|
By Mike Bodine
Register Staff 11-7-2209 Hospice of the Owens Valley is about to have a change in command. Both the director and care coordinator, who have been with the nonprofit agency for more than 25 years each, will be retiring soon.
Janie Carrington, director, said Thursday that there is no set date for retirement as the positions need to be filled, by law, for Hospice to continue.
She said she had no expectations of when the positions would be filled, but Hospice is actively trying to fill the positions and hopes to find someone local.
There will be a change in the faces at the top, but other than that, services should be business as usual.
Marga Foote, family care coordinator, said Thursday that Northern Inyo Hospital has been helping to fill the two positions, but the positions will require unique people.
Foote explained that both she and Carrington were able to work these part-time jobs while being part-time Registered Nurses. The care coordinator position has to be filled by an RN, Foote said, and the director should have both nursing and hospice services experience.
“We’ve been dedicated to this because we wanted to help,” Foote explained, adding that with so many people in need of full-time work, it may be a bit of a challenge to find the right fit.
Foote said that despite the changing of the guard, the volunteer base, “the backbone of Hospice,” will not change.
Currently there are six active nurse volunteers, six clerical volunteers who answer phones and help with fundraisers and 15 “lay-volunteers” who offer, for example, respite for caregivers or help a family by running errands.
Hospice is also remaining financially stable in this spiraling economy. It is fully financed through private donations and, of course, revenue from the Hospice Thrift Store in Bishop.
Hospice as an organization has been around for more than 40 years. As an idea, hospice is centuries old, symbolizing a place where weary travelers and pilgrims could find rest and “hospitality.”
In 1967, it was Dame Cicely Saunders at St. Christopher’s Hospice in London who first used the term “hospice” to refer to specialized care for dying patients.
Hospice allows patients to live their last days with dignity and quality, surrounded by loved ones. Hospice treats the person not the disease; it focuses on quality rather than length of life.
Care is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at home or an institution.
Hospice of the Owens Valley started in 1984, following a generous donation. Then-NIH Head Nurse Joan Ortman is credited with starting the entire program.
Over the years, the program grew with Hospice’s medical director, Dr. Asao Kamei, loaning money for the purchase of a manufactured-home building. And about 10 years ago, NIH and Hospice paid to have the new building constructed in its current location. Hospice cares for 30-35 patients a year.
For more information about Hospice of the Owens Valley, call (760) 873-3742.
|
