Breakfast with Santa

Please join us on Saturday, December 15, 8 - 11:30 a.m. as Embassy Suites hosts Breakfast with Santa. Embassy Suites is located at 1801 Newtown Pike in Lexington. Come enjoy a great breakfast and have your photo taken with Santa Claus. The cost is $10 for adults, $5 for children 5-12, and children under 5 are free. All proceeds benefit Daniel's Care, a program of Hospice of the Bluegrass serving pediatric patients.

Cocoa with the Clauses

Join us on Sunday, December 2 for Cocoa with the Clauses! Have your picture taken with Santa and Mrs. Claus, enjoy crafts, face painting and a fabulous Cocoa bar. Cocoa with the Clauses will be held in the Victorian Square Atrium in downtown Lexington from 1-3 p.m. The cost is $10 per child (their favorite adult is free). All proceeds benefit Daniel's Care, a program of Hospice of the Bluegrass that serves pediatric patients.

National Hospice and Pallative Care Month

A hospice nurse was recently asked, “How can you work in hospice – it must be so sad!”

She answered, “I love providing highly-skilled, compassionate care because I know I make a huge difference in the quality of a person’s life. Hospice is not about dying but is about living as fully as possible despite a life-limiting illness. I love that I can use my training as a nurse to bring comfort and dignity to my patients, and seeing the relief on their faces and on the faces of those who care for them. I love being a part of a professional hospice team that works together to offer individualized, holistic care to families when it is critically needed. I love that I can offer practical solutions to patients and families at one of life’s most challenging moments.”

November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, a time to draw attention and raise awareness of this special kind of care.

What is Hospice Care

Hospice care provides pain management, symptom control, psychosocial support, and spiritual care to patients and their families when a cure is not possible. Hospice of the Bluegrass serves over 900 people every day as well as their family caregivers.

Hospice care is covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance plans and HMOs. Hospice of the Bluegrass is a nonprofit organization and relies on generous donors whose gifts are used to better serve patients and their families.

Many people only consider hospice care in the final days of life but hospice is ideally suited to care for patients and family caregivers for the final months of life.

What is Pallative Care

Palliative care brings the same interdisciplinary team care as hospice to people earlier in the course of a serious illness and can be provided along with other treatments they may still be receiving from their doctor.

Hospices are the largest providers of palliative care services and can help answer questions about what might be most appropriate for a person. Many hospitals also have palliative care teams available to provide services.

Hospice and palliative care are available to people of all ages with any serious or life-limiting illness.

Hospice and palliative care combine the highest level of quality medical care with the emotional and spiritual support for patients and family caregivers. Hospice and palliative care can make a profound difference and help maximize the quality of life for all those they care for.

Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D., on Bereavement

Holiday Hope: Exploring Critical Questions When Your Loved One Has Died
Featuring Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D.
7-9 p.m., Monday, November 12
Celebration Center of Lexington
RSVP by November 9 to (859) 272.3414

When someone in your life dies, you are faced with many critical questions related to your grief and mourning. This compassionate program will help you explore these questions and provide you with the support you need. This program will help anyone who is experiencing grief in their lives.

For more information:
Click Here

To register:
Click Here


Caregiver Seminar: "The Art of Companioning"
Featuring Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D.
9am-Noon Tuesday, November 13
Celebration Center of Lexington

Program Overview
This free informative workshop will help participants enhance their knowledge and skills related to supporting people experiencing grief and loss. Dr. Alan Wolfelt will explore a "companioning" model of bereavement care that recognizes grief as a normal and necessary process that is fundamentally a journey of the heart and soul. Participants will go away with a wealth of knowledge as they explore the transformative nature of grief.

Who Should Attend
This seminar will be helpful to anyone who wants to learn more about essential caregiving principles. Specifically, the seminar will be beneficial for counselors, social workers, clergy, nurses, first responders and educators.

Continuing Education Credits
The Kentucky Board of Nursing has approved this offering for 3.0 contact hours KBN#5-0038-01-2013-413. Kentucky Board of Nursing approval of an individual nursing continuing education provider does not constitute endorsement of program content.

Hospice of the Bluegrass is approved by the Kentucky Board of Social Work to sponsor continuing education for credential holders (KBSW-SP1204). This offering is approved for 3.0 contact hours. Hospice of the Bluegrass maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Licensed Professional Counselors will be awarded continuing education credit pending approval by the Kentucky Board of Licensed Professional Counselors.

To receive contact hours participants must attend the entire session and evaluate the offering. There is no cost for continuing education credits.

LIMITED SEATING. REGISTRATION REQUIRED.
Call 859.272.3414 to R.S.V.P. by November 2

For more information:
Click Here

To register:
Click Here

Represent Hospice of the Bluegrass in your Community

If you are interested in advocating for hospice care in your community or you want to learn more about the programs and services offered at Hospice of the Bluegrass then attend this unique workshop. Join us on Friday October 12, 2012 from 10am-2pm at the Center for Grief and Education in Lexington, KY. Objectives for the workshop include:

  • Describe hospice as both a concept of care and a benefit
  • Articulate the programs and services offered by Hospice of the Bluegrass
  • Identify the benefits of hospice care described in academic and medical journals
  • Respond to recurring misconceptions about hospice
  • Identify multiple ways you can represent Hospice of the Bluegrass in your community

There is no cost to attend this workshop. To register for the workshop or learn more email education@hospicebg.org or call 859.296.6850

Hospice of the Bluegrass’ Dedication to Veterans Achieves High Honor

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) announced today that Hospice of the Bluegrass has been awarded the We Honor Veterans Level Four Partner, the highest recognition offered by NHPCO for service to veterans. Hospice of the Bluegrass is the only hospice in Kentucky and one of only 25 in the nation to achieve this designation.

“One out of every four dying Americans is a veteran,” says Turner West, Hospice of the Bluegrass Director of Volunteers. “Hospice of the Bluegrass is committed to providing the highest quality care to our nation’s veterans. Our team of professionals uses a Military History Checklist to understand the scope and duration of a veteran’s service in order to provide better care to the patient and better support to the patient’s family. Hospice is committed to increasing access and improving quality of care for Veterans in our communities.”


Hospice of the Bluegrass is working with the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and Department of Veteran Affairs to improve outreach to veterans and increase availability and utilization of high quality hospice and palliative care with a particular emphasis on veterans who are homeless or living in rural areas. For more information regarding the program, contact Turner West at (859) 887-2696.

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