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Monthly Archives: April 2016

Community forums focus on new end-of-life option law

April 19, 2016 7:42 am

TUESDAY, 19 APRIL 2016 00:17 EDITOR

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A new end-of-life option law will take effect in California on June 9, 2016.

Hospice Services of Lake County is holding community forums to update Lake County residents, health care professionals and local leaders on the requirements of the new law which authorizes medical aid in dying as an end-of-life care for terminally ill adults.

Forums are free and open to the public.

Experts from Compassion and Choices, an organization committed to expanding choice at the end-of-life, will be presenting information at the forums.

Hospice Services of Lake County representatives will be available to answer questions about their services and clarify differences in end-of-life options.

Community partners assisting with the effort to inform Lake County residents about the implementation of the new law are Lake County Tribal Health, Sutter Lakeside Hospital and St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake.

Forums will be held as follows:

– Monday, April 25, 6:30 p.m., Room 209, Woodland Community College, 15880 Dam Road Extension, Clearlake.

– Tuesday, April 26, 6:30 p.m., Lakeport Senior Center, 527 Konocti Ave., Lakeport.

Hospice volunteers bring comfort, love

April 12, 2016 10:51 pm / Leave a comment

By Corrigan Gommenginger

POSTED: 04/12/16, 10:51 PM PDT

LAKEPORT >> National Volunteer Week is April 11 — 16 and Hospice Services of Lake County honors its core of dedicated volunteers who provide support and companionship to patients who are facing serious and life-limiting illnesses and their loved ones.

We could not do the work we do without the gifts of time and talent from our hospice volunteers who support our organization and walk with patients and families during the journey at life’s end.

Here in Lake County, 150 volunteers provide 15,000 hours per year to help Hospice Services care for patients and families in the community.

Hospice volunteers often visit patients and families in the home but they also assist in the office, help raise awareness, serve on our Board of Directors, contribute to educational programs, provide fundraising support, and volunteer in the three Hospice Thrift Stores in Lakeport, Middletown and Clearlake.

Hospice volunteers help the people they serve live every moment of life to the fullest. Most hospice volunteers choose to give their time helping others because of their own experience with the compassionate care hospice provided to a dying loved one.

It is federally mandated under Medicare that 5 percent of all patient care hours be provided by trained volunteers. This regulation reflects the vital role that volunteers play in the hospice philosophy of care and ensures that a hospice program has roots deep in the community.

For those interested in having a Community Ambassador speak to your group about the services we provide, or if you’re ready to have a nurse come to your home and talk with you about hospice care, or learning more about hospice or volunteer opportunities, please call Hedy Montoya at 263-6222 or hmontoya@lakecountyhospice.org.

Corrigan Gommenginger is executive director of Hospice Services of Lake County

‘Compassionate Friends’ group forms, holds first meeting April 7

April 4, 2016 12:05 am

MONDAY, 04 APRIL 2016 00:05 EDITOR

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A local chapter of The Compassionate Friends has just been organized.

The group will be known as TCF On The Lake.

The Compassionate Friends is a nonprofit self-help bereavement support organization for families that have experienced the death of a child.

When a child dies, at any age, the family suffers intense pain and may feel hopeless and isolated.

The Compassionate Friends provides highly personal comfort, hope and support to every family experiencing the death of a son or a daughter, a brother or a sister, or a grandchild, and helps others better assist the grieving family.

Today more than 640 chapters, serving all 50 states, offer friendship, understanding and hope to bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents during the natural grieving process after a child has died.

Up until now, the nearest chapter could only be found in Sonoma or Napa counties.

The first official meeting of TCF On The Lake will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 7, in the Hospice Services of Lake County location at 1862 Parallel Drive, Lakeport.

Monthly meetings are planned at this location for the first Thursday of each consecutive month.

For more information, call 707-874-8232 or email tcf.onthelake@gmail.com .