The Journey

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Your life. Your choice. Your Passage.

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2500 items collected for charity

Passages 'staches club donates $470

2013 Torch Award

Honorable Mention

AGES

Jan. - Feb. 2013 Providing Quality Care In:

Bloomington, IL

404 N. Hershey Road, Ste. A Bloomington, IL 61704 Phone: 309.828.8139 Fax: 309.827.4878

Carbondale, IL

Carmel, IN

2352 Pointe Parkway Carmel, IN 46032 Phone: 317.660.6555

Livonia, MI

120 North Tower Rd., Ste. A Carbondale, IL 62901 Phone: 618.490.1040

38099 Schoolcraft Road Livonia, MI 48150 Phone: 734-744-5091 Fax: 734-744-5092

Lisle, IL

St. Louis, MO

515 Warrenville Road Lisle, IL 60532 Phone: 630.824.0400 Fax: 630.395.9235

1120 South Sixth Street, Ste. 500 St. Louis, MO 63104 Phone: 314-241-5700 Fax: 314-241-0441

Rockford, IL

Janesville, WI

929 S. Alpine Road, Ste. 202 Rockford, IL 61108 Phone: 815.226.7785 Fax: 815.226.7786

1828 N. Washington St. Janesville, WI 53548 Phone: 608-449-2315

Index: Veteran’s Day Celebrations......................3 Hospice Month.............................................4 Supply Drive..............................................5-6 Movember Movement..........................7-8 Torch Award............................................9-10 Volunteer Spotlight..................................11 Employees of the Month.......................12 October was Pastoral Care Month......12 PERK! & Contest Winners........................13 Passing it on................................................13 Around Town ......................................14-18

Swansea, IL

16 Bronze Pointe Blvd.

Swansea, IL 62226 Phone: 618.234.7078 Fax: 618.257.7266

Anonymous Compliance Hotline (866) 842-7093

As part of our continuing commitment to compliance we are encouraging facilities and other partners to use this number if they have a concern.

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Jan. - Feb. 2013 The Journey

Executive Medical Director Rajiv Kandala, MD

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Business Development Shelley Johansen

Social Services Roxxi Davis

Spiritual Care David Weiss

Clinical Services Carmen Velez

Physician and Hospital Services Jacob Matich

Palliative Care Director Emily O’Malley

Admissions Jen Ashlin

PR and Foundation

Contributors Editorial

Kaitlyn Henderson Kansas Swain

Art Direction Kamie Freeland

Photography

Staff photographers supplied all photos in this newsletter unless otherwise specified

Kansas Swain

Phone 1-888-741-8985 Toll-free

E-mail info@passageshospice.com

On the web www.passageshospice.com

Connect with us!

See our care in action on our Youtube channel!

All photographs are property of Passages Hospice and may not be reproduced without permission.

Contact pr@passageshospice. com for permission or questions.

This issue of The Journey was made available to the public on January 1, 2013 through issuu.

Veterans Day Jack Franks, 63rd District Representative, presented staff at Valley Hi Nursing Home in Woodstock with a flag dedicated to the more than 20 veterans that live in that home. Passages Hospice chaplain Dan Penn held a memorial service before visiting with the veterans and other residents.

Elementary school students in Manteno decorated cards for residents at the local Veteran’s Home. Our staff delivered the cards to residents in celebration of Veteran’s Day.

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Hospice Month November was National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. We decorated trees at each of our offices in recognition of the month, and to help our neighbors learn more about hospice care.

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CNA Sonya Anderson decorates the tree outside our Swansea office.

Relations Specialist Stacy Barclay, 2. Media Director of Clinical Services Carmen Velez

and Regional Director Tina Prasanesouk tie ribbons to the tree near our Lisle office.

3. Teal and purple ribbons are tied on a tree outside our Rockford office.

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Supply Drive

Robert Funderburk, 10, carries a bin of food from the Swansea office to be donated to Riverbend HeadStart and Family Services.

Ron Sandack, state Senator from Downers Grove, helps staff in the Lisle office pack donations for the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Our first Holiday Supply Drive collected more than 2500 items for our neighbors in need!

Our first Holiday Supply Drive collected more than 2500 items for our neighbors in need! Each office accepted food and clothing donations during the month of November, which were given to a local food bank or community group near the office.

RN Sherry Miller brings bags of clothes into our Bloomington office.

The supply drive was the idea of 10-year-old Robert Funderburk, son of our southern Illinois team member Christa Funderburk. Robert noticed that some of his classmates went without lunch, and wanted to make a difference. Robert helped us develop a company-wide program to collect donations.

State Senators in Lisle, Rockford and Bloomington supported our supply drive with their partnership.

Thank you for your generous donations to help brighten the lives of our communities!

Nov. - Dec. 2012 The Journey

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Movember

Passages Hospice is bringin’ the stache back

Our second annual Movember campaign raised $470 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation! During the month of November, Passages Hospice staff and our nursing home partners wore fake mustaches. We collected all the pictures in our Facebook album and donated $10 for each photo we received. Don’t the ‘staches look great?

Hospice and Palliative Liaison Kirk Swanson with a nursing home partner.

Chris Correll, Admini Bloomingdale, p

istrator at West Suburban in proudly dons the ‘stache!

Hospice and Palliative Liaison Gus Martin poses with CNA Dusti at Heritage Health in Mt. Zion.

Hospice and Palliative Liaison Jennifer Wilsterman poses with Shelley, the Resident Advisor at Salem Village in Joliet.

“This award is an honor for all of us, from our leadership team to the individual nurses and other caregivers out in the field. They are the ones who show our ethics out there every day, and who make Passages Hospice what it is.”

Seth speaks to the crowd about his grandmother’s inspiration to provide excellent care.

Torch Award

W

e were proud to be named an Honorable Mention in the 2013 Torch Awards for Marketplace Ethics, hosted by the Better Business Bureau!

The Torch Awards recognize businesses based in the Chicago area that demonstrate ethical behavior with their employees, customers, vendors and communities.

More than 2,000 companies were nominated, with 6 winners and 2 Honorable Mentions.

Since we were founded in 2005, we have always tried to provide hospice care the 'right' way. Our care offers not just physical relief, but promotes wellness in all parts of the patient's and family's life. Part of the nomination process was to submit documentation that shows our ethical behavior. Our packet included more than 50 examples of times when we did the right thing, from our employees volunteering for local charities to fairness in accounting when we were accidentally overpaid. Every department and aspect of Passages Hospice was represented in the nomination packet. The entire process was humbling to witness, as example after example of our staff choosing the fair, just and ethical path was uncovered.

"I started this company after my grandmother used hospice services. I thought hospice could be a better experience, and every day of Passages Hospice's existence has centered around that idea," said founder Seth Gillman as he accepted the award. "This award is an honor for all of us, from our leadership team to the individual nurses and other caregivers out in the field. They are the ones who show our ethics out there every day, and who make Passages Hospice what it is."

Passages Hospice founder Seth Gillman accepts the Torch Award.

Our nomination binder is displayed with the other winners.

Volunteer Spotlight

By: Nicole Brokaw, Volunteer Services Information Coordinator

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he first thing that Tracy Wilson's friends know about her is that she loves her dogs. What they may not realize is how Tracy has leveraged her passion for pooches to provide service to others. After seeing how lonely her grandfather was in his nursing home, Tracy wanted to do something to help others like him. She knew how much people brightened up when they got to interact with a pet, so she decided to pull the pups into action too.

In 2004, Tracy’s two dogs (West Highland White Terriers) passed their Therapy Dog International certification tests and began visiting a local nursing home. More than 8 years later, Tracy and her pups still visit residents at two area nursing homes, and recently joined the Passages Pooches volunteer program. Tracy says it’s a pretty easy thing to do, and her dogs, especially Wesley, love it. She and Wesley go from room to room at the facility, stopping by to chat and offer a belly for rubbing to any dog lovers. She has especially enjoyed volunteering with Passages as it gives her the opportunity to connect with the patient more deeply than her general nursing home visitations.

Tracy also uses her love for dogs to help dogs in need. She volunteers with Westie Rescue of Missouri, a dog rescue organization, spending about 10-15 hours a month in fund raising, awareness activities, transporting dogs and opening her home to dogs in need of a temporary home. She’s had 27 foster dogs stay in her home over the past 3 years!

While she would love to spend all her time working on her volunteer endeavors, today Tracy is fortunate to have a day job that pays the bills. She has worked in the computer software industry for many years and is focused on working with the company’s customers to ensure they experience a high degree of satisfaction. She’s had many different roles over her 30 years in the industry, but her work is often centered on solving customers’ problems.

Tracy hopes to retire in the next 5 years so she can spend more time doing the activities she loves!

For Fun

Tracy and her three Westies compete in dog agility competitions, where the dog and handler maneuver a course of obstacles (jumps, tunnels, seesaw, weave poles, etc). Tracy and her husband John also enjoy walking their three Westies in the downtown Naperville area where they live. It’s quite a sight to see two people walking three rambunctious Westies, but Tracy would have it no other way!

Employees of the month Employees of the month are chosen by their co-workers for going above-and-beyond in their work. Join us in celebrating these dedicated staff members for their efficiency, excellence, creativity, positive attitude and team work. You are what makes Passages Hospice great!

November:

December:

Nurse:

Nurse:

CNA:

CNA:

Sonya Anderson, Swansea Area

CNA: Jennifer Gills, Chicago Area

Social Worker:

Paula Holaday, Bloomington Area

Volunteer Coordinator

Darla Rennegarde, Swansea Area

Office/Administrative:

Amy McGwire, Swansea Area

Chaplain:

Tim Mitchell, Bloomington Area

Laura Segelhorst, Swansea Area

Lyndsey Synder, Bloomington Area

Social Worker: Tracie Calver, Swansea Area

Volunteer Coordinator:

Aileen Zei, Rockford Area

Office/Administrative:

Laura Leonard, Bloomington Area

Chaplian:

Cherie McCormick, Bloomington Area

PERK and Contest Winners

CNA Jessye Fettinger and his girlfriend enjoy a Chicago Bears game after earning tickets through the PERK program!

Passing It On

RN Laura Segelhorst is giving back through her gift for photography! Laura offered family holiday portraits in our Swansea office in exchange for a donation to our nonprofit partner, Hospice Dreams.

Laura’s beautiful photos gave many families a holiday card and a good deed!

Social Worker Telia Stark enjoys a St. Louis Rams game with her son.

Assistant RN Director Sonya Anderson is selling her incredible hand-knit scarves as holiday gifts and donating the proceeds to Hospice Dreams

around town Our Swansea office adopted 10 foster kids this season, and helped make their holidays brighter by fulfilling their wishes for clothing and toys.

Regional Marketing Director Jeremiah Campbell played Santa for the day to help deliver the gifts.

Residents at Manteno Veteran’s Home got a special visit from Santa – sort of! Veterans and their families enjoyed a unique Santa Panda visit to get into the holiday spirit.

Our Swansea staff kicked off the holiday season with a community parade. They dressed up as the cast of Peanuts!

Hospice and Palliative Liaison Nancy Pajak shows off her decorated ornaments.

Residents at Autumn Leaves in Vernon Hills got into the holiday spirit by decorating ornaments to share with their family.

Minta Schmidt is all smiles as she wraps a gift for her grandchildren at Cedar Ridge on December 5th.

Kamie Freeland, Creative Media Specialist in the Swansea office, met Ken Ross at a conference. Ken Ross is the son of the incredible hospice advocate Elizabeth Kubler-Ross.

Ken spoke passionately about the importance of end-of-life care.

Staff in the Chicago area enjoy a potluck lunch after a staff meeting.

Local grocery stores generously donated turkeys as a gift to our hardworking staff during hospice month. Here, staff in our Livonia, Michigan office receive their turkeys a few days before Thanksgiving.

L-R Medical Records staff Kaylie Novak and Laura Smith with Physician Liaison Sherri Dunn.

orch T AWARD

Marketplace Ethics

2013 Honorable Mention Trust • Performance • Integrity

Your life. Your choice. Your Passage.

We are dedicated to enhancing quality of life by promoting superior end of life care, easing the suffering, and providing continued compassion for the sick and dying in a way that ensures dignity and respect.

We are dedicated to promoting realistic outcomes.

We are dedicated to working with professionals who follow the highest values of excellence to establish an individualized plan of care offering personal choices and decisions while still maintaining each patient’s uniqueness.

We are dedicated to being receptive to each patient and family’s social, emotional, intellectual, safety and physical needs.

We are dedicated to a level of care that encourages the safe and cost-effective delivery of hospice care.

We are dedicated to the human spirit.

Passages Hospice

888-741-8985 Call us to be connected with someone in your area.

www.passageshospice.com

info@passageshospice.com

See our care in action on our Youtube channel!