Evergreen Healthcare - Evergreen Hospital

Hospice and Palliative Care6 7Spiritual Care“Hospice is really about howpeople live; people often find asense of community at times theywould expect it the least.”– Hope Wechkin, MDHospice and Palliative CareStanding in the Hospice Center’s Rose Gardenlast July, Hope Wechkin, MD, saw a familiar face.He was the young Mexican-American nephewof an elderly farmer who had spent his last daysat the Hospice Center, and he’d traveled back toEvergreen with his extended family from Yakima toremember the uncle he’d lost.“People come back year after year to the annualHospice Center gathering and say they wouldn’tmiss it,” says Dr. Wechkin, medical director ofEvergreen Hospice and Palliative Care. “It’s a wayto remember the person you lost and reconnectwith the nurses and social workers who were therewith you. It’s not just about the medical care; it’sabout the community.”It was a year of tremendous growth for hospice andpalliative care. In 2008, the hospice team openeda West Seattle office to meet the growing needfor hospice care beyond Kirkland and Edmonds.“While we’re headquartered at Evergreen andcommitted to our public hospital district, wenow see patients all over King and Snohomishcounties,” says Dr. Wechkin. Her team alsoexpanded its Open Access program, making iteasier for patients to receive the full six monthsof hospice care benefits they’re entitled to, evenif they’re still receiving therapies such as palliativeradiation.Palliative care, a new medical specialty, is an approachto end-of-life care that focuses on symptom managementand quality of life, led by each patient’s goalsof care.“There’s a growing interest in palliative care,”Dr. Wechkin says. “We’re doing a lot to educatenot only referring physicians in local hospitals,but also the next generation of residents, nursesand social workers coming up. They want to learnwhat we’re learning about palliative care – and seewhat works.”Signs of Growth: Hospice and Palliative CareHospice2007 / 1,586 patients2008 / 1,806 patientsPalliative Care2007 / 103 patients2008 / 182 patientsSpiritual Care“People want to be heard during times ofuncertainty, more than they’re concerned withwhich spiritual group you belong to,” says DaveWendleton, director of Spiritual Care and ClinicalPastoral Education at Evergreen. “People want toknow: Can you listen to them and respond to theirhurt and pain? Do you judge them or not? How doyou companion them through a difficult time?”Evergreen is the only health care center onthe Eastside – and one of about 400 centersnationwide – to offer Clinical Pastoral Education,a nationally accredited pastoral training program, aspart of its spiritual care. Evergreen’s nondenominationalprogram brings in four pastoral residentseach year from various faiths to provide on-callspiritual care for patients and their families,24 hours a day.“We’re not a huge hospital, but we have a strongcommitment to spiritual care,” says Wendleton.“Evergreen’s commitment originally came fromIntimate by design, the new chapel is always open toanyone seeking solace and a few moments to reconnectquietly with heart and soul.our community advisors, who said that spiritualcare should be looked at closely, and if we do it,we should do it right.“We’re here to provide a safe place for people todo the work they need to do when facing a healthcrisis,” Wendleton says. “Each of our residentsworks in both the hospital and hospice, offeringa holistic approach that considers the impact oneveryone involved with caring for and loving aperson facing a crisis.”Through its Faith in Action program, the teamhelps local congregations provide spiritual carefor their members who are facing end-of-life ormedical crises, teaching them how to talk withpeople who are seriously ill and use humor andstorytelling to bring comfort. Faith in Action,through its outreach coordinator, Donna Oiland,created a book, Legacy: Reflections Along the Way, tohelp patients and families share their life storieswith each other.Inspired GivingTHE ROSE GARDENA poem, song or picture often graces the deeply personal memorial plaques in the Hospice Center’s RoseGarden, giving it a paradoxically “alive” feeling. It’s a place to remember not how people died – but how they lived.At Evergreen, families may choose to remember their loved ones with an intimate, personally engraved plaque, ora granite or adobe brick. In 2008, 75 donors gave more than $45,000 to the Hospice Center through memorialplaques and bricks. The welcome addition of memorial benches now gives families another opportunity for a lasting,personal tribute.“Since hospice care provides a full year of bereavement support for family members, we’re in people’s lives for longerthan a few weeks,” says Hope Wechkin, MD. “The hospice becomes woven into their lives, so many families leavebequests to Evergreen Hospice, wanting to give so that others can receive the compassionate care they’ve had.”Donations to Evergreen Hospice in 2008 totaled close to $280,000, including contributions for memorial plaques,bricks and other gifts. These generous donations help fund renovations to the 15-bed Hospice Center and itsgrounds, and support ongoing expenses such as training for staff and volunteers.Inspired GivingThe Elling and Barbara Halvorson ChapelCome to Evergreen early in the morning, and you’re likely to see a handful of people beginning their day inEvergreen’s new chapel, a beautiful, meditative and prayerful space that opened in October 2008.“It’s a place for people from all faith traditions to come pray, meditate and seek comfort, and is used bypatients, families and staff,” says Dave Wendleton, director of Spiritual Care. “We have a prayer request bookin the chapel where anyone can write prayers, and we read those prayers every day and remember the peoplewho request specific prayers.”Funded primarily by a generous gift from Elling and Barbara Halvorson, longtime friends of Evergreen, thenondenominational chapel also received a donation from the Evergreen Hospital Auxiliary. Local artists werecommissioned to provide artwork, with the focal piece created by Cassandria Blackmore, a reverse glasspainter from Duvall.“It’s a blessingto the wholeexperience, forpatients andfamily membersgoing throughchallenging times.”– Dave Wendleton