Hospital News, 10-1-2011 - Western Pennsylvania Healthcare News

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26 | wphospitalnews.comIssue No. 10Walking on Common GroundBy Rafael J. SciulloThey were a handsome family of three: mom, dad, and their 11 year-olddaughter. With the household pet in tow (a friendly Beagle), they set out on thetrail at dusk. This was the first time they took part in our Family Hospice andPalliative Care annual Memorial Walk, which was held October 2 on the SouthSide.Although the family was happy to take part, the pain was still evident in theireyes. Grand pap had just passed away this summer, and it was in his memorythe family was walking.As they made their way along the walking trail, the family slowed down tolook at each luminaria that lined the walkway. One by one, they read the namesof loved ones who were being honored in a special way.After about ten minutes, the mom said “There it is. There’s Grand pap’sname.” The family stopped and stared a moment at the luminaria they hadplaced in her father’s honor. They gathered around it in quiet reflection, thenstopped another walker, asking if she would take their photo.Making the Most of LifeThe rest of the Memorial Walk seemed to flyright by as the family and the woman sharedstories and remembrances.What happened at our Memorial Walk onOctober 2 is a great example of the hospicecontinuum of care. While the primary focusis compassionate care for the patient, we alsopride ourselves in the services offered tofamilies and loved ones.Events like the Memorial Walk allowthose with similar experiences to connect andshare. Hospice is more than a means of care– it is a community. A community of professionals,caregivers and families.Family Hospice is proud to offer ways forthat community to remember its loved ones, and stay in touch while doing so.Along with events like the Walk, we have also just launched a Facebook page(www.facebook.com/familyhospicepa) where families and professionals alikecan stay up-to-date on the latest news from Family Hospice and connect withothers who have shared their life experiences.Patients and loved ones under hospice care take part in a special journey. Thejourney gives those who experience it a unique understanding of end-of-lifecare and provides a connection on many levels.The woman and the family who attended our Walk discovered that they werewalking on common ground in more ways than one. Not only did it turn outthat their fathers were long-time co-workers, but they themselves walked thesame journey. The Memorial Walk was a microcosm of that. They had all beendown the same path before, a path filled with compassion, support and caring.And they realized that the path is a little easier to navigate when there is someoneelse walking along side.After the photo was taken, the woman, who came alone, continued walkingwith the family of three, first engaging in small talk. Then, the conversationturned to their respective purposes at the Walk.“My dad died this summer,” the mom explained. “His name was John. Heworked thirty eight years at the mill.”“What a coincidence,” said the woman who had taken the picture, “My dadworked at the mill, too. He was a welder, his name was Frank. He died in February.”As the conversation continued, the mom recognized a familiarity in the descriptionof the woman’s dad. “You know, my dad used to tell us about a guyhe worked with named Frank. He said he would come to work just about everyday humming an old tune, and do the same thing when the whistle blew atnight.”“That was my father!” the woman exclaimed. “When he got home each night,he was still humming the same tune.”As it turns out, the two men worked together on the welding line for 22 years.Rafael J. Sciullo, MA, LCSW, MS, is President and CEO of Family Hospice and PalliativeCare and Past Chairperson of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.He may be reached at rsciullo@familyhospice.com or (412) 572-8800.Family Hospice and Palliative Care serves nine counties in Western Pennsylvania.Its website is www.familyhospice.com.Connect With Us:Twitter.com/wpahospitalnewsFacebook.com/wpahospitalnewsLinkedIn.com/in/HarveyDKartforemost in personalized care and innovative custom fabricationWestern Pennsylvania’s comprehensive providerof orthotics and prosthetics.We are an in network, preferred, or participatingprovider for every major health insurance planoffered in western Pennsylvania.Call our office for specific information.Pittsburgh(412) 622-2020Greensburg(724) 836-6656Monroeville(412) 372-8900Rochester(724) 728-0881Whitehall(412) 884-6998Cranberry(724) 742-1050Indiana(724) 801-8374Children’s Institute(412) 420-2239Visit us online at www.unionoandp.com!Carol A. Trent,M.S.ServingWestmoreland &Eastern AlleghenyCountiesEvaluating care optionsfor an elderlyloved one?Ask theExpert ...Helping seniors maintain a high level ofindependence by providing assistance withhousehold activities and personal care needs.4000 Hempfield Plaza Blvd. • Suite 918 • Greensburg724-834-5720 • www.seniorhelpers.com
Issue No. 10 wphospitalnews.com| 27“Social BOOM!”by Jeffrey Gitomerc.2011, Financial Times Press $22.99 / $27.99 Canada190 pagesTheBookwormSezOn your way to work this morning, you checked in with your peeps and yourtweeps. You told them you were wearing your lucky shirt, you asked for goodwishes, then you hit “send” and posted it on Facebook and Twitter for all to see.But aside from your followers – whocares? Nobody, says author Jeffrey Gitomer,which means you’re wasting valuableresources. In his book “Social BOOM!” heshows how better postings on social mediacan mean better postings at the bank.Every day, you spend a few minutesamusing your friends online with your wrylyobservant posts. Fun, huh? Now imaginewhat would happen if you used those samefew minutes to reach thousands of prospectiveclients instead.According to Gitomer, there are four keysto business social media: Facebook, Twitter,LinkedIn, and YouTube. Use all four efficiently,simultaneously, and with great frequency“…or BOOM! will never happen...”Facebook, he says, is the easiest to understandand use. Chances are you already havea personal page, but BOOM! requires a secondpage, on which you’ll post information of value to your clients and prospects.Give them something useful and they’ll run to your door.LinkedIn is purely a business social site; in fact, you’re not technically allowedto link with someone you don’t already know. LinkedIn is simple to use, and thebeauty of it is that you can join groups of like-minded people and search forprospects in the database. Don’t forget, Gitomer says, to completely fill out yourprofile.You might think Twitter and YouTube are just for kids, but Gitomer insists thatboth are important tools for business. If one of your tweets is re-tweeted, it automaticallyexpands your audience (and your prospects) to the hundreds of thousands.And think about how convenient it would be to let new customers see a video ofyour business any time they wanted.“… if done correctly, business social media puts you in a direct one-on-one contactwith paying customers,” says Gitomer. “That’s a game plan you can take to thebank.”Undoubtedly, the information you’ll find in “Social BOOM!” is useful. You don’tneed a PhD in computers to do it. All you need, author Jeffrey Gitomer says, is time.But, judging by most indications, it’s going to take a lot of that. Gitomer saysyou only need an hour a day, but this book advises readers to peruse blogs, postmultiple times a day, “follow” people and comment on their posts, make frequentYouTube videos, and update, update, update often. That one hour a day couldquickly become all day.Still, employing just a fraction of what you’ll learn here can only help. Just dippingyour toe into the tech pool may lead to some good leads. And most importantly,as Gitomer points out, business social media is free.I think there are nuggets of goodness inside “Social BOOM!” but only if usedwisely and judiciously. If you’re new to social media or want a few tips on using it,peep this book.The Bookworm is Terri Schlichenmeyer. Terri has been reading since she was 3 yearsold and she never goes anywhere without a book. She lives on a hill in Wisconsinwith two dogs and 12,000 books.
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