FORREST NEWTON • Special to Winnemucca Publishing
WINNEMUCCA - Being there when people need a little help during one of the most difficult times of their lives is what Humboldt Volunteer Hospice is all about.
Sherry Smith, the new executive director of HVH, said they want to help lead the family through the maze of unknowns when it comes to someone in the family dying.
"It's so nice to be able to get with a family and they have these needs and we can help take a little bit of pressure off of them," she said.
A loved ones passing can be very strenuous for a family and hospice is there to help them hook up with the services that they need.
Smith said she first realized the value of hospice when her grandmother was dying and her family was trying to keep her at home as long as possible. It was their local hospice that supplied those needs that allowed them to keep her home when other agencies could not.
Hospice helps by providing the information a family needs to navigate the world of the unknown. There are brochures for family and friends to review and a hospice representative will discuss anything the family wants to talk about, without limits. They want to be there for the family before, during and after the death occurs.
"We try to make an effort to stay in contact with the family, if that's appropriate, sometimes it's not," she said.
And that is key to what hospice does - what the family wants - not what the hospice representative wants. They are there, to as much as possible, follow the wishes of the family and help in whatever way they can.
"Sometimes that's just sitting and listening," she said. "Sometimes it's just a hug. A hug can go a long ways."
Smith got involved with the local hospice program when she was the youth coordinator for Job Opportunities In Nevada, whose building houses the hospice offices. Mary Orr, previous HVH executive director, managed to catch her attention and after a while Smith willingly took on the job of case manager for hospice.
Being a case manager was nothing new to her as that was part of her JOIN job and she had also practiced it when she was with Humboldt Human Development for a couple of years where she had over 40 clients.
"It was really rewarding," she said.
Smith and her family moved here from Las Vegas four years ago when her husband got a job with Newmont Mining Corporation. She calls Winnemucca a "breath of fresh air." Also Winnemucca just happens to get her more centrally located between the rest of her and her husband's families.
Smith said that she has children with epilepsy, tumors and cardiac problems that have helped her with her duties at hospice, which also includes helping people with chronic illnesses.
"I feel that a lot of the experience I've personally had dealing with medically needy children have brought me here, but I feel that's a definite plus," she said.
And this is an area that is not well known about HVH - that they can also be of help in areas of chronic illness, such as diabetes, heart problems, etc., with support groups, help finding insurance and other resources to supply a family's needs.
When someone is feeling overwhelmed with the costs and care of a loved one with chronic illness sometimes someone with knowledge of steering that field can be an oasis in a drought.
Hospice has a pretty good inventory of donated equipment that people can use, such as wheelchairs, shower stools, walkers, or if people just want to try something out before buying their own that can be done also.
"We loan out any equipment that we have," Smith said. And if the patient's family can return it when finished that's fine, but if not they're good with that.
"Usually if we donate to you a couple of things, we're going to get double that back," she said. "It's wonderful the way the cycle works." That cycle reduces their operating costs, allowing them more equipment to loan out.
Usually they have most of the equipment that they need, but recently they have found themselves in need of blood pressure monitors. The ones that automatically read, that you don't have to pump up yourself.
"There are no fees associated with anything we do," Smith said. "This is a free service."
She said that the community has been wonderful in helping hospice help others with financial gifts and equipment, allowing them to do their job of reducing stress for patients and caregivers. Smith particularly noted that Newmont's employees' Legacy Fund and the Model T Hotel Casino have been particularly helpful.
The Frugal Flamingo has been another steady source of income for the organization where the community donates their slightly used items.
"We have wonderful volunteers and we are always in need of volunteers," Smith said.
Volunteers for the Flamingo can work in the front or back of the store or both, the choice belongs to the volunteer. There's a lot of sorting and organizing needed in a facility like that or if you have handyman skills, come on down.
"There's something for everybody over there," she said.
All kinds of volunteers are needed on the hospice side of things also, from those that can find a little time to read to patients to registered nurses.
"We set up what works for the family," Smith said.
They find out about needs that they might help with through doctors, family, friends and others, and once they hear of someone that might be a potential patient they set up a visit to do an assessment.
"See what their needs are. See what we have. And see if it's appropriate to hook them up with hospice," she said.
"Everybody's different in the healing process and how they grieve, but we have grief groups also that we facilitate," Smith said.
There are Grief Relief and Alzheimer groups available to help families, which are held at Humboldt General Hospital.
Smith said that she wants to continue to move the organization forward, growing and expanding to meet more needs.
Hospice Office Manager Katrina Schaffner said they are excited about a new program they are looking at with the working title of "Lasting Lights of Love" for the Parade of Lights in December. It will be a memorial tree that people can put a light on for a donation as something to honor their family and friends that have passed away.
"During the Parade of Lights we plan to have this little special ceremony to remember those people and light the tree that night," Schaffner said.
But Schaffner wants people to understand that although hospice is often thought of as an organization connected with dying, they don't see it that way.
"It's all about living," Schaffner said.
Hospice and Flamingo volunteer Mary Beck said she became interested in hospice after the death of her husband last year.
"It's mostly listening. Finding out what their (family's) needs are and trying to help them through the rough times," Beck said. "Some people will want to talk and some people won't and just let them know you're there."
Beck said she tries to determine what the needs are and see what can be done to help. She tries to reassure the patient and family that she is there to help them and whatever they need hospice will find a way to do it.
"The community has been great about helping us provide for them," she said.
As her husband was retired military Beck said she knows the ropes with the veterans organizations and can also be of help there.
"It's very rewarding. There's a lot of friendship. You enjoy your work. You feel good about yourself and the people feel good about you because you're helping them," she said.
For more information about HVH call 623-6218.
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