Seek Love Serve: Angels on Earth

Our September 24th Adult Forum hit very close to home for my family and me. The speaker was Joan Carroll, Education Coordinator for Kanawha Valley HospiceCare. She was also the home nurse for mom when her health declined and has a connection with other parishioners.

In my opinion, she and all Hospice caregivers are true angels on earth! During the Adult Forum, Joan shared a lot of information about enrolling your loved one into Hospice care and told some very moving stories about her experiences. Those in attendance were very involved in the discussion and many of the things she shared came from audience questions.

I was surprised to learn that Hospice was birthed at St. John’s in the 1970’s, currently serving 16 counties with 4 inpatient units and care for 300-350 total patients, both at home and in their facilities. This year they added a home health agency for Kanawha and Putnam counties. Joan said anyone can make a request with Hospice if they think their loved one (or themselves) needs their services. A doctor verifies the need, or an in-home evaluation is performed. The goal of HospiceCare is to make the patient, and family, comfortable and provide care at a very delicate time. They treat the patient and family as one unit, working together and making sure autonomy is part of the process.

Another great benefit of Hospice is family members have access to their services, including counseling, for a year after the patient’s passing. One question asked was what constitutes “family”? Family is defined by whoever the patient chooses to be family, no DNA match required.

To learn more about Hospice, call the local office or contact Joan Carroll at 304-545-7990 or jcarroll@hospicecarewv.org.

Adult Forum meets at 9:30 a.m. most Sundays. This fall we’re featuring community leaders, with a couple of Saints of John in the mix. Please check This Week at St. John’s for the upcoming Sunday’s topic or call the office to request a copy of the schedule through December 2023.