THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 21, 1995 TAG: 9507200172
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAM STARR, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
Very few people with terminal illnesses want to spend their last days in a hospital.
It's easier on the family if the patient is cared for by loved ones at home, in familiar surroundings. That's the concept of hospice care, where trained volunteers give comfort and assistance to patients and their caregivers. Hospice combines medical and emotional care in a nonthreatening environment.
According to Gene Gramlich, executive director of Hospice Volunteers Inc., hospice fills a need not met in the existing health care system. The nonprofit Hospice Volunteers was formed in 1979 and started accepting patients in 1980. Its 44 volunteers see patients in Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Chesapeake. Twenty-two more serve on the board of directors.
``The terminally ill patient does much better at home,'' said Gramlich, a retired hospital director. ``Our volunteers relieve the caregivers and advise of community resources. It's more acceptable now - we get patients from hospital discharge planners, physicians and family members.
``But a lot of people still don't know about us,'' Gramlich added, ``and that we charge no money.''
Hospice Volunteers is the only free hospice service in Virginia Beach. It meets a $29,000-a-year budget through memorials, donations, a $3,300 grant from the city of Virginia Beach and a $1,000 grant from the Virginia Beach Foundation. In addition to home care, Hospice Volunteers offers bereavement counseling, support groups and public speakers.
Many patients don't have insurance to pay for pain medication or medical equipment, but Hospice Volunteers takes care of that. For example, the hospice obtains the liquid nourishment Ensure, which is given to some patients as a supplement, at $19 a case. It usually costs $35 a case. The organization also receives donated wheelchairs, walkers, wigs and hospital beds.
``A lot of elderly people run out of money by the end of the month,'' said Gramlich. ``They're absolutely grateful for what we can give them. Our main concern is our patients - they are the most important thing.''
The backbone of Hospice Volunteers is, of course, its 44 volunteers. They receive 30 hours of training before being assigned patients and are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Beverly Foley is the patient coordinator who also serves as a board member and a volunteer. She's the one who meets each patient to determine his or her needs.
``It's really very rewarding,'' said Foley, a licensed practical nurse. ``There's nothing like knowing what you've done for a family. You become a part of their life, you create a bond.''
Patients, like the volunteers, come from all walks of life and all economic conditions. The patient can rely on his or her volunteer to come into the home at regularly scheduled times to give the caregiver a break or to assist in some other way. Some patients, like widowed military wife Ruth Noland, receive two volunteers. One takes her shopping and helps out in her Aragona home, but the other gives Noland free massages.
Volunteer Daisy Presswalla came to Noland's ranch home one afternoon to keep Noland company and to massage her feet, hands and head. Noland, who suffers from diabetes, congestive heart failure and emphysema, leaned back in her recliner and closed her eyes as Presswalla began rubbing her temples.
``Just relax,'' Presswalla murmured. Within seconds, Noland's face visibly softened. Presswalla moved her deft fingers down Noland's face and eyelids and asked for her hand, massaging each finger and palm.
Noland kept her eyes closed and sighed with contentment. ``That feels so good,'' she said. ``I feel like I'm walking on clouds when she's done.''
Although Presswalla is a unique and valued volunteer for what she can do for patients, Gramlich said all of his volunteers are special and caring. Board member Betty Freeman said that over the past 15 years, the volunteers have donated more than 31,000 hours and have tended to 1,437 patients.
``We have an organization where people don't do this for monetary rewards,'' said Freeman, administrator of Hillhaven Health Center. ``A lot of times, it's their way of paying back for something in their life.'' MEMO: Hospice Volunteers is at 4663 Haygood Road, Suite 211. Hours are 9 a.m.
to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday with a 24-hour answering service. Call
460-7822.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
``The terminally ill patient does much better at home,'' says Gene
Gramlich, executive director of Hospice Volunteers Inc., and an
ex-hospital director.
HOSPICE HISTORY
In medieval times, hospice was a place where travelers could
temporarily rest from their long journeys. It wasn't until 1967 that
the first official hospice opened in London when British physician
Cicely Saunders opened St. Christopher's Hospice.
The concept of hospice spread to the United States in the
mid-'70s, becoming well-recognized a decade later.
by CNB