| Below are the latest news and updates from Cornerstone Hospice. Be sure to check out our events section for a calendar of our upcoming events and volunteer opportunities. Pat Lehotsky, CEO, Interview on WDBO 580 AM RadioPat Lehotsky, CEO, Featured on “Navigating Health & Senior Living” Program on WDBO 580 AM Radio
Our CEO, Pat Lehotsky, was recently interviewed by renowned central Florida radio personality Scott Clark and moderator Rob Newton on the popular “Navigating Health & Senior Living” program which broadcasts Sundays from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. on WDBO 580-AM radio. “Navigating Health & Senior Living” is sponsored by Orlando Health where host Scott Clark interviews weekly prominent personalities from the healthcare industry. WDBO 580-AM reaches central Florida households from the Atlantic to the Gulf coast, north to Gainesville, south to Lake Okeechobee. Pat Lehotsky was able to touch upon the major accomplishments by Cornerstone Hospice; the role played in the care of our patients by professionals in our various disciplines; the importance of an early referral; the accessibility of the Mike Conley Hospice House to West Orlando communities and the important roles played by our volunteers, among other important issues. Posted on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 Honoring Veteran Hospice Patients
NEWS from Cornerstone Hospice Announces NEW Veteran Recognition WINTER HAVEN - - Many factors can influence a veteran’s end-of-life experience. Among those factors are age, branch of service, enlisted vs. drafted, rank, combat or POW experience. Some combat veterans who have faced death in wartime are able to integrate their experiences into their lives and then become better equipped emotionally to cope with their own deaths. Many other veterans who had their lives traumatically changed suffer from social isolation, substance abuse and anxieties. Yet for some veterans, the effects of combat may not surface until they are very sick and facing the end of life. Then they may experience anxiety, agitation and vivid memories connected to war experiences. To honor veteran patients and their families by meeting their unique needs, Pat Lehotsky, CEO of Cornerstone Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc., recently announced a comprehensive, veterans’ hospice program, Cornerstone SALUTES! A Cornerstone team of professionals and volunteers has been specially trained in a program designed by national VA expert Deborah Grassman and patterned under VA guidelines. Pat Ludemann, RN and Regional Team Manager at the Cornerstone Hospice operational center in Winter Haven emphasized that many veterans experience traumatic conditions that are present today, even several decades after participation in hostile engagements on behalf of their nation. Veteran patients have very specialized, individual needs that are not solely based on medical, emotional, physical, social and spiritual issues. Their specialized care plan also identifies and treats any differences that veteran patients experience at the end of life. Ms. Lehotsky said, “Cornerstone SALUTES! celebrates and observes the service to our nation that our veteran patients have rendered, at home and abroad, while it provides Hospice care unique to military families.” The program includes a “pinning ceremony” where a Certificate of Appreciation and a special “Honored Veteran” pin are presented to a veteran patient either by a veteran Cornerstone Hospice staff member or a veteran volunteer. This Memorial weekend, a Hospice volunteer for military affairs and himself a Vietnam era U.S. Army veteran, Ernie Ziglar, presented Certificates of Appreciation and the special pins to two Polk county veteran patients. After presentation, veteran Ziglar stood at attention and saluted retired U.S. Army veteran Eduardo Conde (age 86) of Poinciana and also U.S. Army veteran Gary Irons (age 65) of Polk City during separate ceremonies at their homes. “This recognition of my Army service has moved me and my family more than I can express with words,” indicated U.S. Army veteran Gary Irons as he was decorated in the presence of his son Loen Irons and daughter Valerie Rhone. Polk County is home to 52,833 veterans. National statistics indicate that eighty-five percent of veterans do not receive care through the VA healthcare system and that most veterans die in the communities where they live. Cornerstone SALUTES! support groups are held in coordination with other veteran support groups as a supplement to overall services. Networking with other veteran services will assist families in working together and joining in the fabric of veteran support throughout the community. The Cornerstone SALUTES! program, kicked-off during the Memorial Day weekend in the Polk-Hardee-Highlands region, will now be making its way up to Orange-Osceola and Lake-Sumter. Since 1984, Cornerstone Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc., a not-for-profit community-based healthcare organization, has provided care and services to central Florida residents and to American veterans experiencing life-limiting illnesses. To learn more, call (863)291-5560 or toll-free (800)503-5756 in Polk County. - - - - - - END - - - - - - END - - - - - -
Posted on Fri, 28 May 2010 Operation Ziploc: Support for SoldiersAt Cornerstone Hospice and Palliative Care, we appreciate our soldiers who are far away from home and fighting for our American rights and freedom. As a service to the community, we would like to pass along an opportunity that the community can be involved in supporting our troops. Operation Ziploc / Shoebox packages small items of toiletries, non-perishable foods, paperback books ... anything appropriate that will fit into a gallon Ziploc bag or in a shoebox. These items are sent to soldiers in the field. A little bit of home arrives in a shoebox and is always welcomed by them! If you would like to stuff Ziploc bags with such items and donate them, you may do so by dropping them off at any public library in Lake County. For locations, click http://www.lakeline.lib.fl.us/libraries/. If you are not near a library in Lake County, please email cornerstonehospice@cornerstonehospice.org for drop-off information. Thank you for your support! Posted on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 Old Time Radio HourDate: Mon., March 22, 2010 By: Manny P. Hernandez, Manager, Public Information
“Old Time Radio Hour” Alive and Well in Polk!
WINTER HAVEN - - Cornerstone Hospice star volunteers Bob Carmichael and his wife Virginia are committed to their “Old Time Radio Hour” which they present to the non-profit organization’s patients and to seniors at retirement communities and nursing homes throughout Polk county, serving as advocates and ambassadors for volunteerism in general and for Cornerstone Hospice in particular, while bringing to audiences fond memories of an era when the entire family sat by the radio in the evenings… Yes, there was an era before television!
Volunteers on a Mission Bring to Life Radio Memories of a Bygone Era Carmichael has had a fascination for over a dozen years with what is known as “Old Time Radio”, the radio programs still remembered by those old enough to remember from that bygone era before television and he is on a mission to relieve these memories for patients facing a serious illness. There were dramatic broadcasts such as “The Shadow Knows”, “The War of the Worlds” and “The Lone Ranger”. Relying only on the listener’s auditory senses, Carmichael presents comedy programs such as “Fibber McGee and Molly”, “The Great Gildersleeve”, “The Red Skelton Show” and “ The Jack Benny Radio Show” of which Bob has approximately 900 episodes, not to mention the musical broadcasts of The Big Band Era.
From the less than two hundred square foot studio which Bob added to their home, he can fulfill just about any request for vocalists from Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin to Mario Lanza, from Jo Stafford to Billie Holiday, and, should the prevailing political winds currently blowing around have awakened your interests in politics, he can supply the very first presidential election results ever broadcast! From his studio, Carmichael utilizes the thousands of CDs, 8-Tracks, cassette tapes and recordings of all sizes from sixteen and one-thirds to seventy-eights. He once created a CD of thirty “Rose” songs for a lady named Rose!
“Volunteers are an important, priceless resource for non-profit Cornerstone Hospice with their services running the gamut from helping to feed patients at their home or nursing homes to assisting with clerical work in the office. Volunteers mow lawns, change light bulbs and hang pictures” indicated Lisa Gray, manager of volunteer services for Cornerstone Hospice, adding that “many donate their time so that patients’ caregivers may have a moment of respite from the often taxing duties of caring for their loved ones, moments for grocery shopping, keep a doctor’s appointment or simply have a few minutes to recover from the stress and strains of the tasks performed for their loved ones twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week”.
Sherry DiSimone, volunteer specialist, pointed out that “after a couple of presentations to Alzheimer’s patients whose common thread is silence and the impairment of memory, more than one patient remembered ‘the radio people’, looking forward to their next visit.” DiSimone added: “Bob and Virginia utilize their skills and talents to reach out to a group of patients in desperate need of contact and do so with the compassion and care associated with hospice care.
Anyone desiring to donate old records (any size) eight-track tapes, CDs or any other type of media device for Bob and Virginia’s programs, or if you may be considering servicing your community as a volunteer, please call Cornerstone Hospice volunteer specialist DiSimone at (863)291-5560. Posted on Mon, 5 Apr 2010 Deborah J. Harley -New Bus. Dev. Director
By Manny P. Hernandez, Public Information Manager Deborah J. Harley, most recently Chief Operating Officer at Mercy Care of Myrtle Beach SC, has been named New Business Development Director at Cornerstone Hospice, announced our CEO, Pat Lehotsky. “We are indeed quite fortunate to have been able to welcome Deb to our organization. Given today’s economic realities, we feel someone with her administrative experience will be a key addition in a new business development capacity. Deb will be responsible for researching, assessing and developing new business opportunities for Cornerstone Hospice which will add value to the hospice mission, complementing the organization’s strategic goals.”
Previously Deb was Administrative Director for Psychosocial and Spiritual services at Tidewell Hospice and Palliative Care in Sarasota, where she was responsible for the development of the social workers, chaplains, volunteers, bereavement staff, and a Transition’s program, fully integrating all aspects of these disciplines into patient care. Prior to that, Deb was Executive Director at Good Shepherd Hospice in Lakeland, where she was responsible for the overall clinical and financial performance under the direction of the Life Path Hospice CEO. Prior to being named as Executive Director, Deb was Vice President of Patient Care, responsible for overall patient care delivered to 1400 patients on a daily basis. During the 80’s and through the 90’s, Deb was with Hospice of Volusia/Flagler of Port Orange, first as Program Director and later as Executive Director. During the late 70’s, she was with the Child Protection Team of Halifax Medical Center of Daytona Beach, first as Case Coordinator and later as Project Coordinator. Deb has a Masters of Science in Social Services Administration from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, and a BS in Social Work from Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. She lives in Lakeland and has two married daughters.
Posted on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 |
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