John Quinlan appointed Director of Foundation

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DATE: March 27, 2014
CONTACT: Roxanne Debski-Seigel
Karen Ann Quinlan Memorial Foundation
Offices in Newton NJ & Milford PA.
EMAIL: rdebski-seigel@karenannquinlanhospice.org
WEBSITE: www.karenannquinlanhospice.org

JOHN QUINLAN,DIRECTOR OF FOUNDATION
PHOTO: JOHN QUINLAN, DIRECTOR OF FOUNDATION.

John Quinlan appointed Director of Foundation

NEWTON — March 27, 2014 — John Quinlan of Wantage, NJ has recently been appointed as Director of Foundation.

He will work with both the Memorial and Charitable Foundations of the Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice to further the cause of hospice in the community.
The Charitable foundation is the recipient of the fundraising activities that enables the hospice to be able to care for patients and their families no matter their ability to pay. It also assists in supporting the new Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice to be open in 2014. The Memorial Foundation oversees the hospice operations.

Cecelia Clayton, Executive Director stated, “ We welcome John in this new opportunity to cultivate a coalition of community members and businesses that will bring the Home for Hospice to fruition; and enlisting their support in partnering with the hospice to be certain all who need it, will have the benefit of this unique facility.”

Quinlan has a varied background in sales and sales management, most notably with Muralo Company and Akso/Nobel/Sikkens in New Jersey and Eastern PA. He is also a New Jersey State Registered Builder since 1984.

He studied at Cochise County College in Douglas, AZ and at the University of Arizona in Tucson majoring in English and Spanish.

Quinlan was a co-founder of the Karen Ann Quinlan Memorial Foundation in 1977, and subsequently a co-founder of the Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, which opened in 1980. He has served on both the Hospice Memorial Board and the Foundation’s Charitable Board as a member and a liaison between the two boards; also as chairperson for their Strategic Planning, and as a member on the Personnel, Marketing, and Finance Committees.

Quinlan commented, “I am excited to explore this next phase in my lifelong commitment to the Hospice Movement. The challenges of succeeding as a not for profit alongside the for profit organizations requires extensive community support.”

He will be reporting to the Newton Administrative Office of the Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, 99 Sparta Ave, Newton, NJ 07860 and can be reached at 973-383-0115 or at johnquinlan@karenannquinlanhospice.org.

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 at either office; 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 proud to be the preferred hospice provider for Newton Medical Center and our area Atlantic Health Care System. For hospice programs, events, and more information visit www.karenannquinlanhospice.org.

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Orange Butterfly

How did one person’s tragedy affect us all?

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DATE: March 13, 2014
CONTACT: Roxanne Debski-Seigel
Karen Ann Quinlan Memorial Foundation
Offices in Newton NJ & Milford PA.
EMAIL: rdebski-seigel@karenannquinlanhospice.org
WEBSITE: www.karenannquinlanhospice.org

Julia and Karen Ann Quinlan
PHOTOS: (Left) Julia Quinlan holding the famous picture of her daughter, Karen Ann. (Right) Karen Ann as a teen.

How did one person’s tragedy affect us all?

NEWTON — March 13, 2014 — Karen Ann Quinlan, if she were alive today, would be turning 60 years old this March 29th.

The story of Karen Ann Quinlan begins in Scranton, PA where she was born 3/29/1954; and where Joseph and Julia Quinlan, a self-described ordinary couple living in northern New Jersey, adopted her as an infant.

“ I remember the day I brought her home, she was such a joyful baby” described Julia Quinlan.

Before fast-forwarding to April 15, 1975, Karen Ann had enjoyed a loving home along with her two younger siblings Mary Ellen and John. According to Karen Ann’s mother she was funny, athletic, and loved music and sang with a “voice like Judy Collins”. In 1975 she was just starting out on her own with her family as a backdrop of support.

We will never know whether she may have grown up to be a mother, a teacher, a nurse, doctor, lawyer, or what ever other ambition so many of us had back then. If she was alive today getting ready to celebrate her 60th birthday, would we as a society have achieved the benefits of the right to die with dignity, and if so, when?

But Karen Ann’s fate was not to celebrate a 60th birthday with us; hers was to be placed on the world stage. Nothing she had asked for; but the world was about to meet Karen Ann along with her family.

On that tragic night of April 15th, 1975 Karen Ann’s roommates came home to find her lying unconscious and not breathing. After calling for an ambulance they feverishly applied mouth-to-mouth revival attempts with little success. There have been many speculations as to why Karen Ann fell into that coma, none of which have been empirically recognized by the medical field, they just knew she had stopped breathing and needed resuscitation.

The Quinlans were awoken at 2AM with a phone call and were told their daughter was in the hospital and they needed to get there right away! From that point on every parent’s nightmare became a reality for the family. What was wrong? Will she recover? All the common questions asked by parents in anguish over the serious illness of a child.

But it was the legal battle that engaged a nation and the world.

After the Quinlans were given the dire news their daughter was in what was called a persistent vegetative state (PVS), from which she would not recover, a decision had to be made. After much heart and soul searching and knowing Karen as they did, they concluded as a family that removing her from the artificial life support is what their daughter and sister would have wanted. But the hospital refused on several grounds; one was Karen Ann was considered emancipated with no legal guardian to make that decision for her. This resulted in the Quinlans needing to seek permission in a court of law to have the legal right to ask the hospital to remove Karen Ann from the respirator.

“Karen Ann’s plight became every woman” the Honorable Paul Armstrong, then attorney for the Quinlans has remarked. The nation was engrossed with the Quinlans battle to have their daughter relieved from the extraordinary means of life support so she could die in peace and with dignity. It stirred both emotional and lucid viewpoints as to defining the definition of death and dying and brought to the forefront how clearly technology was outpacing moral assumptions.

After much national press, 1000’s of letters, and TV interviews, the case was finally resolved in the Quinlans favor by the NJ Supreme Court on March 31st 1976. Just days after Karen Ann’s 22nd birthday the court ruled “No compelling interest of the state could compel Karen to endure the unendurable.”

Karen was free at last from the artificial life support machine that her mother remembers her fighting and struggling with, but additionally Karen Ann began to breathe on her own until she died of pneumonia on June 11, 1985; almost 10 years after being removed from the respirator.

But Karen Ann is with us on her 60th birthday; her name represents a cause that has given all of us the freedom to proclaim our right to die without the benefit or detriment of artificial life support. She also laid the groundwork for doctors to be free of medical ethical repercussions based on family and patient decisions when refusing extraneous means of life support. Medical Ethic boards now required in all medical institutions were a direct result of the Karen Ann Quinlan case, along with Living Wills and Advance Directives. “I think re-telling this story helps a younger generation understand the importance of this case,” Julia Quinlan reminded us.

Karen Ann is also our neighbor. Her family established a foundation and then a hospice in 1980; long before most knew what hospice care meant. With just a handful of volunteers and a small office in the local hospital, they began to care for the terminally ill coming from a place in their hearts. The Quinlans knew how they wanted their daughter to be cared for, visiting every day, and they transformed this empathy into a hospice that now provides end-of-life care in two states, NJ & PA.

Julia Quinlan recently turned 87 years old, has lectured throughout the US and is still active in making sure her daughter’s legacy can reach and help as many as possible. The Karen Ann Quinlan Memorial Foundation assures no one in need of hospice care is ever turned away regardless of ability to pay.

Quinlan is the co-author and author of two books; Karen Ann The Quinlans Tell Their Story and My Joy, My Sorrow, Karen Ann’s Mother Remembers.
In 1977 the Quinlans were the topic of a made for TV production, which aired on NBC, titled “In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan” with Piper Laurie and Brian Keith playing Julia and Joseph Quinlan.

In 2009 a documentary, “Saying Goodbye” was produced and tells the compelling story along with interviews from Julia, the Quinlan family and family advisors. The two DVD set also features an in-depth Q&A interview with the Honorable Paul Armstrong discussing the legal process of the landmark case. The DVD package is available for a donation of $150.00 which can be purchased through their website or call 800-882-1117. This documentary has been presented over the last two years at the Rutgers State University College of Nursing Conference held every April.

However the story does not end here; this year the Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice will be completed; a long time dream of Julia Quinlan. The 10 patient room facility, now under construction in Fredon, NJ, overlooks the picturesque Waterwheel Farm with vistas of the Kittatinny Mountain range visible from each room. The Home for Hospice will offer a level of care that has not been available previously in the area. For the hospice patient who can no longer remain in his or her own home it will provide routine around-the-clock professional care, along with 24-hour visitation for family members and loved ones, including children. The home will also be available for short-term in-patient care aimed at symptom or pain management or temporary respite care to relieve caregivers.

A community who has responded to the vision of the Quinlans, and the memorial of Karen Ann is building this project. In keeping her memory alive, all of us who share in the belief that every moment of life is precious and should be lived to its fullest with dignity, hope and love stays alive.

So Happy Birthday Karen Ann, you are still with us in spirit and dedication; which is demonstrated every day through the Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice nurses, aides, and staff.

If you are interested in learning more about the Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice or how you can help visit their website www.karenannquinlanhospice.org. You may also call the hospice from anywhere at 800-882-1117.

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Orange Butterfly

Advance Directives 2014

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DATE: March 31, 2014
CONTACT: Roxanne Debski-Seigel
Karen Ann Quinlan Memorial Foundation
Offices in Newton NJ & Milford PA.
EMAIL: rdebski-seigel@karenannquinlanhospice.org
WEBSITE: www.karenannquinlanhospice.org

Jacqui Gieske, MSW, LSW
PHOTO: Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice Social Services staff member Jacqui Gieske, MSW, LSW displays the Living Will packets that the hospice will hand out on Health Care Decisions Day on Wednesday April 16th.

Your say in your health care matters; make sure you have it in writing.

NEWTON — March 31, 2014 — Sometimes when a health care provider asks if there is a Living Will or Advance Directive (both are the same) patients become concerned that maybe there is something they are not being told about their condition. Is it that serious they wonder? This is one of the many misapprehensions about a Living Will or an Advance Directive. This is farthest from the truth. It is a lawful requirement for your health care provider to ask if you have a Living Will/Advance Directive.

An Advance Directive/Living Will is something every adult, regardless of health status, should prepare and share with family members, loved ones and medical providers. It is a legal document that allows you to express and guide your medical treatments and choices and to choose your Patient Advocate; one who will consult with your medical provider when necessary. But also understand your personal health care goals change over time and keeping this document and discussions current with your advocate helps to ensure you receive the right care in the right place at the right time.

Your Patient Advocate needs to be someone you trust to speak for you such as a spouse, family member or friend. This person will be making medical decisions for you if you become permanently or temporarily unable to make your own decisions. You can always change your Advance Directive and name a new Patient Advocate by completing another document. Although with an Advance Directive/Living Will if there is no advocate, your wishes will at least be on record. It’s significant to understand that an Advance Directive/Living Will can only be used in situations when you are not able to make your own decisions. No one can make decisions for you if you are still able to speak for yourself.

A study by The Conversation Project discovered that more than 90 percent of Americans know they should have a dialogue about their health care wishes; yet only 30 percent do. And while more than half say it is very important to make sure our family is not stressed by having to make difficult decisions, 56 percent have not communicated their wishes to their loved ones; thus leaving them unprepared and on their own in a time of crisis or severe illness.

To help understand the value of advance care planning the National Healthcare Decision’s Day was started and exists to “ inspire, educate & empower the public & providers about the importance of advance care planning.” NHDD To localize this national cause, Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice provides free kits that explain how to proceed for NJ & PA residents.

To be part of the awareness of NHDD, held every April 16th, the hospice staff prepares an Advance Directive/Living Will portfolio filled with forms, websites, glossary of terms and general information about Advance Directives/Living Wills. These are available for pick up on April 16 between the hours of 8:30-4:30 at either of the hospice offices; for NJ, 99 Sparta Ave, Newton, NJ 0780 (973) 383-0115 and for PA, 104 Bennett Avenue Suite 2A-2 Milford, PA 18337 
(570) 296-3591.

Below are four simple steps to start the process.

  1. Think about your own values, beliefs, and concerns.
  2. Select a Patient Advocate, the person who will speak on your behalf and speak to him or her about your wishes.
  3. Record these wishes by completing an Advance Directive form and date it.
  4. Give signed copies to your Patient Advocate, family members physician and attorney if you have one.

Every five years is a good timeframe to look at, update, and make any desired changes to your Advance Directive. Health crises can happen to anyone at any time. Keep in mind that there were no opportunities for these decision-making processes before the Karen Ann Quinlan landmark legal case, whose situation launched the recognition for the need of Living Wills. Also with respect to age, Karen Ann, Nancy Cruzan, and Terri Schiavo were all in their 20s when their health crises occurred.
For more information on NHDD visit www.nhdd.org.

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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Orange Butterfly