Friends
You Give Hope
Our Mission: To receive and administer funds to support the mission of McLaren Northern Michigan and support programs that enhance the well-being of the community.
O F T H E F O U N D AT I O N
Our Children’s Bereavement Program Helps Youth Walk Through Grief
HOSPICE EDITION
SUMME R 2020
Ella, a local second grader, was struggling with her emotions when her grandmother was admitted to the Hospice House last year with end-stage cancer. Because of the recent loss of her aunt, Ella knew that losing her grandmother was an eventuality. Theresa Kwilinski, Bereavement Counselor for McLaren home care and hospice services, was able to visit with her several times and help her process her emotions. “I often use a tic-tac-toe type feelings game with the youngsters I see. This playful activity allows children to share their experiences with emotions and their reactions to them. Each time I visited her she asked to play that game. Each time she engaged and responded with honesty and openness, even if the result was her retelling a difficult and emotional event,” Theresa shared. After Ella’s grandmother passed away, Theresa met with her again, and even gave her a copy of the game to take home because Ella wanted to play it with her family. Theresa’s unconditional support of Ella is just one example of how our Bereavement Program helps children work through their grief. Every year, hundreds of children in our community are touched by our bereavement program. Gifts from the Hattie Hannah Keeney Trust and other sponsors make this program possible. Even as schools closed in the spring due to COVID-19, the Bereavement Program made adjustments to continue to work with patients and their families. Theresa met remotely with children and eventually began visiting
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Golden Doodle Finn MacCool, a certified therapy dog, is eager to resume his volunteer duties at Hiland Cottage. Before the COVID-19 crisis began, Finn visited the cottage weekly to offer comfort to hospice residents and their families. He also visited some of the children in the Children's Bereavement Program. Hopefully, his visits will be allowed again soon.
them in their homes. "These home visits are particularly meaningful, as I am able to be with children in the place where their memories are strongest. This often gives them the security to talk easily about their loved ones." As children return to school in the fall, Theresa will work again with school counselors to determine ways to best meet the needs of students facing grief and loss. Your gifts to this program are providing support, encouragement, and hope to children during this vulnerable time. Thank you.
Children’s Bereavement Programs
What We Provide:
After a hospice patient passes away, our Bereavement Counselor reaches out to their loved ones, offering comfort, support, and access to our Child Bereavement Programs. All of this is completely free of charge to these families, because of the support received from you and donors like you.
• One-on-one and group counseling
mclaren.org/NorthernMichiganFoundation | 231-487-3500
• Monthly mailings
Inside
• Counseling through Safe Crossings Program
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A Note from our Leadership
• Hospice house, in-home, and in-school visits and grief support groups
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New Name, Same Services
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You Give Hope
• Child/Teen Grief and Loss Informational Presentations for groups
You Give Hope
Your gifts toward hospice and home care services provide so much more than health care. They help patients and their families experience compassion, kindness, and hope during difficult days. Thank you.
Why We Need Your Help Many patients come to us with little or no insurance, and we are happy to provide care for them. But the cost of an overnight stay at one of our hospice houses is $164. Without gifts from donors, we would not be able to cover the costs of operating our full range of hospice services and maintaining our hospice houses. We need your help to maintain services for patients in need. Your gifts help bridge the gap in funding! Here’s how you can help today: • Give $164 to pay for the cost of an overnight stay for one patient • Give a monthly recurring gift to cover patient care costs
Thank You for Helping Hospice Patients Dear Friends, For years now, generous donors to the McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation have helped provide care for northern Michgian hospice patients and their families. Thank you for being one of those supporters who believes in the value of hospice care. You may have heard that McLaren Home Care & Hospice will be under new management this fall. We want to assure you that although the operations will move to another group within our McLaren system, the compassionate services provided will remain the same. The McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation will continue to provide financial support to local hospice services, and your gifts will continue to be disbursed locally. You can read more about this on page 3. We appreciate your ongoing commitment to hospice care. Your gifts have allowed our caregiving teams to continue the high-quality care necessary throughout the COVID-19 crisis, and your support will help us maintain compassionate care for patients facing end of life. Thank you,
• Give a one-time gift of any amount • Plan a future gift in your will or estate plan All donations support local patients. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and share our stories with your friends and family to encourage them to give back as well!
Julie Jarema
Elise F. Hayes
Interim Chief Development Officer McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation
Board Chair McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation
Families Are Grateful We received the following phone message:
We wanted you to know how very impressed we’ve been with his [our caregiver ’s] performance and his
360 Connable Avenue Petoskey, MI 49770 231-487-3500 Friends of the Foundation Newsletter: Hospice Edition is a publication of the McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation and is produced three times a year for contributors to Hospice. Find out more about our work by visiting mclaren.org/NorthernMichiganFoundation.
care. He is extremely thorough and so competent in his skills … He’s so clear and concise and a
remarkable instructor actually, and we wouldn’t want him lost in your field because he is such an asset to your staff and out in the field. I hope you recognize what a great employee you have in him and give him a little pat
New Name, Same Services Hospice services will continue under new management group. Home care and hospice services are an essential part of our communities, and we are grateful for the hundreds of donors who support McLaren Home Care & Hospice. This fall, the McLaren Home Care & Hospice operations will transition to new management. Starting October 1, 2020, McLaren Health Management Group (MHMG) will manage the McLaren home care and hospice services in our region. We wanted to make you aware of this structural change within our McLaren Health Care system and assure you that service in our northern Michigan communities and our commitment to our patients and families remains the same. Your donations will continue to be restricted for use for home care and hospice services in northern Michigan. Home care & hospice has been part of the McLaren Northern Michigan network for over 20 years. Becoming integrated with the McLaren Health Management Group will continue the services that our dedicated colleagues provide each day and our patients have come to trust. Our patients and community can continue to trust us with the personalized care that they expect and deserve.
What does this mean for services in our northern Michigan communities? Home care & hospice services will continue to serve the same geographic areas throughout northern Michigan and the eastern Upper Peninsula with the potential to expand to new service areas. The two hospice houses, Hiland Cottage in Petoskey and Cheboygan Hospice House, will continue to provide the patient-focused endof-life care our community has come to know and trust.
What will happen to my donations? McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation will continue to raise funds to support the delivery of hospice services throughout northern Michigan as well as the programmatic and operational needs of Hiland Cottage and Cheboygan Hospice House. Funds raised will be used solely for programs and services in northern Michigan. We are grateful for your support, allowing us to continue to provide a personalized and compassionate hospice care experience for patients and their family members. Please reach out with any questions that you may have.
What is McLaren Health Management Group (MHMG)? MHMG is a nonprofit organization in our McLaren Health Care System and one of the largest Home Care providers in Michigan. MHMG provides home health, palliative care, hospice, home infusion, long-term care pharmacy and comprehensive laboratory services across the McLaren Health Care system’s statewide network.
Why is the restructuring necessary, and how will it benefit our region? The restructuring with MHMG is necessary in order to provide new technology for more efficient and timely care and referrals. We will be able to serve a larger population of individuals due to the additional resources accessible within the network.
Cheboygan Hospice House will remain open and serving patients.
on the back. –Hospice family
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mclaren.org/NorthernMichiganFoundation | 231-487-3500
mclaren.org/NorthernMichiganFoundation | 231-487-3500
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