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We compassionately enter the lives of individuals faced with the realities of suffering, loss, death and grief to offer expert care and education while respecting each person’s choices, values and beliefs.
Dedicated Hospice Suites Provide Comfort to Patients and Families Thanks to Providence TrinityCare Hospice’s continuing efforts to enhance care, many of our patients and their families are benefiting from a new, innovative service: three dedicated hospice suites at Providence Little Company of Mary Transitional Care Center (TCC). The suites were made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacky Sister Terrence Landini and Jacky Glass. Glass, former chair of the Hospice Foundation’s Board of Trustees, and the close collaboration between Hospice and Little Company of Mary administrators and health-care professionals. The suites, opened in the summer of 2009, meet the needs of Hospice patients who require a higher level of care to manage pain and symptoms, and they offer a warm, comfortable and caring environment for both patients and their families. Each suite, a freshly remodeled private room, features a sleeping sofa so that loved ones wishing to remain with patients throughout the night may do so. “It has been a privilege to partner with Hospice on this very important service – the only one of its kind in the community,” says Jennifer Bellucci, RN, Little Company of Mary Torrance’s Director of Nursing for Post Acute Services, who oversees the medical center’s TCC. “Every staff member at the TCC has received special training in end-of-life care, and now the entire team embraces the concept. Offering this service has become our calling.” Approximately 50 patients, along with their families, have used the suites. “They are fully utilized,” adds Jennifer, “and only rarely is there a room open.” “We see these suites as an integral part of providing the very best care to Hospice patients and their families,” says Terri Warren, chief executive of Providence TrinityCare Hospice, “and we are now determining how we can expand this service to meet the growing need.”
Rotary Clubs Provide New Courtyard Lomita-Torrance Airport Rotary, in partnership with Torrance Del Amo Rotary, Torrance Sunshine Rotary and Torrance Rotary, has graciously agreed to redesign and landscape the courtyard directly outside the Hospice Suites. For involvement opportunities, contact Peggy Buker, 310-257-3564 or peggy.buker@providence.org.
Thank you Rotary for taking on this project.
“We see these suites as an integral part of providing the very best care to Hospice patients and their families.”
– Terri Warren, Chief Executive, Providence TrinityCare Hospice
A Gift in Memory A gentleman of strong constitution and independent mind, John Stotler knows what he likes when he sees it. For John, a 79-year-old motorcycle enthusiast, the new Providence TrinityCare Hospice suites at Providence Little Company of Mary Transitional Care Center top the list. John was so grateful for the care that his late wife, Shirley, received there this past year that he has made a significant gift so that other patients and their families can avail themselves of this new Hospice service. “I was very impressed by the staff,” says John, a retired aeronautical engineer. “They took care of Shirley perfectly. They made sure that she stayed clean and comfortable and performed tasks that most people would consider unpleasant.” Shirley was not the only beneficiary of exemplary care, John comments. The staff at the Hospice suites paid attention to him, too. “There was a nurse on the unit who insisted that I eat,” he recalls. “She said, ‘You’re going to have a meal whether you like it or not.’” Shirley Stotler arrived at the Hospice suites after suffering a massive stroke following surgery for a nonmalignant tumor. While John was saddened that his wife of 52 years would never recover, he was comforted in the knowledge that her last two weeks of life were spent in a warm, caring and dignified environment. At the Hospice suites, Shirley’s name is now listed on a newly installed memorial plaque that invites friends and relatives to honor or memorialize loved ones. “I want people to know that she was there,” says John. Equally important, he adds, is knowing that Hospice care will be there for future patients and families. “It could be anyone in that position,” he concludes. “No one should be overlooked.”