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The
Hospice program at Roseau County Home Health
Care is made up of an extremely gifted group of
individuals from various departments of Roseau
Area Hospital and Homes.
Representing the multifaceted hospice
team are (from left to right):
Volunteer Coordinator Terry Lamppa;
Social Worker Joe McDonnell (seated);
Pastor Larry Severson; Hospice
Coordinator Marilyn Grafstrom, RN; Deb
Erickson, MD; and Julie Pahlen, RN,
Director of Home Care and Hospice. (Not
pictured: Gordon Streiff, Director of
Pharmacy) |
Together they provide a special type of care
that allows people with terminal illness and
their families to share “treasure time” during
the end-of-life experience.
“Hospice is very much a team effort,” says
Hospice Coordinator Marilyn Grafstrom, RN. “We
assist by managing the person’s pain and tending
to any needs they or the family have.”
To do
this, the Hospice team involves social workers,
a medical director, a pharmacist, a chaplain,
home health care nurses and aides, and local
volunteers who care for the physical, mental,
emotional, spiritual, and practical needs of the
patient and family.
“This
way they can enjoy the time they have together
and not worry about things like meals,
housekeeping duties, paperwork, and all the
little things that can get in the way of this
important time of life,” Grafstrom says.
From a
practical standpoint, “it’s very much in their
best interest to have Hospice involved, because
anything related to the diagnosis is paid for
under Medicare,” she says. “The medication, a
hospital bed, everything.”
Even
more rewarding, though, is the human benefit of
Hospice.
“We’re
able to help the family open up and talk about
what is going on, which understandably can be
hard for them at first. But it allows some
beautiful conversations to occur that otherwise
may not happen, and avoids the situation of
wishing they had told their loved one how they
felt before it was too late,” she says.
“I’m
still amazed at our ability as humans to go from
something that could be the worst thing
imaginable, and then nine times out of ten with
our Hospice team’s involvement, by the time the
patient passes on, everyone is okay and at peace
with it.”
A growing wellness coalition
Motivational speaker Robert Sweetgall,
pictured here with fourth grade students
from the Roseau School District, gave
several public presentations in Roseau
and Warroad in September on the subject
of improving health through walking and
exercise. |
The Roseau County
Wellness Coalition was developed in October 2004
in an effort to improve the overall health of
local communities through increased awareness of
healthy lifestyle choices.
The coalition is
made up of people throughout Roseau County who
have a strong interest in making the area a
healthier place to live and raise their
families.
The coalition
includes representatives from the public school
districts in Greenbush, Badger, Roseau, and
Warroad as well as employees from Central
Boiler, Polaris Industries, Marvin Windows,
Altru Clinic, Roseau County Extension Service,
Roseau Area Hospital & Homes, and Quin County
Community Health Services.
The group has
placed the issues to be addressed into larger
categories:
Education, Parenting/Family, Mental Health,
Physical Activity, Resources, and Nutrition.
The group looks
forward to partnering with local communities on
future promotions, projects and educational
opportunities to address county-wide issues that
fit these categories.
In September the
coalition hosted motivational speaker Robert
Sweetgall, who gave several presentations in
Roseau and Warroad from his “Move to Improve”
program.
Every 4th grader
in Roseau County participated in his
presentation, as well as many adults from each
community.
In total, several hundred people were on hand to
learn more about keeping fit and walking to
improve their health and wellness. |
