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Showing posts from November, 2019

Gift of Giving Event

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When you purchase the Gift of Giving Ornament for $7.99 at Little Green Apple Hallmark, Angela Hospice will receive a donation, plus you'll get 20% off of your entire in-store purchase – including items not normally discounted like Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments, Pandora, and Vera Bradley! Our friends at Little Green Apple, located at Six Mile and Newburgh in the Busch's plaza, are offering this special deal from  Tuesday, November 26th to Sunday, December 1st.   (Closed Thanksgiving Day) So stop by and  pick up this cute ornament – the gift that gives back! 37331 Six Mile Rd  (Corner of 6 Mile Rd. and Newburgh in Livonia)  734-542-9320 Limited time offer. While supplies last.  May not be combined with other offers or promotions. See store for additional details.  

Celebrating Our Veterans

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We were pleased to have the opportunity to honor our Nation's veterans at a special ceremony held at the Care Center this Veteran's Day. Care Center resident Phillip Swan, a Navy veteran, was in attendance as staff members and guests thanked him for his service, and celebrated with patriotic songs performed by our music therapist, Heather Dean. Deacon Jenny Ritter led the group in prayer, and then Teri Schmitchen, director of volunteer services and coordinator of the We Honor Veterans program at Angela Hospice, read the following: When Francis Scott Key wrote the “Star Spangled Banner” almost 200 years ago, he called America, “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Those words are as true today as they were then. Throughout this Nation’s history, America’s soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and coastguardsmen have bravely answered the call to defend our freedom, to aid our friends and allies, and to turn back aggressors. We can never fully repay our debt o

Raising Awareness of the Benefits of Hospice and Palliative Care

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Angela Hospice Celebrates November  as National Hospice and Palliative Care Month Throughout the month of November, Angela Hospice joins organizations across the nation in recognizing National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. For more than 40 years, hospices have helped provide comfort and dignity to millions of people, allowing them to spend their final months at home, surrounded by their loved ones. Hospices ensure that pain management, therapies, and treatments all support a plan of care that is centered on the patient’s individual goals. This care also provides emotional support and advice to help family members become confident caregivers, and adjust to the future with grief support for over a year. Angela Hospice volunteers circa 1986. “It is essential that people understand that hospice and palliative care is not giving up, it is not the abandonment of care, and it is not reserved for the imminently dying,” said Edo Banach, president and CEO of the National Hospic

Holiday Grief Workshops

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It’s difficult to cope with the loss of a loved one, especially around the holidays. Our grief support staff offers holiday workshops that may help. Children’s Holiday Workshop (Ages 5 -12) Sunday, Dec. 1, 2019, 2 p.m. -4 p.m. Children will have the opportunity to make a holiday wreath in memory of their loved ones during this workshop. Materials are provided, and participants are welcome to bring any extra photos or trinkets of significance to include in their project. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Pizza and beverages will be served. For more information and to register, call Debbie Vallandingham at 734.464.2683 by Friday, November 29. This workshop is free-of-charge and open to the community. It will be held at:  Angela Hospice Care Center, 14100 Newburgh Road, Livonia, MI 48154

Fourteen Years and Counting

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Lisa Udell talks about her role as an Admit/Float Nurse and tells us what has kept her at Angela Hospice so many years If you ask Lisa Udell how she got involved with Angela Hospice…well, it’s kind of a long story. Over the past 14 years, she’s worked in a variety of roles within the agency. She’s was a medical assistant, assistant to the home care clinical manager, and an aide scheduler. She’s been on the administrative and hands-on side of patient care, working full-time, part-time, and then contingent as she pursued her nursing degree. After completing her BSN in April 2019, she’s taken on another new position with Angela Hospice as an Admit/Float Nurse. Lisa said she likes her new position, especially when she is able to see the transformation that can happen. That’s why she even likes the tough visits. “Part of the position is going in and doing those visits when there is kind of a crisis going on, and the family is overwhelmed, typically, and they just don’t know what to

Frankie says “Take care!”

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Angela Hospice Music Therapist  Heather Dean by Heather Dean, MT-BC On Thursday the 17th I received the most sorrowful phone call from my father. My grandmother Frances (Frankie) Dickson had passed. Although I was expecting the news any day, it still felt like a shock to my system. I was in the B Wing office when I heard the news, so I quickly dashed over the admin side of the building so I didn’t “lose it” in front of any of our dear patients. What a blessing to work in hospice where I was greeted with hugs from a social worker, two volunteer coordinators and a spiritual care worker! I ugly cried and took a long walk. I contemplated whether I should come to work the next day. Obviously this was not going to happen after “grief brain” had set in. I made a pot of lentil soup with no lentils. I left toast in the toaster and couldn’t figure out why I was so hungry. This is all normal, but also a big sign that I needed rest and to do my grief work. I thought, what would my grandma