Circles of Care Spring/Summer 2021 Newsletter Vol. 28 No.1
With the guidance of an art therapist, Harbor Hospice patients have new creative ways to express their feelings By Susan Newhof
Art Therapist Amy Hamman bubbles with enthusiasm when she talks about working with Harbor Hospice patients. It’s been just a month since she began introducing them to the fun and the benefits of art therapy, and already, equally enthusiastic patients are displaying some of their art projects for visitors. “People are sometimes a little hesitant at first,” says Amy, whose respect and care for her patients is immediately apparent. “They don’t know what to expect, and they often tell me they aren’t a good artist or that they don’t know anything about art. I tell them if they are willing to try it, and if they’ll trust me, we’ll come up with ideas and work on them together.” In fact, Amy stresses that patients don’t need any artistic experience or natural artistic ability for art therapy to be helpful, and often, they benefit simply from the process of making art. Using art as a means of expression and even diagnosis has been documented going back centuries. In the mid-1900s, it became a publicly accepted therapeutic approach for addressing issues such as depression and anxiety in both the US and Europe. Amy has worked with people of all ages and situations, from convicted felons to children traumatized by their time in foster care or juvenile systems. And for people coming to the end of their life, she says, art therapy can be an especially effective way to communicate feelings. “While it’s natural for those in hospice care to begin looking more inward, that process can be accompanied by a sense of isolation and depression,” she explains. “Sometimes patients don’t know how to explain in words what they are feeling, but they can do it through guided artistic expression or by making things.” “Creative expression encourages people to move and be active to the extent they are able, and it can help them get engaged and out of their bubble,” she says. “I guide them, and they take me on their journey.” Working one-on-one with each person, Amy customizes the art activity to fit each individual’s need. For example, a hospice patient who feels at peace about their diagnosis may have concerns about a family member who is experiencing their own difficult health issues or struggling with grief. Amy encourages the patient to talk with her about the person they want to reach out to, especially that person’s interests such as fishing, quilting, or hunting. Then she sketches pictures on a card reflecting those interests, and the patient can use easy-to-grip watercolor markers to fill them in. That card becomes an important bridge for communication between the patient and someone they care about.
Amy Hamman received a master’s degree in education specializing in art therapy from Wayne State University and is board certified nationally.
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“Art therapy makes me happy and also makes me feel alive, like a new beginning!” –Luella Hansen
Join us at the
8th Annual Community Remembrance Monday, September 20, 6:00 pm “I will always remember the final words, that we are living out our lives as they want us to live, and celebrating in them all that they gave us.” – 2020 family member
Using Every Resource to Meet Your Needs Sue Houseman President & CEO
When we look back over our shoulder at 2020 and all the challenges we have faced while coping with a pandemic, I am proud and grateful to tell you that our patients and their families and caregivers remain our priority, and we continue to focus on providing both excellent care and peace of mind. We accomplish this because we are hardwired to maintain high standards for our medical team,and because our outstanding support staff and volunteers keep this organization running smoothly. To that unshakable foundation, we add our deep respect and compassion for our patients and for the families who place their loved ones in our care. We understand what they are facing. We know how to help. And we use every resource available to us to meet their needs. One exciting new resource we’re offering hospice patients is the opportunity to spend time with our board certified art therapist Amy Hamman. Using a variety of art media from colored markers to paint and clay, Amy is helping patients find new ways to engage their mind, body and spirit. The process can build bridges between patients and those around them, and is especially helpful when words seem inadequate or just don’t work.
The Bob & Merle Scolnik Healing Center of Harbor Hospice is hosting the 8th Annual Community Remembrance at Heritage Memorial Garden in downtown Muskegon. A program encompassing beautiful music, readings and bulb planting to help individuals and families in our community to both mourn the death and honor the life of a loved one. This program is open to anyone who has had a loss and need not have had hospice care. The annual Community Remembrance is held at the Heritage Memorial Garden located at 545 West Western Avenue and welcomes 80–100 attendees each year. Local community supporter, Pam Babbitt, developed the beautiful garden in honor of her late husband; it is a haven located in downtown Muskegon and an incredible representation of the love that remains even after a person dies. In our culture, mourning is becoming increasingly taboo. Grief is a natural and normal response to loss, and mourning is how one heals. It is our privilege to offer this opportunity to mourn and heal in an environment of acceptance and understanding.
Our commitment to deliver the best hospice care and family support possible has earned Harbor Hospice the Hospice Honors Award from HEALTHCARE first. Based on responses to a survey measured from the family’s or caregiver’s point of view, this annual review recognizes hospice organizations who continually provide the highest level of quality and satisfaction. In short, it tells us we are doing what we promise and beyond—what we are trained to do and what we love doing.
If you would like to participate in this meaningful event, please RSVP by Monday, September 13, by calling 231.728.3442 / 1.800.497.9559 or email us at RSVP@ HarborHospiceMI.org
From taking care of a patient’s personal needs, arriving in the middle of the night in response to a frantic phone call, easing pain and anxiety, or offering spiritual and grief support, you can count on us.
For more information on grief support programs including individual and groups please visit HarborHospiceMI.org/ resources/grief-support
Being with someone as they live their last days and hours is an honor. That our patients and their families and caregivers share with us their hopes and fears, and trust us to be by their side, is a privilege. Since we accepted our first patient in 1983, our mission has been to make that precious time at the end of one’s life as peaceful and meaningful as it can be. Thank you for being alongside us in this journey.
Camp Courage “at home” brings comfort to grieving children and teens
If you spend a little time with children these days, you’ll find their world is often rocked by feelings of isolation, depression and uncertainty. In fact, an assessment conducted in 2018 by the Youth Advisory Council of Muskegon County identified anxiety, mental health, self-esteem and suicide as four of the top seven issues among children. Those same troubling concerns have been expressed to us by children who have lost someone they love, which is why we founded Camp Courage in 1994. This annual summer event has been held at beautiful Pioneer Trails. It provides a supportive environment where, for three days and two nights, children ages 6 to 19 who are struggling with grief come together to play, to talk, and to remember the person they miss so deeply. They are guided through activities and conversations by specially trained counselors, and in the process, as one counselor observed, “…we give them a starting point for having a healthy way to deal with their loss.” COVID-19 made that in-person camp experience not possible in 2020, so counselors quickly adjusted the program. They sent three activity packages to each camper — one each in June, July and August — and made videos for them with welcome messages and demonstrations showing how to use items in their packages. The children loved camp-at-home and so did their family members! In order to protect everyone’s health, we’re building on last year’s success to provide camp-at-home again this summer. Counselors will provide mental health support and grief counseling in several ways, including mailing three packages to each child. Care Package #1 will include the book Boats for Papa, by Jessixa Bagley, chosen for its powerful messages about love and loss. We are delighted with this book because children can read it alone or with someone, and it opens the door for young readers to begin talking about their feelings. In place of Boats for Papa, teenagers will receive a special book to use as a journal. The package will also include an origami sailboat project and a letter to the child’s parent or guardian. Care Package
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Care Package
Care Package #2 will include craft supplies for a project campers will tackle together with counselors live on Zoom! The camaraderie — even virtual — of a group activity like this can help ease the sense of isolation that grieving children often feel and will give counselors a real-time window to check in and see how they are doing.
Care Package
Care Package #3 will include another letter to the parent or guardian, a stuffed animal — which is always a favorite surprise for campers — and a frame kit that each child can make and use for a photo of their loved one who died.
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Our cost for this year’s at-home Camp Courage is about $150 per child, and we anticipate welcoming 40 children to the program. As in past years, we make this experience accessible to every child referred to us by asking for only a $10 registration fee, which we waive when needed. And that is why each spring we ask for your support of this life-changing program. Your donation in any amount helps us continue to reach out to children who have lost someone close.
Thank you!
Pictures taken by Melanie Dekkers, Photographer
Compassionate
GIVERS
Harbor Hospice Foundation
We express our gratitude to these West Michigan businesses and organizations that support our hospice and palliative care services through their membership in the Corporate Partners Program, and touch the lives of our patients and families through their sustaining support of the Harbor Hospice Foundation.
Currently, 41 Compassionate Givers decide, collectively, how their annual gifts will impact a Harbor Hospice program or capital need that receives the greatest number of votes. Texas Roadhouse Poppen donation
“I love supporting something that I wish had been available to me as a young person when both my parents died from cancer.”
“Redi Rental believes in the mission of the Harbor Hospice Foundation and of the programs it supports for those in need, at a time it is needed most. We value the partnership we have with them and believe in their commitment to the community where we live and work.”
–Dr. Janice McDonald, DO Mercy Health Physician Partners
–Matt Cregg, Manager, Redi Rental
Nichols Shape Corporation Howmet AeroSpace The Gerber Foundation Newkirk Electric Associates, Inc. Hines Corporation Foster Swift Collins & Smith, P.C. Shelby State Bank Lakeshore Employee Benefits CareLinc Medical Equipment Jackson-Merkey Contractors Great Lakes Dock & Materials Sand Products/Mart Dock Fund of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County UBS Financial Services, Inc. Core Realty Mercy Health Real Estate West Fricano’s Muskegon Lake ChoiceOne Bank Parmenter Law Meijer Betten Baker Tridonn Construction Company LHR Properties/Tridonn Development Co. Pigeon Hill Brewing Company The Block Redi Rental of Muskegon Cofessco Fire Protection, LLC. Blended Furniture Market iHeartMedia Muskegon Yacht Club
Become a Harbor Hospice Foundation Compassionate Giver and positively affect the lives of thousands of adults and children in West Michigan every year!
McAuley Muskegon Christmas Parade
Christmas bags for nursing home residents
Amy Geldersma Amanda Olson Ammy Seymour Arlene DeKam Blaire Adamczak Bobbie Hilleary Bonnie Kay Adamczak-Brown Cheri Montambo Connie Learman Darlene Collet Dee Kwiecien Rev. Eileen B. Stoffan Heather Brolick Irene Pierson Janice McDonald Jennifer Bailey Jennifer Chupailo Jessica Ogle Julie Johnson Karen Panozzo Kathy Moore Kim Suarez Kristen Woods Kristi Nagengast Lori Goudie Linda Siscoe Liz Murphy Marilyn Rottschafer Andriese Mary Anne Gorman Merica Dobry Mhairi Blacklock Michelle Morgenstern Mishelle Comstock Pam Babbitt Pamela Bogie Pamela Wingard Peggy Jacobs Shari Simon Susan Crain Susan Houseman Thomas Serio For more information about these groups, please call Ammy Seymour, Director of Development at 231.728.3442 / 1.800.497.9559
R E G A T T A
In memoriam
Hettie “Louise” Poppen
aughter and her step-d Louise Poppen Julie Poppen
Harbor Hospice lost a special friend this winter. Hettie “Louise” Poppen passed away December 23. We first met Louise when she married philanthropic champion Sherm Poppen several years after the death of his beloved first wife, Nancy. The Poppen family legacy of generosity lives on in the programs and projects they helped launch, and in their continued support of the Harbor Hospice Foundation.
Congratulations to Nancy Nienhouse, Dietary Aide, for earning the 2020 Excellence Mission Award.
From Loss…to Life! Beth Bolthouse, now a published author, is a Bereavement Counselor for the Scolnik Healing Center of Harbor Hospice. She has a Masters of Counseling from Cornerstone University and Masters of Science in Thanatology from Marian University. She has been in the counseling profession since 2003. Beth’s new book, From Loss…to Life! Transform Your Life After Traumatic Loss, was a project that came about as part of her Master of Science in Thanatology program. As she learned more about post-traumatic growth, she realized that many of the grievers attending groups and participating in individual counseling would often reach a point where they understood the grieving process, yet were still challenged to find a sense of purpose and meaning for living their lives. “They seemed to be just ‘doing time’ (as one of my grievers described it) to get through life,” recalls Beth.
Art Therapist continued from page 1
When a patient expresses the all-toocommon feeling of being embarrassed or uncomfortable with the amount of care they need, Amy offers to help the patient make a “gratitude” doll for each caretaker. The process of making the dolls and giving them as gifts, plus the sense of control it offers the patient, can raise the patient’s feeling of wellbeing. Luella Hansen loves her art therapy sessions with Amy, and her husband Brian says the benefits of art therapy extend to family members. “We’re dealing with serious business here, with life and death,” Brian explains. “I love being in other parts of the house, when Amy is here, and hearing Amy and Luella laughing together!” “I encourage each individual to do as much as they can,” says Amy of her tender partnership with patients. “And I step in where I am needed. Art therapy is fun and it helps people process what they are going through. I feel honored to be able to work with Harbor Hospice patients.”
“The principles of post-traumatic growth offers a means where folks can identify ways their lives have been influenced by the loss(es), and learn how to be intentional in choosing life. They can embrace who they are becoming as a result of their loss, and continue to grow and adapt to life which has changed as a result of their loss. It supports grievers in developing and increasing resilience to deal more effectively with losses in the future.” This workbook was developed as a counseling tool for small groups and self-study, whereby practical worksheets guide the griever through the five processes of posttraumatic growth (developed by research of Richard Tedeschi and Laurence Calhoun): appreciating life, becoming healthier in their relationship with self and others, identifying personal strengths, looking for new possibilities, and enhancing spiritual growth. The book is published by Soul Seasons Publishing and can be purchased on Amazon.
A Year of Podcasting Our team hears it daily…You know, I really could not do your job. You are angels and have been called to work in hospice care. Thank you. Approaching almost 40 episodes, hear the ‘why’ directly from our hospice, palliative care, and grief support teams, co-hosted by Amy Geldersma, Social Work & Counseling Services Manager and Cheri Montambo, Palliative Care Registered Nurse. Launched in April of 2020, the podcast, I Couldn’t Do Your Job, by Harbor Hospice & Harbor Palliative Care has been recording virtually during the pandemic to continue connecting with the community and invited guests about our programs and services. New episodes air the first and third Fridays of every month. Tune in to hear personal stories and conversations about important and sometimes touchy topics. Subscribe and listen on your favorite podcast platform. Produced by our friends at Black Circle Radio and This is the Situation.
Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE
A NEWSLETTER PUBLICATION/TWICE A YEAR Spring/Summer 2021 Newsletter Vol. 28 No.1
PAID
MUSKEGON, MI PERMIT NO. 231
NEWSLETTER STAFF
Sue Houseman, President/CEO Ammy Seymour, Director of Development Richard Vanderputte-McPherson, Communications Specialist Sheila B. Warners Design, Graphics Please help us maintain accurate records for mailings. 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. 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
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
Look for the latest edition of Harbor Hospice Touching Lives magazine in your physician’s office. Within its cover, you will find a national story, Create Your Own Story, as well as local articles Building Bridges and Embracing the Unique Hospice Needs of African American and Hispanic Families, and more. If you would like copies for your church, organization or business, please email or call us today.
Calendar of 2021 Events For more information on special events, please visit HarborHospiceMI.org. Questions about future events, or other educational opportunities? Please call us at 231.782.3442 / 1.800.497.9559 or email us at info@HarborHospiceMI.org.
6th Annual Purse Auction — Canceled It is with a heavy heart that we will be canceling the 6th annual Purse Party fundraiser for 2021. Because of the changing environment surrounding the pandemic, and the event held in a small inside space, we’re unable to reschedule to a later date. This fun event will be back in May 2022! The Purse Party fundraiser benefits Camp Courage for children ages 6–19 who have experienced a death. Over the past five years this event has raised over $7,000 to support this program of The Bob & Merle Scolnik Healing Center of Harbor Hospice. Gently used or new purse or handbag donations can still be made at Harbor Hospice or the Leila & Cyrus Poppen Hospice Residence. To support Camp Courage please visit HarborHospiceMI.org to make an online donation.
Run and Ride to Remember — Saturday, May 29 or virtually May 22–29 Join our team, sponsors, and volunteers for a run, jog, walk or ride in memory or honor of our loved ones. The 40th Annual Fruitport Old Fashioned Days 5K will be held in conjunction with the 15th Annual Ride to Remember, with proceeds benefiting the Leila & Cyrus Poppen Hospice Residence, a program of Harbor Hospice. The out and back 5K race through the rolling hills of Fruitport begins at 8:30 am. Runners, joggers and walkers are welcome, concluding with awards ceremony and refreshments. Following the 5K race, enjoy a leisurely bike ride with family and friends around Spring Lake. The bike ride begins at 10:30 am and we ask riders 16 age or under be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Safety comes first; we encourage everyone to wear a helmet. All participants are encouraged to practice social distancing and wear face masks before events start. Register and crowdfund online for both events at HarborHospiceMI.org/waysto-give/runrideremember Please Note: We may postpone or cancel should local, state and government restrictions still be in place. Thank you for your support and understanding.
28th Annual Camp Courage — July 20 In light of the continued COVID-19 precautions, Harbor Hospice leaders have made the decision to not hold an in-person Camp Courage weekend for 2021. With a mission to support grieving children and teenagers, we feel a strong responsibility to protect their well-being. Our camp directors are working to create an alternative experience this year. They will be holding a live Zoom event on Tuesday, July 20 at 6:00 pm that will include a craft activity and group discussion time to provide emotional
support and an opportunity for children and teens to talk about their loss and process their grief. Registration is required by July 5 so that we can mail activity kits before the Zoom event. The registration form is available at HarborHospiceMI.org or by calling 231.728.3442 / 1.800.497.9559. Children and teens registered by June 14 will receive two additional care packages (June and August) with grief support activities. Although the 28th year of Camp Courage will look different, Harbor Hospice is committed to reaching the hearts of grieving children and teens in our community now and beyond.
Harbor Hospice Regatta and Awards — Wednesday, August 11 The Harbor Hospice Regatta is celebrating 14 R E G A T T A years with West Michigan sailors raising over $400,000 to support local hospice care. Held at the Muskegon Yacht Club, proceeds will help with PPE cost increases and enable us to continue to provide safe exceptional care — anytime, anywhere.
A Celebration for the Harbor Hospice Foundation — Beanies, Brunch & Brews — Postponed until October 2022 The Muskegon Lakeshore will rock, again, in October 2022 when the Harbor Hospice Foundation presents Beanies, Brunch & Brews at Pigeon Hill Brewing Company’s new production facility in Muskegon. This memorable event will feature great food, outdoor games, bonfires, and tastings of Pigeon Hill’s notable craft beers, all against a backdrop of lively music. VIP and general admission tickets will be available in 2022. Please check Facebook @HarborHospiceMI or our website for details.