Volunteers: enriching lives every dayWe’veallheardthephrase,“It’sthelittlethingsthatmat-

termost.”Forhospicepatients,that’sespeciallytrue.Forthem,afewmomentssharingaspecialmovie,enjoyingtheirfavoritedessertorjustrecountingacherishedmemoryisamostpreciousgift.

It’sthesekindsoftasksthatOmegaandSunflowervolun-teersexcelat—givingthegiftoftheirtimeandfriendshiptohelphospicepatientsliveeachdaytothefullest.

ForHelenandherhusband,Cecil,anOmegahospicepa-tientwhorecentlyturned88,thosesmalldeedshaveinclud-edatrainexcursionandarideinahorse-drawncarriage.

“Myhusbandhadn’triddenthetrainformany,manyyears…sincehegotoutoftheserviceafterWorldWarII,”explainedHelen.“WegotonthetraininLee’sSummitandChristineLangford,Omega’scorporatevolunteercoordina-tor,metuswhenwegotoffinKansasCity.ThethreeofustouredUnionStation.Itwasjustawesome.Myhusbandabsolutelylovedit.”

(continued,page2)

Volunteers Give BackA letter from the president

WheneverIinteractwithourvolunteersI’mstruckbytwothings:first,thededicatedmannerinwhichtheyapproachtheirworkwithhospicepa-tients;andsecond,bythedi-versesegmentsofsocietytheyrepresent.

Alotoffolksthinkthemajorityofourvolunteersareretirees.Surprisingly,mostareworkingprofessionalsandstu-dents.Theymightbeteachers,technologyworkersorcollegestudents.Somehaveapersonalexperiencewithhospice;otherssimplyseeitasameaningfulwayto“giveback”totheircommunity.

Whatevertheirmotivation,wearesogratefultothemforgivingtheirtimeandtalentstoenrichthelivesofourpatients.Intheprocess,mosttellustheyenrichtheirownlives,aswell.

So,I’dliketopaytributetothemanyvolunteerswhoprovideinvaluableservicetoOmegaandSunflowerHealthCare.Withoutthem,wesimplycouldn’tdeliverthepersonal-izedcareandcomfortforwhichwe’vebecomeknown.

Ifyouorsomeoneyouknowisinterestedinvolunteer-ingwithOmegaorSunflowerHealthCare,callChristineLangford,ourcorporatevol-unteercoordinatorat1-877-275-7086.n

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VOLUME 3 NUMBER 2

A carriage ride on the Country Club Plaza was just one of the field trips Omega volunteer Shannon Prigge took Cecil and Helen on.

10036.4ƒ.indd 1 5/27/10 2:42 PM

Later,whenHelenexpressedaninterestinacarriagerideonKansasCity’sCountryClubPlaza,Christinemadethearrange-mentsandvolunteerShannonPriggetookitfromthere.ShepickedupHelenandCecilattheirhomeinBlueSpringsandtookthemtothePlaza,wherethecoupleviewedtheChristmaslightsviacarriageandhadtheirphototaken.TheyfinishedofftheoutingwithadinneratOutbackSteakhouse.

ShannonfollowedthePlazaoutingwithaJanuarytripto“theboats,”whereCecilplayedthepennyslotsuntilthe$3hebudgetedranout.

“Wejustdon’tgetoutveryoftenanymore,”saidHelen.“But,whenwedo,hereallyenjoystherideandseeingthescenery.And,hefeelsbetterforafewdaysafterward.Hisbloodpres-suregoesdownandherelaxesmore.It’sabsolutelywonderfulthatOmegahelpsusdothesethings;wesimplycouldn’tdoitwithouttheirhelp.”

OmegaandSunflowerHealthCarearefortunatetohavethehelpofmorethan

“Wehadprettysimilartastesinmovies:‘shoot‘emup’or‘yuckitup,’soitwasprettyeasy.Ididn’texpecttobefriendhimsoquickly.IthinkIlookedforwardtoourvisitsasmuchasRicharddid.”

TherewardsofvolunteeringarealsoevidenttoOmegavolunteerEddieHerman.AKansasCityITprojectmanager,Eddiehasbeenteachingthelessonsofvolun-teeringtohis11-year-oldtwinsonsand13-year-olddaughter.TheyvisitMaxineinhernursinghome,sometimeshelpingthecheerful93-year-oldrekindlehermemoryandloveofgardening.

“Maxinelovesflowersandgardening,sowewentoutsideintothegardenathernursinghomewherethekidspulledweedsandpickedsomeripecucumberswhilesheassistedfromherwheelchair.Youshouldhaveseenherfacelightup.Itwasasex-citedaswe’veeverseenher.Toseeherjoysoevidentisveryrewarding.”

Formany,theirvolunteerservicehasgiventhemasenseof“givingback”andhelpedthemappreciatelifemorefully,sometimesjustbylistening.

“Theyliketotalkabouttheirlivesandlookforwardtoyoucomingandseeingthem,”saidSarahPatterson,acollegestu-dentandSunflowervolunteer.“Theyaresothankfulandappreciative;theywanttohugyouorgiveyouacookie.It’sveryup-liftingandfulfilling.”

AlphaTouch emergency response service offers peace of mind

It’safact.IntheUnitedStates,morethanone-thirdofadultsoverage65falleachyear.And,thosefallsaretheleadingcauseofdeaths,braininjuriesandfracturesamongolderadults.In2005alone,fallsresultedinalmost16,000deathsand1.8millionERvisitsbyadults65+.*

Atthesametime,almosteveryonewantstoretainhis/herindependenceandlifestyle,regardlessofage,disabilityorlivingsitua-tions.

AlphaTouch,whichOmegaandSunflowerHealthCarebeganofferingin2009,isaper-fectsolutiontothisdilemma.

AlphaTouchisapersonalemergencyresponsesystem(PERS)thatallowspeopletosummonhelpwheneveranemergencyarises.Withasmallradiotransmitterthatiswornorcarried,coupledwithaconsoleconnectedtoatelephoneunit,userscancallforhelp24hoursaday,7daysaweek—allforaboutadollaraday.

WhilePERSisnotcoveredbyMedicarehospiceguidelines,OmegaandSunflowerprovideAlphaTouchservicefreetotheirhospicepatients.

WithAlphaTouch,fallsandotheremergen-ciescanbeaddressedimmediately,sothisservicegivesitsusersrealpeaceofmind.

FormoreinformationabouthowAlpha-Touchcanbringsecurityandpeaceofmindtoyourlife,visitwww.alphatouch.usorcallusat1-877-688-2820.n

* Centers for Disease Control Web site: www.cdc.gov

What our Clients are saying…Dear friends at Omega Health Care

The program you offered was just what I was looking for and the people at Omega went over and above my expectations. We are so happy we chose you and will recommend your services to anyone we know that could use them. We didn’t realize there was such a difference in health care providers, but you guys top the list!

Thank you for everything,Wanda, Barbara and Bob

Read more about what our clients are saying at www.omega-healthcare.com

Volunteers for Omega and Sunflower Health Care perform small,

but meaningful deeds every days that

enrich the lives of hospice patients—and

the volunteers as well.

100volunteerslikeShannon,whohelpde-liverthoseextracomfortsthathospicepa-tientssorichlydeserve.ThesegoodSamari-tanscompriseadiversegroupthatrangefrombusyprofessionalstohighschoolstudentstoretirees.

Inadditiontotheoccasionalfieldtrip,theyoftenvisitwithpatients,readtothem,workjigsawpuzzlesorwatchmovies.Othertimes,theyrunerrands,providetransportation,helpwithhouseholdchoresorsimplygivefamilycaregiversamuch-neededbreak.SomevolunteershelpoutintheOmegaandSunflower

officesorduringcommunityoutreachac-tivities.

Volunteerswiththeappropriatetalents/licensescanalsoprovidespecialservices,suchasmassage,cosmetology,account-ing,artormusic.MaribethGriessel,forinstance,singstoOmegapatient,Ida,eachweekduringhervisits.Amusiceducationmajor,Maribethhastaughtpianoandvoiceanddirectedthechurchchoir,sothevol-unteeropportunityasoneofOmegaHealth

Care’stravelingmusicianswasaperfectfit.

“Wesimplycouldn’tpro-videthelevelofserviceweaspiretowithoutourvolun-teers,”saidChristine.“Theyareakeyelementintheper-sonaltouchweprovideandtheyenrichthelivesofourpatientssomuch.”

Atthesametime,volun-teersoftenfindtheirlivesareenrichedbythosepersonaltouches.

SunflowervolunteerLeeLittle,aMerriam,KS,data-baseadministrator,developedarealfriendshipwith

Richard,aLansing,KS,hospicepatienthesharedtimewithforseveralmonths.HetookRichardtothebankandhismailbox,butmostlyheprovidedsharedcompanionship.

“Wewatchedmoviestogetherandtalked,andheenjoyedit,”Leeexplained.

Eddie Herman believes volunteering offers his children an opportunity to give to others and to recognize what’s important in life.

Volunteers, continued…

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