Program: On June 7, Mary Cuoski and Deborah Castro spoke about the Visiting Nurse Association of Northern New Jersey.

For over 110 years, Visiting Nurse Association of Northern New Jersey has provided quality health care to residents of the greater Morris County area.  In photo above, Dick Plambeck welcomed Visiting Nurse Association speakers Mary Cuoski (L) and Deborah Castro (R), who gave a comprehensive presentation on the organization and its services. The population is living longer and the many older citizens require assistance. Over 44 million American adults provide care for an aging loved one, and that number will rise. VNANNJ provides help and support for the care givers.

Respite Care is offered to provide a break for someone serving in the caregiver role. HHA service a provided to relieve full time caregivers of their workload. The Friendship House Adult Day Care Services are offered to those with Alzheimer’s.  Community Health Programs include In-Home Caregiver Education, House Calls for Groceries, Philips Lifeline and Telehealth. Medicare can help recipients who are eligible.

How can the VNANNJ help? They are a Medicare certified Homecare agency in Morris County, provide all services required and will work with your MD to plan care. Call them at 1-800-WE-VISIT or go the website: http://vnannj.org/.

July 13 Program: “Hospice, what it is and what it’s not.”

Trish Thomas and Bridget Martorelli from Compassionate Care Hospice talked about “Hospice Care” of terminally ill patients. Bridget, a patient relations coordinator, told us that there are over 40 hospice companies in New Jersey and this care is covered under Medicare. Compassionate Care Hospice has been in business since 1993 and the company is in 19 states. Photo shows Trish on the left and Bridget on the right with Marty Sechehay, who arranged for the talk.

Trish, who is a hospice nurse and an educator, gave a brief history of hospice, which began in England in the 1960’s when Cicely Saunders started St Christopher’s Hospice. In those early days, it was mostly about Cancer. The movement came to America in the 1970’s. American hospice pioneer Florence S. Wald, dean of the nursing school at Yale heard a lecture by Saunders and was inspired to add hospice care to nursing education.

Hospice is important. You matter because you are YOU, an individual. And, you matter until the last moment of your life. Hospice brings a better quality of life to people who are terminally ill. We need to remember that the patient is in charge of his or her own destiny and they need to be informed and make decisions about their life, right up to the end. Hospice care takes place wherever the patient lives. Nurses often identify which patients should be considered for hospice care. Doctors might say “we cannot cure you”; however, hospice care is available. People like Bridget can improve communications between patients, relatives, medical staff and hospice caregivers so that decisions about hospice care can be made. Hospice provides comfort, power, respect, meaning and self-esteem to people in their last days.

Click here to learn more about Compassionate Care Hospice.

Click here to learn more about Medicare Hospice Benefits.

Nurse Joan Knecht Presented Earthquake “Haiti Reflections - 2010”

Mary introduced our speaker Joan Knecht, a former professor of nursing at the County College of Morris. She made a trip in February, 2010 to Haiti as a volunteer with “Foundation for Peace”, a not-for-profit organization founded in 2002 to work with people in impoverished areas of Dominican Republic, Haiti and Kenya. While a nursing student in Cornell she had Margaret Mead as a teacher and she developed an interest in cultures.

Joan volunteers extensively with several organizations as a surgical nurse. After the earthquake in Haiti, she considered joining several alternative volunteer organizations and then chose to go with “Foundation for Peace”. She payed her own travel expense and carried 100 pounds of urgently needed medical supplies with her on the trip. The team flew into Santo Domingo and went by bus to Jimani Viejo, located in the Dominican Republic near the boarder with Haiti.

Joan had worked for 22 years in ER at Morristown so she was assigned to treat the most critical patients. Joan served injured people in Good Samaritan Hospital, a facility which was actually in the Dominican Republic. She showed us a YouTube video, “Hands for Haiti”, covering activities at the site shortly before she arrived. The remainder of her presentation included stories illustrated with many fine photographs showing the spirit and determination of the seriously injured people. During her stay, she crossed the boarder to visit a refugee camp in Haiti. The team of volunteer nurses and supporting workers did an outstanding job and “Foundation for Peace” deserves thanks and support.

Joan recommended that we read “Mountains beyond Mountains” by Tracy Kidder to learn more about the work of Dr. Paul Farmer and “Partners in Health” to learn more about helping Haiti.

Photo: At the end of the presentation, President Rich gave our speaker our traditional Kiwanis pen.