Tendercare and Lake Superior Hospice Offer New Services
January 20, 2010
MUNISING - Tendercare Health Center in Munising has teamed with Lake Superior Hospice to offer a combination of services to Tendercare residents and to people in the community who are grieving loss.
Hospice services through Lake Superior Hospice are available now to Alger County residents in their homes and in assisted living facilities. Tendercare Social Worker Erin Graham observed that residents need an opportunity to specifically remember their friends who have died. She has seen a need for recognition of their friends' deaths and for a way to honor their lives. Birthright families are welcome to join the Tendercare family for each Memorial Service.
A Bereavement Support Group will also meet regularly at Tendercare. Chuck Tooman, Spiritual Care Director of Lake Superior Hospice, will facilitate the support group which is open to the entire Munising community. Grieving for loss may include any number of examples, not only the loss of loved ones. Some people grieve over the death of a pet. Sometimes it's loss of the ability to drive their car or to live alone that creates a feeling of sadness. Sometimes its retirement which though voluntary may leave a hole in one's life. Whatever the situation, sharing it with others can help endure it and transcend it.
Lake Superior Hospice offers many services to people in the last phase of life. Patients and their families are included in decisions about care and treatment; hospice caregivers visit the dying patients and enable families to know what to do that is useful. Lake Superior Hospice has served the U.P. since 1979 and is now reaching beyond Marquette into our area. Care, compassion and commitment are trademarks of their Hospice support.
Residents met last Thursday to honor those among their Tendercare family who have passed away in the last three months. A similar ecumenical Memorial Service will be held the first Thursday of alternate months in the cafeteria. The next one will be March 4 at 2:00 p.m. and will recognize men and women from the Tendercare family more recently deceased.
Support groups are an effective means of learning strategies for change and for helping one another move through a time of loss and sorrow. Participants bond with others who share similar experiences and they are validated by recognition of their feelings and subsequent interaction. The new Bereavement Support Group will meet the first and third Thursdays each month at 3:00 p.m. in the Bayside Day Room at Tendercare. The next Support Group gathering will be January 21 and members of the Alger County community are welcome.
We are all caregivers of one another. Local community resources collaborate regularly in order to help people who need help. Hospice is another resource that advances knowledge by bringing information to patients and families. Hospice enhances understanding about the dying process and advocates quality care for everyone. Chuck Tooman from Lake Superior Hospice Spiritual Care Team is presenting “All About Hospice” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, January 21 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. The community is invited to attend. For further information, call Erin Graham from Tendercare at 387-2273 or Chuck Tooman from Lake Superior Hospice at 225-7760.
Story written by Marilyn Wood. Reprinted with permission from The Munising News, Jan. 13, 2010 Edition. Munising, Michigan
