Ecumen Century Club: Happy 102nd Birthday Christina (Tina) Gray
Ecumen honors Christina (Tina) Gray, a resident of Ecumen Pathstone Living, who is 102.
7 Winter Safety Tips for Seniors
With the winter months hitting full-force in the Midwest, taking extra caution is important for all ages- especially for seniors. Here are Care.com's tips for ensuring safety for seniors this winter.
Ecumen’s Abiitan Mill City Gets AIA Award for Innovative Age-Friendly Design
Abiitan Mill City and Mill City Quarter Apartments, now under construction in downtown Minneapolis, have received a Special Recognition Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for innovative age-friendly design.
Shop and Save on Medicare Drug Plans — Some Tips
Seniors can save money by shopping around for Medicare drug plans, but costs are going up and the search for savings can be daunting.
The Star Tribune explores the issues and offers advice on navigating the complex system.
The annual open enrollment period for Medicare health plans ends Dec. 7.
Clarkfield Care Center Residents Angeline Lee, 109, and Eunice Anderson, 104, Share Nov. 30 Birthdays
Angeline Lee and Eunice Anderson, who live at Ecumen-managed Clarkfield Care Center, have a Nov. 30 birthday in common and also share extraordinary longevity. Today they will be celebrating their birthdays that add up to 213 years of living.
Top 5 Blog Posts — November 30
Did you miss last week's most-read Changing Aging blog posts? Ecumen's online visitors found these articles most interesting:
Ecumen Hospice Team Honors a Client’s Last Wish in a Heartfelt Singing Goodbye
Hazel Erickson was in hospice and had meticulously made all her funeral plans, including a wish to have someone sing at her service. But she hadn’t selected who that would be. Her hospice team came up with a solution they are pretty sure Hazel would have liked.
Volunteers Learn End of Life Transition Can Be Beautiful Experience
Being a hospice volunteer is a truly unique, special and eye-opening experience.
National LeadingAge CEO Larry Minnix Speaks To Ecumen Board of Trustees
LeadingAge President and CEO Larry Minnix, in his last speaking engagement before he retires, visited Ecumen yesterday and told the Ecumen Board of Trustees “working with people like you has been an unbelievable experience.”
Duluth Woman Earns President’s Volunteer Service Award for Her Work at Ecumen Lakeshore
Mavis Keller, a veteran volunteer at Ecumen Lakeshore in Duluth, was surprised last week in a ceremony honoring her with the President’s Volunteer Service Award.
Ecumen’s Seth Kalhagen Wants To Change Your Perception of Hospice
Before Seth Kalhagen got into hospice work, he was a missionary. As it turns out, that was good training. A missionary spirit comes in handy when dealing with a subject people are hesitant to talk about and often misunderstand.
You can read these articles and more at ecumen.org.
Ecumen’s Seth Kalhagen Wants To Change Your Perception of Hospice
Before Seth Kalhagen got into hospice work, he was a missionary. As it turns out, that was good training.
Thanksgiving Is a Good Time To Be Nosy About Your Family Health History
When everyone is together for Thanksgiving, it’s an ideal time to talk turkey about the family health history.
Ecumen Hospice Team Honors a Client’s Last Wish in a Heartfelt Singing Goodbye
Hazel Erickson of Litchfield was an independent and strong-will woman who loved her family, her church and her community. She also really loved to dance and was always dressed to the nines.
Hazel never let on that she was dying and in intense pain. She kept going to church as usual, and the folks there had no idea she was in hospice — or even sick. That’s how she wanted it. She just kept living gratefully each day.
Hazel had meticulously made all her funeral plans, including a wish to have someone sing at her service. But she hadn’t selected who that would be.
A team from Ecumen Home Care & Hospice had been caring for her in her home since April. When Hazel died, the family asked Hospice Nurse Shelly Hanks if she had any ideas about who could sing at the funeral.
Shelly told them that Judy Loecken, a social worker at Ecumen Home Care & Hospice, sings to all her clients. When Shelly asked Judy if she would do it, Judy was conflicted. On the one hand, she had never sung in public. On the other hand, hospice is all about honoring last wishes. So Judy said she would do it if some of her colleagues would join her.
And that’s how the “Ecumen Sisters” happened.
Five women on the Ecumen Home Care & Hospice staff in Litchfield who had cared for Hazel agreed to do it — because they were pretty sure that’s what Hazel would want them to do.
Sandy Dougherty, the RN Clinical Director; Nicole Larson, the Volunteer Coordinator; and Michaela Nelson, the Massage Therapist; joined Shelly and Judy. When the funeral home wondered how to list them in the program, Hazel’s daughter Shelia came up with the name “Ecumen Sisters.”
The day of the funeral, the Ecumen Sisters stood in the balcony of the church and sang “On Eagles Wings.”
Reportedly, the funeral director said they “sounded like angels.”
Sandy says she’s flattered by the compliment, but she’s still tentative about the group’s singing ability. But one thing she is absolutely sure of: “I know we would have made Hazel proud.”
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November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. This month, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, and other organizations are teaming up to encourage citizens to increase their understanding and awareness of end of life care.
This month, the Ecumen Changing Aging Blog is featuring posts surrounding hospice, palliative care and the wonderful work they contribute.
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 103rd Birthday Katherine (Kay) Coventry
Ecumen honors Katherine (Kay) Coventry, a resident of Ecumen Lakeshore in Duluth, who is 103.