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Rice Hospice
301 Becker Avenue SW
Willmar, MN 56201
FIRST CLASS
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
32nd Annual Bowl for Hospice, February 21
Event Draws 260 Bowlers to 8 Bowling Alley in 1 Day!
We would like to share the results of the Bowl for Rice Hospice with you!
What follows in a list of the communities hosting a “Bowl for Rice Hospice”
event, the number of bowlers who participated in each of these communities,
and the dollar amounts each of the satellites were able to raise
in just a 3-hour window of time!
Thanks to everyone who made this event possible!
Special thanks to our event organizers, Rice Hospice staff
Caryl Antil and Carol Palmquist. Stay tuned for more Kodak
moments on our Rice Hospice Facebook page!
Benson—10 bowlers donating $512
Dawson—24 bowlers donating $4,377
Graceville—23 bowlers donating $1,267
Granite Falls—22 bowlers donating $1,520
Montevideo—55 bowlers donating $1,920
New London—52 bowlers donating $1,624
Ortonville—3 bowlers donating $1,271
Willmar—71 bowlers donating $4,080
At left, Deb Ulstad
enjoying Bowl for
Hospice with many of
her grandchildren in
our Dawson Satellite.
Hospice Happenings
March/April
2015
Rice Hospice provides end-of-life care, comfort, and compassion, affirming the sacred value and dignity of life for those we ser ve.
Memorial Service
Bowl for Rice Hospice a “Striking” Success!
Our Spring Memorial Service will be held on Tuesday, April 30 at 4pm. This
service recognizes and remembers the Rice Hospice
patients
who were
served by
Rice Hospice during
the past six
months.
The 32nd Annual Bowl for Rice Hospice was another striking success as over 260
bowlers threw their bowling balls lane after lane to collectively raise funds & awareness for Rice Hospice patient care. We are pleased to announce that over $16,571
was collected for Rice Hospice in just three fun-filled hours!
Volunteers,
staff and
family are encouraged to
participate. You are also
welcome to invite any of
the loved ones you have
worked with, if appropriate, who otherwise might
not be able to attend this
service.
The services will be held in
two locations: Bethel
Lutheran Church, Willmar,
and the United Methodist
Church, Montevideo.
Rice Hospice Director Mary Beth Potter notes, “For 32 years, Rice Hospice has been
supported by the communities we serve through the Bowl for Hospice event. We are
so very appreciative of the monies raised, and honored to be able to bring expert hospice care to the residents who make these communities their home.”
This year’s Bowl for Hospice Traveling Trophy
went to Thompson Auto Glass from Dawson (& Joy
Thompson) for raising over $4,370 in cash donations in the Dawson community. Joy has a sincere
belief in the care given by Rice Hospice and explains that people in her community just need to be
asked to contribute. Since the 2000 “bowl” event,
Joy has raised a grand total of more than $84,350 for
patient care! More often than not, Joy has won the
traveling trophy for their family business.
Karen Twedt and her children Levi & Mindi
take part in this year’s Bowl for Rice Hospice in
Willmar. Karen is an RN at Rice Memorial
Hospital working with Adult Health.
301 Becker Ave. SW, Willmar, MN 56201 320.231.4450 www.ricehospice.com
Hospice Happenings
Page 2
March/April 2015
We Honor Veterans Earns Level 3 Status
Rice Hospice is pleased to announce that we have received our Level 3
status as a national partner with We Honor Veterans (WHV). WHV is a
campaign developed between the National Hospice Organization and the
Department of Veteran Affairs in 2010 with the goal of focusing more
attention on the needs of veterans at the end of life. The program is divided into 4 levels of involvement including:
Level 1—Informing staff and volunteer with the WHV program;
tifying veterans we are serving and a contact person at the VA
iden-
Level 2—ongoing staff and volunteer education; integrating veteranspecific content into our staff/volunteer orientation; conducting veteran
specific outreach presentations; the development of relationships with
veteran programs
Level 3—ongoing education; development and implementation of a veteran to veteran volunteer program; community education; implementation of a Military History Checklist process; procedures for assisting
veterans and families to access veteran benefits; participation in local,
regional, and state Hospice-Veteran partnerships.
We would like to thank volunteer Deb Gillis for her leadership on this
endeavor, as it is our goal to achieve the 4th and final level as well of the
WHV program. It is our desire to offer the best service possible to our
veteran patients. They deserve our respect and all the benefits available
to them. Level 4 will involve more educational and organizational resources, as well as the establishment of continued partnerships.
In the photo below Katie Bonde displays a beautiful quilt she created to
pay tribute to this honorary veterans program. We are proud to
display this work of art in our
administrative office. If you
stop in, please take note of this
beautiful patriotic quilt designed and created by Katie!
Thanks again to Deb Gillis for
her leadership, organizational
skills, and dedication to our We
Honor Veterans program!
We’re looking forward to celebrating the completion of Level
4 with all of you!
Hospice Happenings
Page 7
Welcome Amanda!
A warm Rice Hospice welcome
to Amanda Pauling! Amanda
joined the Rice Hospice team in
January as a part-time social
worker in the Willmar office.
She attended Minnesota State
University in Moorhead where
she received her BSW degree.
For the past three years, Amanda has worked in the area of
child protection for Yellow
Medicine County Family Services.
Amanda and Aaron make their
home in Clara City and are the
proud parents of a 5-month-old
son Rhett! We can’t wait to
meet him!
Amanda will work as a social
worker on Team A, and plans
to work on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings.
She enjoys reading, camping
and being a new mom!
March/April 2015
Pet Therapy Teams Visit Willmar Regional Cancer Center
Introduce Integrative Therapies to Patient Care
The pet therapy teams for Rice Hospice have been asked to partner with
Willmar Regional Cancer Center in a one-of-a-kind integrative therapy
concept. Our pet handlers will be making visits to the patients taking treatment either through radiation or chemotherapy. It has been scientifically
proved that the companionship of a dog will put
patients more at ease and assist the patient in making their cancer treatments a less threating experience.
We will begin our weekly visits in March and
hope to share our pet therapy mission of bringing
comfort care for the journey to the patients being served by the Willmar Regional
Cancer Center. We are excited to announce that Roger Power will also be coordinating the visitation efforts of this program following his retirement this spring.
Deb’s Doodles
HolidayisCheer!
So many of you just bless my socks off and Rita Christianson
no exception!
The Granite Falls office needed a Volunteer Coordinator
aboutdogs
a year
and (above)
a half
Pet therapy
Molly
ago and Rita was so very qualified to fill the role. and
While
it has(below)
been a good
expeMaggie
visiting
rience, Rita misses the patient contact and has decided
step down
from her
Rice to
Hospital
in December.
leadership position and focus on visiting the patients we serve in the Granite Falls
community! Special thanks to this extraordinary woman—who is caring, willing
to share, and very comforting—just like she describes Rice Hospice to be on her
display card! Thank you Rita! You are a gift to Rice Hospice and the Granite
Falls satellite!
Some fun photos from
our Red Hot Happy
Hour on February 5 at
the Willmar Conference
Center. Darlene
Bratberg (on left in both
photos) and Pat Power
gave complimentary
hand massages during
this fun, annual event.
Hospice Happenings
Page 6
March/April 2015
March Education with Deb Van Buren
March Education Dates
Celebrating Friendship & the Rice Hospice Family!
Appleton—March 3, 11am
Apple Ridge Estates
Library
I love spending time with
our volunteers and sharing this journey through
life together! Here Barb
Raetzman and I take time
to enjoy just having fun at
the volunteer banquet in
our photo booth. I have
the opportunity to see
Barb each Monday morning as she works in the office sending out bereavement mailing pieces to individuals following the
loss of a loved one. But I
don’t have the opportunity to spend this time with each and
every one of our 273 volunteers every week, so our March
education will focus on building friendship and sharing life
with you! We introduced this format last year and it was a
huge success!
So come prepared to share, learn and grow together as we
enjoy coffee, conversation, and stories of compassion and
commit to “comfort care for the journey” as Rice Hospice
volunteers! I look forward to coming to each of the satellites in March to facilitate this time with you and grow in
our community friendships as volunteers for Rice Hospice!
I think Deb Deitz (O/G volunteer) sized this up well in her
definition of Hospice—”Hospice
is having FUN and LISTENING to
others stories!” This time, the
stories are yours and I can’t wait
to see you all during my travels.
Please note all the education
times to the right and remember
to mark them on your calendar!
Dawson—March 10, 2pm
Johnson Memorial Nursing Home
Board Room
Granite Falls —March 17, 10am
Granite Falls Manor
Family Room
Montevideo—March 24, 1pm
CC/M Hospital
Montevideo Room
Ortonville/Graceville—March 3
2pm in Dialysis Center
Lower Level
Paynesville—March 17, 2pm
Alldon Park Association
Club House
Willmar—March 24, 10am
Rice Memorial Hospital
Rice Auditorium
H
ealing Hearts
Support Groups will
begin meeting this
spring. Dates for the Willmar office will begin on April 13, meeting for six consecutive Mondays
through May 18.
See you in March!
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so
much.” - Helen Keller
Hospice Happenings
Benson—March 10, 9am
(Note time change from 10 to 9am)
Swift County/Benson Hospital
ACMC—New Conf. Room
Page 3
For support groups meeting in other satellite locations, please contact
the respective satellite social worker for more information.
March/April 2015
2015 Volunteer Banquet, April 28th
“Volunteers Plant Seeds of Kindness”
I am excited to announce the theme of our 2015 Volunteer Banquet
that will take place this spring on Tuesday, April 28. ! Volunteers
offer and do so much for our patients, but I think “planting seeds of
kindness” is especially true! I am excited to THINK SPRING with
all of you as we have the opportunity to thank each of you for the significant role you play at Rice Hospice!
Bereavement Team
& Education Dates
Appleton—March 3, 10:15am
(Before Volunteer Education)
Apple Ridge Estates
Library
Benson—March 10, 8:30am
(Note time change from 9:15
to 8:30am)
Swift County/Benson Hospital
ACMC—New Conf. Room
Willmar—March 11, 9am
Bereavement Education
Rice Hospice Office
I’m also excited to invite a very familiar
face to join us and share some “master
gardener” input with all of us. Les Erickson has not only been the Director for
Rice Hospice, she is also a current office
volunteer and has been a Master Gardner
with the University of Minnesota Extension since 2009! It will be fun to hear
from Les as we will be eager to plant our
flowers and gardens at this time of year!
Watch for your invitation to this special
event. We do ask that you RSVP for this
event as we will be including an evening
meal.
Table Hosts—This year I am also looking to have table hosts/
hostesses for each table, and if you’d be interested in serving in that
capacity, let me know! We will need several as this event is very
well attended by our volunteers, and we set up a lot of tables! Table
Hosts could be volunteers, staff or advisory committee members. It’s
an exciting new role as we strive to get to know each other in new
and fresh ways! Stay tuned as the details of this year’s event evolve.
Thanks Sue Broberg!
Broberg Retires after 34 Years at Rice/Rice Hospice
We would like to say thank you and good-bye to our friend and co
-worker, Sue Broberg, who retired from Rice/Rice Hospice on
January 29 after 34 years of service. For the past 22 years Sue has
worked at Rice Hospice as the Performance Improvement Coordinator and QAPI “queen.”
We had fun celebrating Sue during her last week at Rice Hospice
and we wish her joy and success as she enters this new chapter of
her life! Sue plans to spend more time with her grandchildren and
her dog Jada!
Congratulations and best wishes Sue! You will be missed!
Hospice Happenings
Page 4
March/April 2015
Remembering Bunny Iverson
SAVE THE DATE!
June 9, 1931 — December 30, 2014
Our Spring Volunteer Training
dates will be held on May 11
and 13. We encourage you to
share this opportunity with a
friend or neighbor!
The Power of
Healing Touch
What a beautiful difference
one life can make.
“What a difference one life can make.” These were the words printed
on the program at Bunny Iverson’s celebration of life on January 3 of
this year—and how appropriate those words are. Bunny had been an
active office volunteer for years, working in the office at least two
times a week as an in-patient volunteer, bereavement volunteer, or
just popping in to say hi and crack a few jokes.
Bunny loved life, having fun, and being a part of the Rice Hospice
family. I talked to her just a day or two before Christmas, before her
unfortunate fall a day or two after Christmas. Bunny was a volunteer
for Rice Hospice along with her husband Al since 1995. As a couple,
the two received the Minnesota Volunteer of the Year award in 2006.
I share with you the photo above as a testimony to her charisma and
spark—Bunny (on the left) is being embraced by another special volunteer, Joyce Johnson, who retired a few months ago after 26 volunteer years at Rice Hospice. These two volunteers were two peas in a
pod and I will miss them both so much!
Rest in peace Bunny Iverson—you are loved and missed! And Joyce,
don’t be a stranger—please stop in when you are ever in the area—
we’ll put you to work!
Hospice Happenings
Page 5
Have you considered learning
more about Healing Touch?
Rice Hospice volunteers are invited to be a part of the Healing
Touch Certificate Program on
March 14 and 15 in Paynesville
with Dana Spates for half price!
Healing Touch is a relaxing,
nurturing energy therapy that is
used on patients who choose to
receive the complementary therapy. If you are interested in
attending the class, contact Dana
Spates by calling 320-266-5476.
“
We make a
living by
what we
get, but we
make a life
by what we
give.
-Winston
Churchill
March/April 2015