Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE
A NEWSLETTER PUBLICATION/TWICE A YEAR Fall/Winter 2023 Vol.30 No.2
Camp Courage 2023 was a big success!
PAID
NEWSLETTER STAFF Susan Houseman, President/CEO Ammy Seymour, Director of Development Hayden Dobb, Communications Specialist Sheila B. Warners Graphics and Concepts…Graphic Design, Design
amp.” “It’s an amazing c
Please help us maintain accurate records for m ailings. Name and address printed correctly? Wish to unsubscribe or receiving more copies than necessary? Email info@HarborHospiceMI.org or call 1.800.497.9559. Thank you.
“Very friendly and helpful.” “They loved the experience.”
Connect with us on Haven’t signed up for e-Hospice stories and news? Stay up to date by signing up on our website HarborHospiceMI.org
These are some of the enthusiastic comments we received from parents when we invited them to share thoughts about their child’s experience at camp Courage last June. Those carefully planned three days and two nights, staffed by adults with special training for working with grieving children, help campers understand they are in a safe environment where they can laugh and cry and talk about the loss of someone close to them.
MUSKEGON, MI PERMIT NO. 231
1050 W. Western Ave., Suite 400 Muskegon, MI 49441 231.728.3442 – Muskegon 231.873.0359 – Oceana 231.845.5060 – Mason 616.844.3330 – Ottawa HarborHospiceMI.org
Community
Join your friends at Pigeon Hill Brewing Company in Muskegon on February 2 for a festive kickoff to a month-long fundraiser that will support programs and services for Harbor Hospice patients and their families! Watch for details on the Harbor Hospice website and Facebook!
“Parents often tell us how their children meet the other campers and realize they are not the only kids struggling with loss,” says Pamela Wingard, manager of Social Work and Counseling Services for Harbor Hospice. “Talking to the counselors and other campers helps the children feel, in their words, normal. It can be life-changing for them.” Still, sometimes those first few moments can be difficult for a new camper. “Several children were reluctant when they arrived at camp,” says Lisa Watson, a Harbor Hospice bereavement counselor and co-director of Camp Courage. “But family members told us that when they came to pick up their children at the end of camp, the children were in tears at the thought of leaving!”
Fall/Winter 2023 Newsletter Vol.30 No.2
Care for the Whole
Save the date!
The children also get to work on projects that help them remember that person they loved so much. And they have plenty of time for typical summer camp fun like swimming in Big Blue Lake and sitting around a campfire at night.
Circles of Care
Become an essential part of our team.
Flexible volunteer training sessions are available and designed to work with your schedule in person or virtually.
Volunteers are an integral part of the hospice team, filling roles that range from direct contact with patients to providing clerical and fundraising support for the organization.
Please contact us for more information at 231.728.3442 or 1.800.497.9559, email info@HarborHospiceMI.org or visit our website at www.HarborHospiceMI.org
The song written by campers this year offers a window in to how they feel.
e g a our C p m a C Song 2023
Verse
Chorus
It takes a certain kind of bravery to share No matter what we feel, it’s okay
Hey,
We’ve got our memories of our loved ones who passed away It hasn’t always been easy, but we find our way to peace And we made friends Thank goodness
That’s what Courage means to me. We’ll be brave and find a way We stand up to our fears We’ll never forget the ones we love, But together we will see Our light and laughter will come back, Our strength will set us free That’s what Courage means to me.
Thirty-four children attended Camp Courage this past June for only a $10 application fee. Generous donors who responded to our spring appeal, plus a $5,000 grant from the Gerber Foundation covered most of our costs. We are so grateful for the outpouring of support! It makes this amazing experience open to any child in our region, between 6 and 14 years old, who is dealing with grief. Camp Courage 2024 will be held June 21 to 23. Contact the Bob & Merle Scolnik Healing Center at 231-728-3442 if you know a child who could benefit by attending.
Campers & Volunteers at Camp Courage
“It’s a great experience for grieving children.”
“It’s fun!
”
tending the
Veterans at Armed Forces
fé
Vet-to-Vet Ca
Honoring our Veterans
Honorin
g our Ve
Harbor Hospice has been awarded the honor of achieving Level 5 Partner of We Honor Veterans (WHV), a national organization that provides guidance and resources to end-of-life-care partners so they can meet the unique needs of America’s Veterans and their families. WHV provides a tiered system of recognition to organizations that demonstrate a commitment to improving care for Veterans in hospice care and in the community. Level 5 is the highest award a hospice organization can attain. “As part of customizing our care at Harbor Hospice, we assess each patient so we can address their specific needs,” says Pamela Wingard, manager of Social Work and Counseling Services for Harbor Hospice. “Through the WHV program, our staff members have been trained to explore the impact that a person’s military service may have on their end-of-life experience. We also provide support and referrals to ensure
teran
Veter a
ns en
joying
the V et-to-
Vet C af
é
that the Veteran and their family have access to their benefits when needed.” Our wonderful volunteers who are Veterans provide care and support by offering “Vet-to-Vet” visits for patients that are often affirming and emotional. They also hold a moving ceremony that formally honors a patient’s service to their country and recognizes their families for their sacrifices as well. Each Veteran receives a beautiful pin and a certificate. We are very proud of our Level 5 award and grateful that we have learned how to provide the special care and attention needed and deserved by those who have served in the United States Armed Forces. To learn more about volunteer opportunities and our partnership with We Honor Veterans, visit www.harborhospicemi.org/services/we-honor-veterans.
The Leila & Cyrus Poppen HOSPICE RESIDENCE
Kim Suarez has had a big impact on this organization, and on our patients and their families, for more than 10 years. She has served as a board member for both Harbor Hospice and the Harbor Hospice Foundation, and lent her expertise on several committees. She also co-founded the Compassionate Givers donor group. We love that she is always thinking of ways she can help move our mission forward!
All Hospices are not the same. The best time to explore the options open to you is before you need care, so your plan will be in place when you’re ready for it.
These days Kim can be found surrounding our patients and their families with warmth and compassion at the Leila & Cyrus Poppen Hospice Residence. We are delighted to recognize her as our volunteer of the year.
Susan Houseman President and CEO
Yes, most hospice organizations are certified by Medicare and held to a set of standards, but how they provide care varies. There are significant differences in the services, programs, and levels of support they offer. Here are a few areas to assess and the reasons why I am proud to tell you that Harbor Hospice and Harbor Palliative Care are the right choices for the very best care in West Michigan.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Care for the whole family In addition to the needs of each patient, hospice and palliative care programs must have the resources to care for the psychological and spiritual needs of the whole family. Our team offers spiritual and psychological support, as well as unique programs such as art, music, and massage therapy as part of our Circle of Care. In addition, we provide individual and group counseling with licensed bereavement counselors through our Bob and Merle Scolnik Healing Center. Grief support is available to any child or adult in our region when they lose someone close, and it is free. Care options for serious illness Hospice care may not always be the appropriate solution. If a patient is experiencing a serious illness but does not yet qualify for or desire hospice care, Harbor Palliative Care is available to help manage a patient’s symptoms, including pain, and to explore health care options. Palliative care can begin at any age and at any stage of a serious illness.
Care wherever you are As a hospice and palliative care provider, we serve patients wherever they live, whether that’s at home, in assisted living, at a skilled nursing facility, or in a hospital. In addition, we welcome patients into our beautiful Leila & Cyrus Poppen Hospice Residence when being at home is not an option for them. The Poppen is the only licensed inpatient hospice care residence in our five-county service area. Here whenever you need us A top-quality hospice organization should be able to respond quickly to any situation, at any time. Our clinicians are available 24 hours a day. Whether you call us at 2 p.m. or 2 a.m., our on-call team is ready to assist you on the phone or in person, even on weekends and holidays. As a non-profit organization from the beginning, this has been our legacy of care for more than 40 years. These are some of the reasons Harbor Hospice and Harbor Palliative Care are the right choice when patients and families are faced with the realities of a serious illness.
Volunteers & staff enjoying Horses for Hospice
gatta
Cookin
g for O
ne part
icipant
In our 40 years providing hospice care in West Michigan, we have learned a great deal about incorporating the best practices available so our patients and their families can make the most of the time they have together.
Outstanding satisfaction scores Based on satisfaction ratings from family members who have had a loved one in our care, Harbor Hospice ranks well above the national average in measures of quality and receives top honors from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. To view our scores against other hospice providers, go to Medicare.gov and type in the search box Hospice Compare.
Sustaining Circle gathering
staff at the Re
Today, we seem to have an overwhelming number of choices, and sometimes that includes needing to choose a hospice or palliative care provider. One common myth is that providers are all the same, but, in fact, there are great differences between organizations. And the best time to explore the options open to you is before you need care, so your plan will be in place when you’re ready for it, when comfort, peace of mind and precious time together matter the most.
Expertise and specialized certification All Harbor Hospice and Harbor Palliative Care physicians are board certified in our specialties. Our clinical staff members — including nurses and nursing assistants, social workers, and chaplains — have specialized training and certification in hospice and palliative care. Together, they are committed to providing the highest standard of care for you and your family.
Staff music therapy
Volunteers &
Making the most of the time you have together
A local team that lives and works in your community Our hospice and palliative care team of clinicians and volunteers live and work in our five-county service area. Sometimes their patients are their neighbors. This enables us to respond quickly to patients’ needs by telephone or in-person. We strive to provide consistent caregivers and trained volunteers who are familiar and up to date with vital treatment plans, care preferences, and changes in a patient’s condition.
Art therapy
g Center
Scolnik Healin
The Harbor Difference
All Hospices are Not the Same
Cooking for One Class
Client of The
We remain grateful for the outpouring of support we receive from YOU — our patients and families, our friends, and donors — who embrace our mission and make it possible for us to provide the very best care for those who need us. Please continue to tell others about the Harbor difference!
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Allen Mrs. Mary Ann Bard* Mr. Douglas Bard Mr. and Mrs. Peter Blacklock Mr. Fred Cooper* Mr. and Mrs. Eric Dobry Ms. Mary Anne Gorman Mr. John Gorton and Mrs. Laurie Poppen Gorton Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Grunwald Jody A. Miller Living Trust* Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kwiecien Mr. Larry and Mrs. Lynne Larsen Mr. Ray Mazurkiewicz* Mr. Larry* and Nancy Medema Mr. and Mrs. Eric Mellema Mr. Roger Morgenstern Mrs. Cari Noble Mrs. Cheri Pernot Mr. Laurin Ramsey* Mr. and Mrs. Steve Rauschert Ms. Leila Reynolds Mr. and Mrs. Michael Seymour Mr. and Mrs. Terry Simon Ms. Kim Suarez and Mr. Ed Polakis Ms. Sue Syverson Mr. and Mrs. Tim Thill Mr. and Mrs. Mike Youngdahl Anonymous—Six Members *deceased
At Harbor Hospice, our Circle of Care includes the support of specially-trained medical and therapeutic professionals who get to know each patient and the family members who surround them. They learn what is important to our patients, how we can ensure their comfort and meet their emotional and spiritual needs as they move through their end-oflife journey. Our goal is to help make that special time as meaningful as possible, so we look for opportunities that will bring them joy, understanding, laughter, and a sense of peace. Our patient, Clarissa, had an adventurous life, and joy for her came in the form of making paintings with Harbor Hospice art therapist Amy Hamman. They worked together using media such as watercolors, colored pencils, oil and chalk pastels. Sometimes they made tiny acrylic paintings just four inches square. Her family displayed the paintings at Clarissa’s funeral. In a letter of thanks to Amy, they wrote that they offered a painting to anyone, “…who wanted a piece of Clarissa’s joy… and they all claimed a new home to spread more joy!” “She was such a character of a woman,” recalls Amy. “I felt blessed to have known her.” Jennifer Laughlin loves experiencing the positive impact her therapeutic massage brings to each patient she works with, even those who seem a little apprehensive at first. She answers their questions and soon after beginning their massage she can feel their tension and anxiety begin to ease. Her skilled hands can increase a patient’s mobility, diminish their fears and reduce sources of discomfort such as edema. “Patients are often surprised at how good a massage can help them feel,” she observes. “I love to watch their faces light up when I arrive for another visit!” Laura Polett brings the joy of music to our hospice patients.
Barry’s Greenhouse and Landscaping Blended Furniture Market CareLinc Medical Equipment ChoiceOne Bank Cofessco Fire Protection, LLC Core Realty Partners Fricano’s Muskegon Lake Great Lakes Dock & Materials, LLC Hines Corporation Howmet Aerospace HPS Jackson Merkey Contractors, Inc. JC Jordy Camilleri Lakeshore Employee Benefits LHR Properties, Inc. Lorin Meijer Lakeshore Market Muskegon Yacht Club Nichols, a Division of Imperial Dade Nugent Sand Company Parmenter Law Pigeon Hill Brewing Company Real Estate West Sand Products/Mart Dock Fund of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County Shape Corporation Shelby State Bank TH Brands The Block The Gerber Foundation The Hearthstone Bistro Torresen Marine Tridonn Construction Company Tridonn Development Company Trinity Health Michigan UBS Financial Services Inc. Warner Norcross + Judd LLP Wasserman’s Flowers & Gifts
“Music therapy can help increase a patient’s self-confidence and their ability to be social,” Laura explains. “It can also reduce restlessness and anxiety.” To make her time with our hospice patients most meaningful for them, Laura gathers information about each one so she can surround them individually with music that reflects their history, their beliefs and their abilities. Singing, she finds, can be a powerful way to create both fun and a sense of community for a patient, especially when family members and others join in. It can ease a patient’s loneliness. Talking about song lyrics with a patient can help them recall happy memories. Art, massage and music therapy help patients and families relax, reconnect, and hold in their hearts precious moments shared together, even as they search for ways to say goodbye. And for many of our patients, these therapies offer an avenue for expressing thoughts and feelings when words alone no longer work. Although these therapies are not covered by Medicare or private insurance, and are not billable treatments, we readily include them in our Circle of Care, because we know they have a positive and often profound impact on the physical and emotional wellbeing of our hospice patients and their families. For the Harbor Hospice team, these therapies embody our commitment to offer the best hospice care available. The Harbor Hospice Foundation underwrites 40% of the cost of these therapies, and for the coming year, we’d like to double the number of therapy sessions we can offer. That’s how important the impact of this care is to our patients and to the quality of the time they have remaining. When you send a gift to the Foundation, you are making a very real difference to patients seeking peace at the end of their life and to family members by their side.
On behalf of our patients, their families, and the entire Harbor Hospice team, we offer deepest gratitude for your support.
Compassionate Givers
enjoying an evening
together
Circles of Giving support hospice care here in West Michigan Would you like to play a larger role in our care of hospice patients and their families? Do you feel moved to leave a legacy? Do you want to put your company in the spotlight as a champion for compassionate end-of-life care? In past issues of this newsletter, we introduced you to three giving circles that offer distinct ways you can support the work of Harbor Hospice staff and volunteers and the patients and families we care for. In this issue, we are excited to announce the launch of our fourth, the Sustaining Circle!
Giving to the Harbor Hospice Foundation The Harbor Hospice Foundation supports the Harbor Hospice mission and underwrites a portion of the organization’s capital and operational costs not covered by insurance or Medicare. Both Harbor Hospice and the Foundation are governed by diverse boards of directors who live in our region. Your gifts to the Foundation are used locally and make it possible for us to provide the best hospice care available to patients and their families. For your convenience, we’ve included a QR code. When you use your smart phone to scan this code, you will be directed to the Harbor Hospice website where you’ll find information about all our programs. The website address is www.harborhospicemi.org. There are several ways to support our care, and we’d love to talk with you about them! Contact Ammy Seymour at 231-728-3442 for more information. Thank you!
Sustaining Circle — The power of your pledge Members of our newest donor group, the Sustaining Circle, help cover major expenses for three programs that are not billable and are not reimbursed by Medicare or other insurance. Palliative Care Annual unreimbursed operating costs include patients’ visits with our palliative care medical team, specialized training for that team, and maintaining office space. Leila & Cyrus Poppen Hospice Residence Annual unreimbursed capital expenses include areas such as maintenance, repair and renovations to the building, new furnishings and appliances, and care of the grounds. Bob & Merle Scolnik Healing Center Annual unreimbursed operating costs include rent and utilities, salaries for grief counselors, supplies for programs, and our three-day Camp Courage for children who are grieving the loss of someone close. These three essential programs create an annual gap in funding of more than $500,000. Harbor Hospice Foundation covers 40% of those costs, which leaves about $300,000 that we must raise each year with a combination of special events, campaigns and appeals. And even when fundraising is successful, we can only plan for the future of these programs year by year. When we can accurately project revenue that will cover those expenses, we can plan well beyond the current fiscal year and know that we will be able to provide our Circle of Care continuously and seamlessly. Members of the Sustaining Circle give an initial gift of $1,000 or more and pledge an additional gift each year for five years. Their pledge enables us to plan ahead and know that we can maintain these programs for West Michigan patients and families and expand them when the need increases.
Compassionate
GIVERS
Amber Wallace Amy Strach Ammy Seymour Arlene DeKam Bobbie Hilleary Bonnie K. Adamczak-Brown Caitlin Fulton Chad Shelner Cheri Montambo Cheri Pernot Connie Learman Darlene Collet Dee Kwiecien Eileen Stoffan Heather Brolick Irene Pierson Janice McDonald Jennifer Briggs Russell Jennifer Chupailo Judy O’Brien Julie Johnson Karen Panozzo Kathy Moore Kim Suarez Kristi Nagengast Kristine Jordahl Mike Olson Linda Boyd Linda Siscoe Lisa Lake Lisa Metzdorf Liz Murphy Mary Anne Gorman Merica Dobry Mhairi Blacklock Shelley Comstock Pam Babbitt Pam Wingard RandiLynn Talsma Robin Anderson Roger Morgenstern Sally Bonter Shannon Enders Shari Simon Sheli Vanderlinde Sue Houseman Susan Cloutier-Crain Thomas A. Serio Will Meier
Kim Suarez has had a big impact on this organization, and on our patients and their families, for more than 10 years. She has served as a board member for both Harbor Hospice and the Harbor Hospice Foundation, and lent her expertise on several committees. She also co-founded the Compassionate Givers donor group. We love that she is always thinking of ways she can help move our mission forward!
All Hospices are not the same. The best time to explore the options open to you is before you need care, so your plan will be in place when you’re ready for it.
These days Kim can be found surrounding our patients and their families with warmth and compassion at the Leila & Cyrus Poppen Hospice Residence. We are delighted to recognize her as our volunteer of the year.
Susan Houseman President and CEO
Yes, most hospice organizations are certified by Medicare and held to a set of standards, but how they provide care varies. There are significant differences in the services, programs, and levels of support they offer. Here are a few areas to assess and the reasons why I am proud to tell you that Harbor Hospice and Harbor Palliative Care are the right choices for the very best care in West Michigan.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Care for the whole family In addition to the needs of each patient, hospice and palliative care programs must have the resources to care for the psychological and spiritual needs of the whole family. Our team offers spiritual and psychological support, as well as unique programs such as art, music, and massage therapy as part of our Circle of Care. In addition, we provide individual and group counseling with licensed bereavement counselors through our Bob and Merle Scolnik Healing Center. Grief support is available to any child or adult in our region when they lose someone close, and it is free. Care options for serious illness Hospice care may not always be the appropriate solution. If a patient is experiencing a serious illness but does not yet qualify for or desire hospice care, Harbor Palliative Care is available to help manage a patient’s symptoms, including pain, and to explore health care options. Palliative care can begin at any age and at any stage of a serious illness.
Care wherever you are As a hospice and palliative care provider, we serve patients wherever they live, whether that’s at home, in assisted living, at a skilled nursing facility, or in a hospital. In addition, we welcome patients into our beautiful Leila & Cyrus Poppen Hospice Residence when being at home is not an option for them. The Poppen is the only licensed inpatient hospice care residence in our five-county service area. Here whenever you need us A top-quality hospice organization should be able to respond quickly to any situation, at any time. Our clinicians are available 24 hours a day. Whether you call us at 2 p.m. or 2 a.m., our on-call team is ready to assist you on the phone or in person, even on weekends and holidays. As a non-profit organization from the beginning, this has been our legacy of care for more than 40 years. These are some of the reasons Harbor Hospice and Harbor Palliative Care are the right choice when patients and families are faced with the realities of a serious illness.
Volunteers & staff enjoying Horses for Hospice
gatta
Cookin
g for O
ne part
icipant
In our 40 years providing hospice care in West Michigan, we have learned a great deal about incorporating the best practices available so our patients and their families can make the most of the time they have together.
Outstanding satisfaction scores Based on satisfaction ratings from family members who have had a loved one in our care, Harbor Hospice ranks well above the national average in measures of quality and receives top honors from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. To view our scores against other hospice providers, go to Medicare.gov and type in the search box Hospice Compare.
Sustaining Circle gathering
staff at the Re
Today, we seem to have an overwhelming number of choices, and sometimes that includes needing to choose a hospice or palliative care provider. One common myth is that providers are all the same, but, in fact, there are great differences between organizations. And the best time to explore the options open to you is before you need care, so your plan will be in place when you’re ready for it, when comfort, peace of mind and precious time together matter the most.
Expertise and specialized certification All Harbor Hospice and Harbor Palliative Care physicians are board certified in our specialties. Our clinical staff members — including nurses and nursing assistants, social workers, and chaplains — have specialized training and certification in hospice and palliative care. Together, they are committed to providing the highest standard of care for you and your family.
Staff music therapy
Volunteers &
Making the most of the time you have together
A local team that lives and works in your community Our hospice and palliative care team of clinicians and volunteers live and work in our five-county service area. Sometimes their patients are their neighbors. This enables us to respond quickly to patients’ needs by telephone or in-person. We strive to provide consistent caregivers and trained volunteers who are familiar and up to date with vital treatment plans, care preferences, and changes in a patient’s condition.
Art therapy
g Center
Scolnik Healin
The Harbor Difference
All Hospices are Not the Same
Cooking for One Class
Client of The
We remain grateful for the outpouring of support we receive from YOU — our patients and families, our friends, and donors — who embrace our mission and make it possible for us to provide the very best care for those who need us. Please continue to tell others about the Harbor difference!
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Allen Mrs. Mary Ann Bard* Mr. Douglas Bard Mr. and Mrs. Peter Blacklock Mr. Fred Cooper* Mr. and Mrs. Eric Dobry Ms. Mary Anne Gorman Mr. John Gorton and Mrs. Laurie Poppen Gorton Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Grunwald Jody A. Miller Living Trust* Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kwiecien Mr. Larry and Mrs. Lynne Larsen Mr. Ray Mazurkiewicz* Mr. Larry* and Nancy Medema Mr. and Mrs. Eric Mellema Mr. Roger Morgenstern Mrs. Cari Noble Mrs. Cheri Pernot Mr. Laurin Ramsey* Mr. and Mrs. Steve Rauschert Ms. Leila Reynolds Mr. and Mrs. Michael Seymour Mr. and Mrs. Terry Simon Ms. Kim Suarez and Mr. Ed Polakis Ms. Sue Syverson Mr. and Mrs. Tim Thill Mr. and Mrs. Mike Youngdahl Anonymous—Six Members *deceased
At Harbor Hospice, our Circle of Care includes the support of specially-trained medical and therapeutic professionals who get to know each patient and the family members who surround them. They learn what is important to our patients, how we can ensure their comfort and meet their emotional and spiritual needs as they move through their end-oflife journey. Our goal is to help make that special time as meaningful as possible, so we look for opportunities that will bring them joy, understanding, laughter, and a sense of peace. Our patient, Clarissa, had an adventurous life, and joy for her came in the form of making paintings with Harbor Hospice art therapist Amy Hamman. They worked together using media such as watercolors, colored pencils, oil and chalk pastels. Sometimes they made tiny acrylic paintings just four inches square. Her family displayed the paintings at Clarissa’s funeral. In a letter of thanks to Amy, they wrote that they offered a painting to anyone, “…who wanted a piece of Clarissa’s joy… and they all claimed a new home to spread more joy!” “She was such a character of a woman,” recalls Amy. “I felt blessed to have known her.” Jennifer Laughlin loves experiencing the positive impact her therapeutic massage brings to each patient she works with, even those who seem a little apprehensive at first. She answers their questions and soon after beginning their massage she can feel their tension and anxiety begin to ease. Her skilled hands can increase a patient’s mobility, diminish their fears and reduce sources of discomfort such as edema. “Patients are often surprised at how good a massage can help them feel,” she observes. “I love to watch their faces light up when I arrive for another visit!” Laura Polett brings the joy of music to our hospice patients.
Barry’s Greenhouse and Landscaping Blended Furniture Market CareLinc Medical Equipment ChoiceOne Bank Cofessco Fire Protection, LLC Core Realty Partners Fricano’s Muskegon Lake Great Lakes Dock & Materials, LLC Hines Corporation Howmet Aerospace HPS Jackson Merkey Contractors, Inc. JC Jordy Camilleri Lakeshore Employee Benefits LHR Properties, Inc. Lorin Meijer Lakeshore Market Muskegon Yacht Club Nichols, a Division of Imperial Dade Nugent Sand Company Parmenter Law Pigeon Hill Brewing Company Real Estate West Sand Products/Mart Dock Fund of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County Shape Corporation Shelby State Bank TH Brands The Block The Gerber Foundation The Hearthstone Bistro Torresen Marine Tridonn Construction Company Tridonn Development Company Trinity Health Michigan UBS Financial Services Inc. Warner Norcross + Judd LLP Wasserman’s Flowers & Gifts
“Music therapy can help increase a patient’s self-confidence and their ability to be social,” Laura explains. “It can also reduce restlessness and anxiety.” To make her time with our hospice patients most meaningful for them, Laura gathers information about each one so she can surround them individually with music that reflects their history, their beliefs and their abilities. Singing, she finds, can be a powerful way to create both fun and a sense of community for a patient, especially when family members and others join in. It can ease a patient’s loneliness. Talking about song lyrics with a patient can help them recall happy memories. Art, massage and music therapy help patients and families relax, reconnect, and hold in their hearts precious moments shared together, even as they search for ways to say goodbye. And for many of our patients, these therapies offer an avenue for expressing thoughts and feelings when words alone no longer work. Although these therapies are not covered by Medicare or private insurance, and are not billable treatments, we readily include them in our Circle of Care, because we know they have a positive and often profound impact on the physical and emotional wellbeing of our hospice patients and their families. For the Harbor Hospice team, these therapies embody our commitment to offer the best hospice care available. The Harbor Hospice Foundation underwrites 40% of the cost of these therapies, and for the coming year, we’d like to double the number of therapy sessions we can offer. That’s how important the impact of this care is to our patients and to the quality of the time they have remaining. When you send a gift to the Foundation, you are making a very real difference to patients seeking peace at the end of their life and to family members by their side.
On behalf of our patients, their families, and the entire Harbor Hospice team, we offer deepest gratitude for your support.
Compassionate Givers
enjoying an evening
together
Circles of Giving support hospice care here in West Michigan Would you like to play a larger role in our care of hospice patients and their families? Do you feel moved to leave a legacy? Do you want to put your company in the spotlight as a champion for compassionate end-of-life care? In past issues of this newsletter, we introduced you to three giving circles that offer distinct ways you can support the work of Harbor Hospice staff and volunteers and the patients and families we care for. In this issue, we are excited to announce the launch of our fourth, the Sustaining Circle!
Giving to the Harbor Hospice Foundation The Harbor Hospice Foundation supports the Harbor Hospice mission and underwrites a portion of the organization’s capital and operational costs not covered by insurance or Medicare. Both Harbor Hospice and the Foundation are governed by diverse boards of directors who live in our region. Your gifts to the Foundation are used locally and make it possible for us to provide the best hospice care available to patients and their families. For your convenience, we’ve included a QR code. When you use your smart phone to scan this code, you will be directed to the Harbor Hospice website where you’ll find information about all our programs. The website address is www.harborhospicemi.org. There are several ways to support our care, and we’d love to talk with you about them! Contact Ammy Seymour at 231-728-3442 for more information. Thank you!
Sustaining Circle — The power of your pledge Members of our newest donor group, the Sustaining Circle, help cover major expenses for three programs that are not billable and are not reimbursed by Medicare or other insurance. Palliative Care Annual unreimbursed operating costs include patients’ visits with our palliative care medical team, specialized training for that team, and maintaining office space. Leila & Cyrus Poppen Hospice Residence Annual unreimbursed capital expenses include areas such as maintenance, repair and renovations to the building, new furnishings and appliances, and care of the grounds. Bob & Merle Scolnik Healing Center Annual unreimbursed operating costs include rent and utilities, salaries for grief counselors, supplies for programs, and our three-day Camp Courage for children who are grieving the loss of someone close. These three essential programs create an annual gap in funding of more than $500,000. Harbor Hospice Foundation covers 40% of those costs, which leaves about $300,000 that we must raise each year with a combination of special events, campaigns and appeals. And even when fundraising is successful, we can only plan for the future of these programs year by year. When we can accurately project revenue that will cover those expenses, we can plan well beyond the current fiscal year and know that we will be able to provide our Circle of Care continuously and seamlessly. Members of the Sustaining Circle give an initial gift of $1,000 or more and pledge an additional gift each year for five years. Their pledge enables us to plan ahead and know that we can maintain these programs for West Michigan patients and families and expand them when the need increases.
Compassionate
GIVERS
Amber Wallace Amy Strach Ammy Seymour Arlene DeKam Bobbie Hilleary Bonnie K. Adamczak-Brown Caitlin Fulton Chad Shelner Cheri Montambo Cheri Pernot Connie Learman Darlene Collet Dee Kwiecien Eileen Stoffan Heather Brolick Irene Pierson Janice McDonald Jennifer Briggs Russell Jennifer Chupailo Judy O’Brien Julie Johnson Karen Panozzo Kathy Moore Kim Suarez Kristi Nagengast Kristine Jordahl Mike Olson Linda Boyd Linda Siscoe Lisa Lake Lisa Metzdorf Liz Murphy Mary Anne Gorman Merica Dobry Mhairi Blacklock Shelley Comstock Pam Babbitt Pam Wingard RandiLynn Talsma Robin Anderson Roger Morgenstern Sally Bonter Shannon Enders Shari Simon Sheli Vanderlinde Sue Houseman Susan Cloutier-Crain Thomas A. Serio Will Meier
Kim Suarez has had a big impact on this organization, and on our patients and their families, for more than 10 years. She has served as a board member for both Harbor Hospice and the Harbor Hospice Foundation, and lent her expertise on several committees. She also co-founded the Compassionate Givers donor group. We love that she is always thinking of ways she can help move our mission forward!
All Hospices are not the same. The best time to explore the options open to you is before you need care, so your plan will be in place when you’re ready for it.
These days Kim can be found surrounding our patients and their families with warmth and compassion at the Leila & Cyrus Poppen Hospice Residence. We are delighted to recognize her as our volunteer of the year.
Susan Houseman President and CEO
Yes, most hospice organizations are certified by Medicare and held to a set of standards, but how they provide care varies. There are significant differences in the services, programs, and levels of support they offer. Here are a few areas to assess and the reasons why I am proud to tell you that Harbor Hospice and Harbor Palliative Care are the right choices for the very best care in West Michigan.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Care for the whole family In addition to the needs of each patient, hospice and palliative care programs must have the resources to care for the psychological and spiritual needs of the whole family. Our team offers spiritual and psychological support, as well as unique programs such as art, music, and massage therapy as part of our Circle of Care. In addition, we provide individual and group counseling with licensed bereavement counselors through our Bob and Merle Scolnik Healing Center. Grief support is available to any child or adult in our region when they lose someone close, and it is free. Care options for serious illness Hospice care may not always be the appropriate solution. If a patient is experiencing a serious illness but does not yet qualify for or desire hospice care, Harbor Palliative Care is available to help manage a patient’s symptoms, including pain, and to explore health care options. Palliative care can begin at any age and at any stage of a serious illness.
Care wherever you are As a hospice and palliative care provider, we serve patients wherever they live, whether that’s at home, in assisted living, at a skilled nursing facility, or in a hospital. In addition, we welcome patients into our beautiful Leila & Cyrus Poppen Hospice Residence when being at home is not an option for them. The Poppen is the only licensed inpatient hospice care residence in our five-county service area. Here whenever you need us A top-quality hospice organization should be able to respond quickly to any situation, at any time. Our clinicians are available 24 hours a day. Whether you call us at 2 p.m. or 2 a.m., our on-call team is ready to assist you on the phone or in person, even on weekends and holidays. As a non-profit organization from the beginning, this has been our legacy of care for more than 40 years. These are some of the reasons Harbor Hospice and Harbor Palliative Care are the right choice when patients and families are faced with the realities of a serious illness.
Volunteers & staff enjoying Horses for Hospice
gatta
Cookin
g for O
ne part
icipant
In our 40 years providing hospice care in West Michigan, we have learned a great deal about incorporating the best practices available so our patients and their families can make the most of the time they have together.
Outstanding satisfaction scores Based on satisfaction ratings from family members who have had a loved one in our care, Harbor Hospice ranks well above the national average in measures of quality and receives top honors from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. To view our scores against other hospice providers, go to Medicare.gov and type in the search box Hospice Compare.
Sustaining Circle gathering
staff at the Re
Today, we seem to have an overwhelming number of choices, and sometimes that includes needing to choose a hospice or palliative care provider. One common myth is that providers are all the same, but, in fact, there are great differences between organizations. And the best time to explore the options open to you is before you need care, so your plan will be in place when you’re ready for it, when comfort, peace of mind and precious time together matter the most.
Expertise and specialized certification All Harbor Hospice and Harbor Palliative Care physicians are board certified in our specialties. Our clinical staff members — including nurses and nursing assistants, social workers, and chaplains — have specialized training and certification in hospice and palliative care. Together, they are committed to providing the highest standard of care for you and your family.
Staff music therapy
Volunteers &
Making the most of the time you have together
A local team that lives and works in your community Our hospice and palliative care team of clinicians and volunteers live and work in our five-county service area. Sometimes their patients are their neighbors. This enables us to respond quickly to patients’ needs by telephone or in-person. We strive to provide consistent caregivers and trained volunteers who are familiar and up to date with vital treatment plans, care preferences, and changes in a patient’s condition.
Art therapy
g Center
Scolnik Healin
The Harbor Difference
All Hospices are Not the Same
Cooking for One Class
Client of The
We remain grateful for the outpouring of support we receive from YOU — our patients and families, our friends, and donors — who embrace our mission and make it possible for us to provide the very best care for those who need us. Please continue to tell others about the Harbor difference!
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Allen Mrs. Mary Ann Bard* Mr. Douglas Bard Mr. and Mrs. Peter Blacklock Mr. Fred Cooper* Mr. and Mrs. Eric Dobry Ms. Mary Anne Gorman Mr. John Gorton and Mrs. Laurie Poppen Gorton Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Grunwald Jody A. Miller Living Trust* Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kwiecien Mr. Larry and Mrs. Lynne Larsen Mr. Ray Mazurkiewicz* Mr. Larry* and Nancy Medema Mr. and Mrs. Eric Mellema Mr. Roger Morgenstern Mrs. Cari Noble Mrs. Cheri Pernot Mr. Laurin Ramsey* Mr. and Mrs. Steve Rauschert Ms. Leila Reynolds Mr. and Mrs. Michael Seymour Mr. and Mrs. Terry Simon Ms. Kim Suarez and Mr. Ed Polakis Ms. Sue Syverson Mr. and Mrs. Tim Thill Mr. and Mrs. Mike Youngdahl Anonymous—Six Members *deceased
At Harbor Hospice, our Circle of Care includes the support of specially-trained medical and therapeutic professionals who get to know each patient and the family members who surround them. They learn what is important to our patients, how we can ensure their comfort and meet their emotional and spiritual needs as they move through their end-oflife journey. Our goal is to help make that special time as meaningful as possible, so we look for opportunities that will bring them joy, understanding, laughter, and a sense of peace. Our patient, Clarissa, had an adventurous life, and joy for her came in the form of making paintings with Harbor Hospice art therapist Amy Hamman. They worked together using media such as watercolors, colored pencils, oil and chalk pastels. Sometimes they made tiny acrylic paintings just four inches square. Her family displayed the paintings at Clarissa’s funeral. In a letter of thanks to Amy, they wrote that they offered a painting to anyone, “…who wanted a piece of Clarissa’s joy… and they all claimed a new home to spread more joy!” “She was such a character of a woman,” recalls Amy. “I felt blessed to have known her.” Jennifer Laughlin loves experiencing the positive impact her therapeutic massage brings to each patient she works with, even those who seem a little apprehensive at first. She answers their questions and soon after beginning their massage she can feel their tension and anxiety begin to ease. Her skilled hands can increase a patient’s mobility, diminish their fears and reduce sources of discomfort such as edema. “Patients are often surprised at how good a massage can help them feel,” she observes. “I love to watch their faces light up when I arrive for another visit!” Laura Polett brings the joy of music to our hospice patients.
Barry’s Greenhouse and Landscaping Blended Furniture Market CareLinc Medical Equipment ChoiceOne Bank Cofessco Fire Protection, LLC Core Realty Partners Fricano’s Muskegon Lake Great Lakes Dock & Materials, LLC Hines Corporation Howmet Aerospace HPS Jackson Merkey Contractors, Inc. JC Jordy Camilleri Lakeshore Employee Benefits LHR Properties, Inc. Lorin Meijer Lakeshore Market Muskegon Yacht Club Nichols, a Division of Imperial Dade Nugent Sand Company Parmenter Law Pigeon Hill Brewing Company Real Estate West Sand Products/Mart Dock Fund of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County Shape Corporation Shelby State Bank TH Brands The Block The Gerber Foundation The Hearthstone Bistro Torresen Marine Tridonn Construction Company Tridonn Development Company Trinity Health Michigan UBS Financial Services Inc. Warner Norcross + Judd LLP Wasserman’s Flowers & Gifts
“Music therapy can help increase a patient’s self-confidence and their ability to be social,” Laura explains. “It can also reduce restlessness and anxiety.” To make her time with our hospice patients most meaningful for them, Laura gathers information about each one so she can surround them individually with music that reflects their history, their beliefs and their abilities. Singing, she finds, can be a powerful way to create both fun and a sense of community for a patient, especially when family members and others join in. It can ease a patient’s loneliness. Talking about song lyrics with a patient can help them recall happy memories. Art, massage and music therapy help patients and families relax, reconnect, and hold in their hearts precious moments shared together, even as they search for ways to say goodbye. And for many of our patients, these therapies offer an avenue for expressing thoughts and feelings when words alone no longer work. Although these therapies are not covered by Medicare or private insurance, and are not billable treatments, we readily include them in our Circle of Care, because we know they have a positive and often profound impact on the physical and emotional wellbeing of our hospice patients and their families. For the Harbor Hospice team, these therapies embody our commitment to offer the best hospice care available. The Harbor Hospice Foundation underwrites 40% of the cost of these therapies, and for the coming year, we’d like to double the number of therapy sessions we can offer. That’s how important the impact of this care is to our patients and to the quality of the time they have remaining. When you send a gift to the Foundation, you are making a very real difference to patients seeking peace at the end of their life and to family members by their side.
On behalf of our patients, their families, and the entire Harbor Hospice team, we offer deepest gratitude for your support.
Compassionate Givers
enjoying an evening
together
Circles of Giving support hospice care here in West Michigan Would you like to play a larger role in our care of hospice patients and their families? Do you feel moved to leave a legacy? Do you want to put your company in the spotlight as a champion for compassionate end-of-life care? In past issues of this newsletter, we introduced you to three giving circles that offer distinct ways you can support the work of Harbor Hospice staff and volunteers and the patients and families we care for. In this issue, we are excited to announce the launch of our fourth, the Sustaining Circle!
Giving to the Harbor Hospice Foundation The Harbor Hospice Foundation supports the Harbor Hospice mission and underwrites a portion of the organization’s capital and operational costs not covered by insurance or Medicare. Both Harbor Hospice and the Foundation are governed by diverse boards of directors who live in our region. Your gifts to the Foundation are used locally and make it possible for us to provide the best hospice care available to patients and their families. For your convenience, we’ve included a QR code. When you use your smart phone to scan this code, you will be directed to the Harbor Hospice website where you’ll find information about all our programs. The website address is www.harborhospicemi.org. There are several ways to support our care, and we’d love to talk with you about them! Contact Ammy Seymour at 231-728-3442 for more information. Thank you!
Sustaining Circle — The power of your pledge Members of our newest donor group, the Sustaining Circle, help cover major expenses for three programs that are not billable and are not reimbursed by Medicare or other insurance. Palliative Care Annual unreimbursed operating costs include patients’ visits with our palliative care medical team, specialized training for that team, and maintaining office space. Leila & Cyrus Poppen Hospice Residence Annual unreimbursed capital expenses include areas such as maintenance, repair and renovations to the building, new furnishings and appliances, and care of the grounds. Bob & Merle Scolnik Healing Center Annual unreimbursed operating costs include rent and utilities, salaries for grief counselors, supplies for programs, and our three-day Camp Courage for children who are grieving the loss of someone close. These three essential programs create an annual gap in funding of more than $500,000. Harbor Hospice Foundation covers 40% of those costs, which leaves about $300,000 that we must raise each year with a combination of special events, campaigns and appeals. And even when fundraising is successful, we can only plan for the future of these programs year by year. When we can accurately project revenue that will cover those expenses, we can plan well beyond the current fiscal year and know that we will be able to provide our Circle of Care continuously and seamlessly. Members of the Sustaining Circle give an initial gift of $1,000 or more and pledge an additional gift each year for five years. Their pledge enables us to plan ahead and know that we can maintain these programs for West Michigan patients and families and expand them when the need increases.
Compassionate
GIVERS
Amber Wallace Amy Strach Ammy Seymour Arlene DeKam Bobbie Hilleary Bonnie K. Adamczak-Brown Caitlin Fulton Chad Shelner Cheri Montambo Cheri Pernot Connie Learman Darlene Collet Dee Kwiecien Eileen Stoffan Heather Brolick Irene Pierson Janice McDonald Jennifer Briggs Russell Jennifer Chupailo Judy O’Brien Julie Johnson Karen Panozzo Kathy Moore Kim Suarez Kristi Nagengast Kristine Jordahl Mike Olson Linda Boyd Linda Siscoe Lisa Lake Lisa Metzdorf Liz Murphy Mary Anne Gorman Merica Dobry Mhairi Blacklock Shelley Comstock Pam Babbitt Pam Wingard RandiLynn Talsma Robin Anderson Roger Morgenstern Sally Bonter Shannon Enders Shari Simon Sheli Vanderlinde Sue Houseman Susan Cloutier-Crain Thomas A. Serio Will Meier
Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE
A NEWSLETTER PUBLICATION/TWICE A YEAR Fall/Winter 2023 Vol.30 No.2
Camp Courage 2023 was a big success!
PAID
NEWSLETTER STAFF Susan Houseman, President/CEO Ammy Seymour, Director of Development Hayden Dobb, Communications Specialist Sheila B. Warners Graphics and Concepts…Graphic Design, Design
amp.” “It’s an amazing c
Please help us maintain accurate records for m ailings. Name and address printed correctly? Wish to unsubscribe or receiving more copies than necessary? Email info@HarborHospiceMI.org or call 1.800.497.9559. Thank you.
“Very friendly and helpful.” “They loved the experience.”
Connect with us on Haven’t signed up for e-Hospice stories and news? Stay up to date by signing up on our website HarborHospiceMI.org
These are some of the enthusiastic comments we received from parents when we invited them to share thoughts about their child’s experience at camp Courage last June. Those carefully planned three days and two nights, staffed by adults with special training for working with grieving children, help campers understand they are in a safe environment where they can laugh and cry and talk about the loss of someone close to them.
MUSKEGON, MI PERMIT NO. 231
1050 W. Western Ave., Suite 400 Muskegon, MI 49441 231.728.3442 – Muskegon 231.873.0359 – Oceana 231.845.5060 – Mason 616.844.3330 – Ottawa HarborHospiceMI.org
Community
Join your friends at Pigeon Hill Brewing Company in Muskegon on February 2 for a festive kickoff to a month-long fundraiser that will support programs and services for Harbor Hospice patients and their families! Watch for details on the Harbor Hospice website and Facebook!
“Parents often tell us how their children meet the other campers and realize they are not the only kids struggling with loss,” says Pamela Wingard, manager of Social Work and Counseling Services for Harbor Hospice. “Talking to the counselors and other campers helps the children feel, in their words, normal. It can be life-changing for them.” Still, sometimes those first few moments can be difficult for a new camper. “Several children were reluctant when they arrived at camp,” says Lisa Watson, a Harbor Hospice bereavement counselor and co-director of Camp Courage. “But family members told us that when they came to pick up their children at the end of camp, the children were in tears at the thought of leaving!”
Fall/Winter 2023 Newsletter Vol.30 No.2
Care for the Whole
Save the date!
The children also get to work on projects that help them remember that person they loved so much. And they have plenty of time for typical summer camp fun like swimming in Big Blue Lake and sitting around a campfire at night.
Circles of Care
Become an essential part of our team.
Flexible volunteer training sessions are available and designed to work with your schedule in person or virtually.
Volunteers are an integral part of the hospice team, filling roles that range from direct contact with patients to providing clerical and fundraising support for the organization.
Please contact us for more information at 231.728.3442 or 1.800.497.9559, email info@HarborHospiceMI.org or visit our website at www.HarborHospiceMI.org
The song written by campers this year offers a window in to how they feel.
e g a our C p m a C Song 2023
Verse
Chorus
It takes a certain kind of bravery to share No matter what we feel, it’s okay
Hey,
We’ve got our memories of our loved ones who passed away It hasn’t always been easy, but we find our way to peace And we made friends Thank goodness
That’s what Courage means to me. We’ll be brave and find a way We stand up to our fears We’ll never forget the ones we love, But together we will see Our light and laughter will come back, Our strength will set us free That’s what Courage means to me.
Thirty-four children attended Camp Courage this past June for only a $10 application fee. Generous donors who responded to our spring appeal, plus a $5,000 grant from the Gerber Foundation covered most of our costs. We are so grateful for the outpouring of support! It makes this amazing experience open to any child in our region, between 6 and 14 years old, who is dealing with grief. Camp Courage 2024 will be held June 21 to 23. Contact the Bob & Merle Scolnik Healing Center at 231-728-3442 if you know a child who could benefit by attending.
Campers & Volunteers at Camp Courage
“It’s a great experience for grieving children.”
“It’s fun!
”
tending the
Veterans at Armed Forces
fé
Vet-to-Vet Ca
Honoring our Veterans
Honorin
g our Ve
Harbor Hospice has been awarded the honor of achieving Level 5 Partner of We Honor Veterans (WHV), a national organization that provides guidance and resources to end-of-life-care partners so they can meet the unique needs of America’s Veterans and their families. WHV provides a tiered system of recognition to organizations that demonstrate a commitment to improving care for Veterans in hospice care and in the community. Level 5 is the highest award a hospice organization can attain. “As part of customizing our care at Harbor Hospice, we assess each patient so we can address their specific needs,” says Pamela Wingard, manager of Social Work and Counseling Services for Harbor Hospice. “Through the WHV program, our staff members have been trained to explore the impact that a person’s military service may have on their end-of-life experience. We also provide support and referrals to ensure
teran
Veter a
ns en
joying
the V et-to-
Vet C af
é
that the Veteran and their family have access to their benefits when needed.” Our wonderful volunteers who are Veterans provide care and support by offering “Vet-to-Vet” visits for patients that are often affirming and emotional. They also hold a moving ceremony that formally honors a patient’s service to their country and recognizes their families for their sacrifices as well. Each Veteran receives a beautiful pin and a certificate. We are very proud of our Level 5 award and grateful that we have learned how to provide the special care and attention needed and deserved by those who have served in the United States Armed Forces. To learn more about volunteer opportunities and our partnership with We Honor Veterans, visit www.harborhospicemi.org/services/we-honor-veterans.
The Leila & Cyrus Poppen HOSPICE RESIDENCE
Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE
A NEWSLETTER PUBLICATION/TWICE A YEAR Fall/Winter 2023 Vol.30 No.2
Camp Courage 2023 was a big success!
PAID
NEWSLETTER STAFF Susan Houseman, President/CEO Ammy Seymour, Director of Development Hayden Dobb, Communications Specialist Sheila B. Warners Graphics and Concepts…Graphic Design, Design
amp.” “It’s an amazing c
Please help us maintain accurate records for m ailings. Name and address printed correctly? Wish to unsubscribe or receiving more copies than necessary? Email info@HarborHospiceMI.org or call 1.800.497.9559. Thank you.
“Very friendly and helpful.” “They loved the experience.”
Connect with us on Haven’t signed up for e-Hospice stories and news? Stay up to date by signing up on our website HarborHospiceMI.org
These are some of the enthusiastic comments we received from parents when we invited them to share thoughts about their child’s experience at camp Courage last June. Those carefully planned three days and two nights, staffed by adults with special training for working with grieving children, help campers understand they are in a safe environment where they can laugh and cry and talk about the loss of someone close to them.
MUSKEGON, MI PERMIT NO. 231
1050 W. Western Ave., Suite 400 Muskegon, MI 49441 231.728.3442 – Muskegon 231.873.0359 – Oceana 231.845.5060 – Mason 616.844.3330 – Ottawa HarborHospiceMI.org
Community
Join your friends at Pigeon Hill Brewing Company in Muskegon on February 2 for a festive kickoff to a month-long fundraiser that will support programs and services for Harbor Hospice patients and their families! Watch for details on the Harbor Hospice website and Facebook!
“Parents often tell us how their children meet the other campers and realize they are not the only kids struggling with loss,” says Pamela Wingard, manager of Social Work and Counseling Services for Harbor Hospice. “Talking to the counselors and other campers helps the children feel, in their words, normal. It can be life-changing for them.” Still, sometimes those first few moments can be difficult for a new camper. “Several children were reluctant when they arrived at camp,” says Lisa Watson, a Harbor Hospice bereavement counselor and co-director of Camp Courage. “But family members told us that when they came to pick up their children at the end of camp, the children were in tears at the thought of leaving!”
Fall/Winter 2023 Newsletter Vol.30 No.2
Care for the Whole
Save the date!
The children also get to work on projects that help them remember that person they loved so much. And they have plenty of time for typical summer camp fun like swimming in Big Blue Lake and sitting around a campfire at night.
Circles of Care
Become an essential part of our team.
Flexible volunteer training sessions are available and designed to work with your schedule in person or virtually.
Volunteers are an integral part of the hospice team, filling roles that range from direct contact with patients to providing clerical and fundraising support for the organization.
Please contact us for more information at 231.728.3442 or 1.800.497.9559, email info@HarborHospiceMI.org or visit our website at www.HarborHospiceMI.org
The song written by campers this year offers a window in to how they feel.
e g a our C p m a C Song 2023
Verse
Chorus
It takes a certain kind of bravery to share No matter what we feel, it’s okay
Hey,
We’ve got our memories of our loved ones who passed away It hasn’t always been easy, but we find our way to peace And we made friends Thank goodness
That’s what Courage means to me. We’ll be brave and find a way We stand up to our fears We’ll never forget the ones we love, But together we will see Our light and laughter will come back, Our strength will set us free That’s what Courage means to me.
Thirty-four children attended Camp Courage this past June for only a $10 application fee. Generous donors who responded to our spring appeal, plus a $5,000 grant from the Gerber Foundation covered most of our costs. We are so grateful for the outpouring of support! It makes this amazing experience open to any child in our region, between 6 and 14 years old, who is dealing with grief. Camp Courage 2024 will be held June 21 to 23. Contact the Bob & Merle Scolnik Healing Center at 231-728-3442 if you know a child who could benefit by attending.
Campers & Volunteers at Camp Courage
“It’s a great experience for grieving children.”
“It’s fun!
”
tending the
Veterans at Armed Forces
fé
Vet-to-Vet Ca
Honoring our Veterans
Honorin
g our Ve
Harbor Hospice has been awarded the honor of achieving Level 5 Partner of We Honor Veterans (WHV), a national organization that provides guidance and resources to end-of-life-care partners so they can meet the unique needs of America’s Veterans and their families. WHV provides a tiered system of recognition to organizations that demonstrate a commitment to improving care for Veterans in hospice care and in the community. Level 5 is the highest award a hospice organization can attain. “As part of customizing our care at Harbor Hospice, we assess each patient so we can address their specific needs,” says Pamela Wingard, manager of Social Work and Counseling Services for Harbor Hospice. “Through the WHV program, our staff members have been trained to explore the impact that a person’s military service may have on their end-of-life experience. We also provide support and referrals to ensure
teran
Veter a
ns en
joying
the V et-to-
Vet C af
é
that the Veteran and their family have access to their benefits when needed.” Our wonderful volunteers who are Veterans provide care and support by offering “Vet-to-Vet” visits for patients that are often affirming and emotional. They also hold a moving ceremony that formally honors a patient’s service to their country and recognizes their families for their sacrifices as well. Each Veteran receives a beautiful pin and a certificate. We are very proud of our Level 5 award and grateful that we have learned how to provide the special care and attention needed and deserved by those who have served in the United States Armed Forces. To learn more about volunteer opportunities and our partnership with We Honor Veterans, visit www.harborhospicemi.org/services/we-honor-veterans.
The Leila & Cyrus Poppen HOSPICE RESIDENCE