fund future hospice programs. The cards are available around the holiday season at Carr's Quality Centers in Mat-Su and at the Wasilla and Palmer Light Up a Life hospice trees.

The trees, generally placed at the Koslosky Building in downtown Palmer and at Meta Rose Square in Wasilla from Thanksgiving through Dec. 24, are the primary fundraiser for Valley Hospice.

It's more than just a fundraiser. People purchase angels or stars to place on the tree with the name of a loved one who has passed away. At 2 p.m. Sunday, Valley Hospice will hold a Gathering of Remembrance ceremony at the Palmer Depot where those names will be read aloud.

The group also holds a yearly community event to help people better understand end-of-life issues and it coordinates the Mat-Su Grief Support Group, which meets Thursdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Trinity Barn near Palmer. It's a place where people who have experienced the death of a loved one can go to share their feelings and receive support.

Valley Hospice has deep roots in Mat-Su and is striving for big goals in the near future. Top on the list is a hospice house -- a place for Valley residents for whom receiving hospice care at home might not be possible, or preferable.

A February 2011 McDowell Group study of seniors showed there is currently a need for 11 hospice beds in the Valley. That number is expected to triple in the next 20 years.

While many hospice patients are served in the comfort of their own homes, not everyone who needs care can afford or qualify for a 24-hour caregiver, mandatory for receiving hospice care.

Karella said staying home is sometimes not the best option for patients. Perhaps an elderly couple has been caring for each other and one falls ill. Both could temporarily move to the hospice house. And unfortunately, hospice patients are sometimes young, with small children. Staying home might be more disruptive than comforting.

A hospice house would address these and other needs. However, there are hurdles to reaching that goal. It's not just the cost of building a house; the group needs to build an endowment large enough to allow them to care for people effectively, Karella said.

That's where you can help. Valley Hospice Resources is a nonprofit organization so all donations are tax-deductable. They are affiliated with Alaska's Pick-Click-Give website, so it's possible to give a portion of your Alaska Permanent Fund dividend.

It's also possible to donate to Valley Hospice Resources directly with a credit card through the Network for Good. Find a link under "make a donation" at Valley Hospice's website, valleyhospiceresources.com. Or send a check or money order to Valley Hospice Resources at 1150 S. Colony Way, Suite 3, PMB 349, Palmer, AK 99645.

Rindi White is a Valley Hospice Resources supporter and freelance writer who lives in Mat-Su. Donations to Valley Hospice Resources can be made directly online at valley hospiceresources.com through the Network for Good, or by mail to Valley Hospice Resources, 1150 S. Colony Way, Suite 3, PMB 349, Palmer, 99645. More information is available by email, hospiceofmatsu@mtaonline.net.