Excerpt from our monthly E-newsletter: "Engage with Grace"

Thanksgiving is a time we traditionally gather with family to celebrate our gratitude for life. As those who are dealing with a serious illness know, life is a gift. The fact that it does not last forever is part of what makes life precious. Join others who are choosing to spend a portion of this holiday gathering to engage with grace. Thisis a national movement to gracefully promote family discussions about end-of-life preferences. Talking with family is key to ensuring that your own wishes are followed. In caring for a family member, knowing that person's wishes ahead of time reduces the potential for guilt and conflict.

You can lead the way by reviewing with your family your own answers to these questions:

• Who would you like to have make decisions for you if you are unable to speak for yourself? Ideally, you have completed an advance directive. In this document, you name your medical power of attorney and give him or her some basic instructions. Use this time to let others know whom you have chosen and what you would like.
• Where would you like to spend your last days? At home or in a hospital? What would be the most comforting?
• Do you want aggressive medical treatment right up to the end? If so, make sure your family knows to advocate for you.
• Would you prefer minimal intervention? Depending on the circumstances, your priority in your last weeks may be to live as normally as possible, placing quality over quantity. Prepare your family to accept this as your choice.

During this season of thanks, you can thank your family for their support of you and encourage them to share their wishes as well. You might also want to read our article about starting the conversation.

 



Spotlight: Zambia Partnership

Four Seasons has partnered with the Palliative Care Association of Zambia (PCAZ) through the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa to provide compassionate end-of-life care.

The partnership's motto: Reach out, give back and pay it forward; be the change you want to see in the world.

Dr. Bull, Chief Medical Officer, and Michelle Webb, Vice President of Clinical Services, created the following video from their recent trip to Zambia. Happy viewing!

For more information on the partnership and ways to support the cause, visit http://www.fourseasonscfl.org/ and scroll to the bottom of the homepage to locate the Zambia Partnership link.

FREE Holiday Grief Workshop to be held on December 1, 2010

Four Seasons will offer a free “Holiday and Grief Workshop” on Wednesday, December 1, 2010, from 3:00 – 5:00 pm.


The workshop will be facilitated by Robin A.Edgar, a nationally known author and workshop facilitator. Edgar has facilitated bereavement workshops in schools and senior centers as well as for various hospice organizations, the Alzheimer’s Association and Parkinson’s Association. Her book, In My Mother’s Kitchen: An Introduction to the Healing Power of Reminiscence, is listed in several grief resource catalogues, including those for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Association.

The workshop will be held at Four Seasons’ administrative offices at 571 South Allen Road, Flat Rock. It is free and open to the public. However, attendance is limited and participants are asked to register by calling 828-233-0307. Individuals may also register online at www.FourSeasonsCFL.org by clicking on the Community Events page.

November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month!

Four Seasons Celebrates Seasons of Caring during National Hospice/Palliative Care Month

Hospice care helps patients and families focus on living. This is the message that Four Seasons is sharing with the community during National Hospice/Palliative Care Month. However, this important message lasts beyond the month of November and is important all year round.

“November is a valuable time to raise awareness throughout our community about care at the end of life,” said Chris Comeaux, president/CEO of Four Seasons. “But the time a family might need us doesn’t follow a calendar or occur only during this season, so our message must make an impression that stays with people all year long.”

Since 1981, Four Seasons has been providing a high level of compassionate and professional end-of-life care in Western North Carolina. Four Seasons is a non-profit organization led by a dedicated team of health care professionals, social workers, spiritual care professionals and volunteers. Every November, hospices across the country reach out to raise awareness of the compassionate care that hospice and palliative care provide patients and families coping with serious and life-limiting illness.

The Seasons of Caring theme reminds people that life’s final seasons can be some of the most fulfilling, especially when patients and families look to hospice care and palliative care for help.

The hospice team provides expert medical care to keep patients comfortable and able to enjoy time with loved ones. The hospice team answers questions, offers advice on what to expect, and helps families with the duties of being a caregiver. The team also provides emotional and spiritual support for the entire family.

“With the help of hospice, patients and families alike can focus on what’s most important – enjoying life together and living the final seasons to their fullest,” said Janet Bull, MD, Four Seasons’ medical director. “It’s about the quality of life.”

“There’s an inaccurate perception among the American public that hospice means you’ve given up,” said J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. “Those of us who have worked in the field have seen firsthand how hospice and palliative care can improve the quality of life. And there’s a growing body of research showing that hospice and palliative care may prolong the lives of some people who receive care.”

More than 1.56 million patients receive care from the nation’s hospices every year, reports the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

For more information about hospice and/or palliative care and how they can help your family, contact Four Seasons at 828-692-6178 or 1-866-466-9734, or visit www.FourSeasonsCFL.org.

Join us for the 20th Annual Tree of Lights!

Date: Friday, December 3, 2010

Location: Henderson County Historic Courthouse

Time: Cider and cookies at 5:30 P.M.,
tree lighting at 6:00

For more information on the event and purchasing lights and luminaries in honor of a loved one, call Stephanie Dylewski at 692-6178-Extension 135.