2007 Annual Report: We're Here. - Visiting Nurse Service of New York

When Lan Chun Cheung was in her final months of life, 19-year-old Lina Zheng wholly committedherself to taking care of her beloved godmother, whom she calls Mommy. “She couldn’t stay in thehospital or go to a hospice residence,” Lina explains. “She didn’t speak English. She doesn’t likeAmerican food. She wanted to be at home, and I wanted to be there for her. She was everything tome.” So when the hospital staff recommended that VNSNY Hospice Care come to see them at thetwo women’s Chinatown apartment, they knew it was the right thing.pg 13We’re here for Lina’s emotional support.VNSNY’s Hospice program, the largest in the NewYork metropolitan area, stepped up outreach to theChinatown community in 2007, in order to bringcompassionate home care for the dying to a communitywhere the need is great but the subject is often tabooand language can be a barrier. Lan, who suffered fromcancer, and Lina received VNSNY Hospice Care servicesfree of charge, as part of our mission to provide charitablecare to New Yorkers in need.As primary caretaker, Lina was in charge of dispensingmedication, changing dressings, spoon-feeding hergodmother and attending to her every need. “Linawas amazing in her knowledge and ability,” saysVNSNY Hospice Nurse Charles Meys, who visitedonce or twice a week to provide physical care to thepatient and much-needed support to Lina.Dr. Leonard Bakulchuk, one of VNSNY HospiceCare’s seven regional medical directors and one of thetwo who serves Manhattan, visited several times tohelp manage Lan’s pain. A Cantonese and Mandarinspeaker, he also discussed end-of-life issues to helpLina anticipate and cope with her godmother’s pendingdeath. “I always spoke their language,” he says. “Thatdefinitely gave them more trust.”Gui May Loo, a social worker in our Hospice Careprogram, provided emotional support and made sureLina had the supplies and other resources she needed.“I would talk to Lina, get to know her, help her cope,”says Gui. “She’s so young and has so much love foreverybody and everything.” Lina said she and hergodmother felt a strong sense of kinship with Guiand the rest of the team. “Mommy usually wouldn’tlet people kiss her hello or good-bye,” Lina says, “butshe let Gui.”For Lina, who expresses deep gratitude for the medicaladvice and supplies she received from VNSNY, itwas the simple act of talking—in both English andChinese—that helped her weather isolation and despair.“I could never leave Mommy, so most of the timeI didn’t have anyone else to talk to,” says Lina, whonow lives in a nearby Buddhist temple. “When themembers of the Hospice team came, we just talkedand talked and talked. About everything. I am so gladI know them.”Bereavement counselor Pamela Yew-Schwartz, whoreached out to Lina shortly before Lan’s death inFebruary, will continue to visit with the young womanfor thirteen months, to help her through the tumultuousfirst year of loss. Pamela encourages Lina to takecare of herself and look toward the future, includingresuming her schooling. “I want her to be able to relyon her own ability, but whenever she needs help, I’llbe there for her,” says Pamela. “When I said to her,‘We’ll travel the road together,’ I felt this real senseof relief from her.”In 2007, VNSNY Hospice Care provided end-of-life care to2,734 patients, an 18.5% increase over 2006. The average dailycensus was 458 and the average length of stay was 68.5 days,both increases from the previous year. Our bereavement programoffered support to 4,135 individuals.