Happy Thanksgiving!

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DATE: November 22, 2013
CONTACT: Roxanne Debski-Seigel
Karen Ann Quinlan Memorial Foundation
Offices in Newton NJ & Milford PA.
PHONE: 973-383-0115
TOLL FREE: 800-882-1117
FAX: 973-383-6889
EMAIL: rdebski-seigel@karenannquinlanhospice.org
WEBSITE: www.karenannquinlanhospice.org

Steve Pomeisl, Newton’s Hayeks Market Deli Manager
PHOTO: We’ll have those dinners ready!” promised Steve Pomeisl, Newton’s Hayeks Market Deli Manager of 28 years. “…including pumpkin pie.” Hayeks along with ShopRite in Newton are assisting Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice in preparing meals for their patients in need. Hospice staff and volunteers will deliver all the meals in time for those families to enjoy on Thanksgiving.

Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice Serves Up Thanksgiving Dinners

NEWTON — November 22, 2013 — Every hospice patient and family is unique, but each coping with the illness of a loved one. This time of year often brings further sadness with the memories of happier times for these families. The thought of losing a loved one is a heavy burden, but some of our hospice families, in addition to struggling with their loved one facing end of life, have limited resources to provide for their families with basic everyday needs.

The Friends of Hospice, a special fundraising volunteer arm of the Karen Ann Quinlan Memorial Foundation, in conjunction with the social services and volunteer teams at hospice are doing what they can to bring Thanksgiving home. Local grocery stores, Hayeks and ShopRite are preparing family as well as individual Thanksgiving dinners for hospice to purchase and take to those families in need. It is with the funds donated year- round by these same local businesses and more that affords hospice in providing patients and those caring for them the seasonal delight of a holiday feast or the simple pleasure of a freshly prepared warm holiday meal. Often the recipients are too tired or sad to go through the effort, so the hospice team and community does it for them.
“Gratitude is a constant reminder of thankfulness and appreciation for life as it unfolds. Living in the moment, and every moment; we keep ourselves open to the love around us and within us to ponder on the richness of our life, even with life’s trials.” Cecelia
Clayton, Executive Director of the Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice shares with us.

The Karen Ann Quinlan Memorial Foundation is passionately dedicated to providing Hospice care for the terminally ill and Bereavement for those who have lost loved ones. Serving Northwest NJ and Northeast PA; please call 800 882 1117 to reach any of our services. Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, 99 Sparta Ave., Newton, NJ and Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, 104 Bennett Ave., Milford, PA. Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice is an independently owned hospice program and the preferred hospice provider for the Atlantic Health Care System in our area of service. For programs, events, and more information visit www.karenannquinlanhospice.org

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Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice promotes Schetting to Hospice Administrator

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DATE: November 12, 2013
CONTACT: Roxanne Debski-Seigel
Karen Ann Quinlan Memorial Foundation
Offices in Newton NJ & Milford PA.
PHONE: 973-383-0115
TOLL FREE: 800-882-1117
FAX: 973-383-6889
EMAIL: rdebski-seigel@karenannquinlanhospice.org
WEBSITE: www.karenannquinlanhospice.org

Marlina Schetting, MSW, LCSW

Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice promotes Schetting to Hospice Administrator

Newton, NJ – November 12, 2013 – Marlina Schetting, MSW, LCSW, CT has been named as Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice’s new Administrator. She will work closely with Cecelia Clayton, Executive Director in overseeing the day to day operations of the organization. Additionally, the Administrator is responsible for the agency’s compliance with Federal, State and local regulations. “Marlina has continuously risen to all the challenges and changes we face as health care providers with such things as HIPAA Compliance, Medicare and Medicaid regulations right on through Living Wills and Advance Directives. In addition, as Administrator, her knowledge of hospice care will strengthen our services as we continue to grow our programs.” Clayton said.

Schetting has been employed professionally with the Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice for over 23 years but her association with the organization goes back to February of 1986, where she started as a hospice volunteer. “My interest in hospice work developed from a Death and Dying course I took at the University of Hawaii. Dr. Mitsuo Aoki was my professor and was the founder of Hospice Hawaii.” Schetting said. “His passion for the work resonated within me.” Upon returning to NJ, that inspiration led her to the Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice in Newton. Since joining Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice she acknowledges feeling privileged to work daily with a wonderful interdisciplinary team, patients and families who represent true caring and dedication.

Schetting is a licensed clinical social worker holding a Masters in Social Work from Marywood University, Scranton, PA and a BS from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Also certified in Thanatology from the Association for Death Education and Counseling, Schetting has served as a certified field instructor since 1999 mentoring many social work interns and social service professionals over the years. Currently she chairs the Reimbursement and Government Relations Committee of the New Jersey Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
Former positions include working with the elderly and disabled and former planner for the Sussex County Division of Senior Services and a resident assistant with SCARC.

From a personal view, while always having been a proponent of hospice care, it was not until the death of loved ones dear to her that she learned the true meaning of caring for those at the end of life and the journey of those in bereavement. “After many years in the industry, my hope is to “give back” to our profession and to make a difference. People approach me often and ask if what we do at hospice is depressing. I say, “no, quite the contrary.” Schetting confirms. Schetting believes that at hospice, life is seen as a gift and there is hope in every day lived. For her, being present for those who are in pain and encountering death and grief and to assist in giving them meaning to that experience represents the best example of hope.
Schetting lives in Stillwater, NJ, with her two sons and is also an active member of the Andover United Methodist Church.

The Karen Ann Quinlan Memorial Foundation is passionately dedicated to providing Hospice care for the terminally ill and Bereavement for those who have lost loved ones. Serving Northwest NJ and Northeast PA; please call 800 882 1117 to reach any of our services. Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, 99 Sparta Ave., Newton, NJ and Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, 104 Bennett Ave., Milford, PA. Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice is an independently owned hospice program and the preferred hospice provider for the Atlantic Health Care System in our area of service. For programs, events, and more information visit www.karenannquinlanhospice.org

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November is National Hospice Month

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DATE: November 11, 2013
CONTACT: Roxanne Debski-Seigel
Karen Ann Quinlan Memorial Foundation
Offices in Newton NJ & Milford PA.
PHONE: 973-383-0115
TOLL FREE: 800-882-1117
FAX: 973-383-6889
EMAIL: rdebski-seigel@karenannquinlanhospice.org
WEBSITE: www.karenannquinlanhospice.org

The administrative building located at 99 Sparta Ave, Newton

PHOTO: Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice has been serving hospice patients in the community since it opened its doors in 1980. The administrative building located at 99 Sparta Ave, Newton is office to nurses, home health aides, and general administration who service patients in Northwest NJ.  The Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice also has an office in Milford PA, where nursing staff serve patients in the Pike and Wayne areas of PA.

Julia Quinlan with a picture of her daughter Karen Ann

PHOTO: Julia Quinlan, co-founder and President of the Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice has been a crusader for the hospice cause since 1980 when she and her husband Joseph founded the hospice that bears the name of their daughter Karen Ann. Karen Ann’s legacy became a world-wide commitment for the right to die with dignity cause after she fell into a coma in 1975.  Karen Ann lived another ten years after being removed off the respirator and died in 1985.  The Quinlans saw firsthand a must for patients who needed pain free comfort and the best quality of life possible while they were in a condition where end of life was imminent with little or no hope of recovery. The also saw that the families of the loved ones who were ill needed the guidance and support of a model of care that incorporated all of the above.  That model of care was hospice.

November is National Hospice Month

At the End of Life Hospice Provides What Americans Want.

The hospice philosophy holds that end-of-life care should emphasize quality of life. The object is to treat both the patient and family with a model of care that provides palliative (pain relief) plans and remedies, doctors, nurses and home health aides in addition to social workers, trained volunteers, spiritual guidance, therapists, and bereavement.

A nationwide Gallup survey conducted for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization produced five key outcomes:

  1. Nine out of 10 adults would prefer to be cared for at home rather than in a hospital or nursing home if diagnosed with a terminal illness. Hospice does provide the option of being cared for at a place the patient calls home: 96% of hospice care is provided in the patient’s home or place they call home.
  2. An overwhelming majority of adults said they would be interested in the comprehensive program of care at home that hospice programs provide. Yet most Americans know little or nothing about their eligibility for or availability of hospice.
  3. When asked to name their greatest fear associated with death, respondents most cited “being a burden to family and friends,” followed by “pain” and “lack of control.” Addressing the whole range of physical and psychological needs of the patient and his or her family in an interdisciplinary way is what makes hospice care so special.
  4. 90% of adults believe it is the family’s responsibility to care for the dying. Hospice provides families with the support needed to keep their loved one at home, and can take over fully to give the caretaker short “respite” periods.
  5. Most adults believe it would take a year or more to adjust to the death of a loved one. However, only 10% of adults have ever participated in a bereavement program or grief counseling following the death of a loved one. Hospice programs offer one year of grief counseling for the surviving family and friends.

For additional information on this study and further information about the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization visit NHPCO.org.

In March of this year the Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice broke ground on the Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice which when completed in 2014, will offer hospice patients and their families additional opportunities to provide for their loved one. The 10 patient room facility being built in Fredon is designed to offer end of life patients a home with a family friendly atmosphere, but with all the trained personnel to assure that patients and families receive the hospice care model.

The Karen Ann Quinlan Memorial Foundation is passionately dedicated to providing Hospice care for the terminally ill and Bereavement for those who have lost loved ones. Serving Northwest NJ and Northeast PA; please call 800-882-1117 to reach any of our services. Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, 99 Sparta Ave., Newton, NJ and Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, 104 Bennett Ave., Milford, PA. Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice is an independently owned hospice program and the preferred hospice provider for the Atlantic Health Care System in our area of service. For programs, events, and more information visit www.karenannquinlanhospice.org

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