HOSPICE MATTERS
WINTER 2020
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WINTER 2020
2020 – What a year!
We have all been impacted by the unforeseen events this last year. Burnaby Hospice Society was no different.
As with most businesses, layoffs were necessary as our thrift store closed in the Spring due to health requirements. Fortunately, we have re-hired this staff. To compound the challenges our Board President moved to Nova Scotia in the Summer, necessitating my move to this position.
It is our sincere wish the second wave does not have the impact of the first. We are in good financial position and nothing would be achieved without our wonderful staff, volunteers and Board. Our goal remains to improve the care of those facing end of life issues.
We wish all a merry Christmas and a less eventful 2021!!
Sincerely,
Richard Hancock,
Board Chair, Burnaby Hospice Society
HO HO HO from the office
What a crazy year this has been. I know many of you have wondered if the office is open, and yes it is. However, we will be working holiday hours during the month of December. Here are our office hours:
We will be checking our messages and our emails, so if you need to get hold of us please leave a message.
Stay safe and happy holidays.
Sheri Dee is the patient care coordinator and the “go to” person at St. Michael’s hospice and has been leading a team of nurses and staff for the last few years. She is the one that everyone turns, to, including the volunteers! Sheri-Dee is that voice of reason and measured calm when things get challenging.
But, honestly, what do you do with a problem as challenging as COVID, especially when you work in the health sector. For her, it has been another mountain to climb. As the volunteer team was suspended in the early days she brought out the very best in her front line workers to continue to deliver compassionate, patient centered care, despite the restrictions put in place. Under Sheri Dee’s leadership and careful guidance we were able to cobble together a small volunteer force of greeters, one to one visitors, and feeders. St. Mike’s is still providing the very best in end-of-life care and we look forward to reinstating our full volunteer program.
Until we are back in full force, we’d like to thank Sheri-Dee and all the front-line workers (in the palliative ward, in hospice and in the community) for your strength, courage and resilience in a truly challenging time.
To volunteer, contact Kara at volunteers@burnabyhospice.org
Season’s Greeting from The Burnaby Hospice Society Thrift Store! The Holidays can bring forth many strong emotions of joy and of sadness. This year has been a very hard and challenging one that we all agree can not end soon enough. I was speaking to a few customers that had admitted that they were having the “holiday blues” because of the uncertainties of what they will look like this year. I think a lot of us feel the same way but all we can do is abide by the rules that the professionals are suggesting and stay safe, keep our distances and wear a mask. It may not look like our usual holidays but we will all try to make the best out of them and get through this together.
If I have learnt anything this year is that I will try harder to be present for more social gatherings that I have passed on before and spend more quality time with people that I admire and love. The good thing that came out of this was that I had much more time (forced or not) to stay home and be with my family. We found creative ways to keep busy from board games and puzzles to our take on vegetable gardening and home repairs. The point is that when push came to shove WE DID IT, and we will continue to do this and survive.
Now onto a bit about the business. Well its no secret that we have taken a hit as many other businesses has but all in all we have managed to keep our lights on, our staff working and still turn a bit of a profit. Donations were coming in steadily and volunteers were available to process them. We are so very grateful to our donors and volunteers for keeping us going. Thank YOU!
From Sandra, Cheryl, Leslie, Allison, Elizabeth and I we wish you a very memorable, safe and happy holiday! We look forward to a brighter, healthier and a prosperous 2021.
Take Care of yourself and your loved ones,
Lucia Brum, Store Manager
Here’s an easy way to support the Burnaby Hospice Society, buy “No Place like Home” raffle tickets. before December 18th to be entered to win the Early Bird Prize.
Check out this link for all the details and thank you Beedie Developments for their generous sponsorship.
The first step is to reach out for counselling with someone you can jive with who is caring and understanding – someone you can connect with. The connection with you has been perfect. It’s important that if you don’t connect with the first person you reach out to, to keep trying to find someone you can connect with and open up to.
It was important for me to connect with you before Christmas and share some of my feelings so I know how to handle the holidays going into December. The holidays are going to be tough but you gave me some good suggestions. Leading up to the holidays, I will be doing some things to remember the good times with my parents. I might do some Ukrainian cooking to remember the good things shared on Christmas nights. I plan to have a lighted candle and photos with me so that I have memories around me during Christmas time. The holidays won’t be the same but doing these things will help me get through the holidays.
All support services are provided free of charge. We provide 9-12 counselling sessions. In order to ensure that you receive support that is best suited to your concerns, you will need to complete an online intake form. When needed, we provide referrals to other professionals. To receive an online intake form, or for more information, please visit our website at: burnabyhospice.org/services/ or contact us at counselling@burnabyhospice.org or 604.520.5024.
Since the inception of the Burnaby Hospice Society, some 34 years ago, volunteers have been a huge part of the Palliative and Bereavement teams. During a regular year we would have over 75 active members offering their compassionate presence, their time and their talents. We would have volunteers providing one to one visiting, tea service, therapeutic touch, Reiki, art and legacy work, leading bereavement groups as well as visits in the community. Although the majority of volunteer positions have been suspended we managed to lend our support as greeters, special visitors, garden workers, bereavement walking group leaders as well as a lone cookie maker and a Christmas decorator. The safety of our staff, volunteers, residents and community clients remains the highest priority, but we miss our team of volunteers deeply. To those volunteers who have still been able to help through the pandemic, we are truly grateful.
To those volunteers who have had to step away from their roles, we miss your compassionate wisdom, we miss your encouraging words, we miss your kindness and your enthusiasm. We look forward to welcoming you back one day soon.
Any questions about the volunteering program, contact Kara Davies at volunteers@burnabyhospice.org
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