Hospice Home and Garden Tour Returns to the Lakes Region

By Rosalie Triolo

The Granite VNA is pleased to announce the resumption of the Hospice Home & Garden Tour in the Lakes Region after a three-year COVID hiatus. On Wednesday, July 19, from 10 am to 4 pm, Hospice Home & Garden Tour participants will have an opportunity to visit four individually unique homes, three in Wolfeboro and one in Tuftonboro.

A fascinating multi-story home in Wolfeboro, originally built in the 1840s, as a working farm, has been restored by the current owners who have blended original characteristics with new features. Tuftonboro’s Adirondack-style sprawling home built in 1904 sits on 60 acres of vast lush green open fields and is surrounded by tall pines. With a spectacular view of Moody Mountain Forest, this newer home in Wolfeboro boasts lush gardens and a great room with a massive granite stone fireplace. Also located in Wolfeboro is a charming home with a sprawling kitchen, a four-season porch with fireplace, and ceiling-to-floor large-pane glass windows which offers a spectacular view of Lake Winnipesaukee.

Tour committee co-chairs, Barbara Lobdell and Anne MacLellan express their gratitude to the four homeowners for the generous offering of their homes and properties for the tour, and to the many committee members and volunteers who have worked so diligently to make this year’s tour a reality. Many thanks to the docents, who guide guests through this year’s love- ly homes, and to the men who help with parking. This is a new event for Concord volunteers, who are very enthused, according to Melissa Howard, Director of Donor Relations.

This year, 2023, the Hospice Home and Garden Tour is dedicated to Wolfeboro’s Shirley Richardson, who was a member of the Advisory Committee, and a hospice volunteer for over 30 years. An advocate of hospice care, she helped raise funds to promote and advance hospice services in the Lakes

Latin word “hospitum,” which means hospitality, a place of rest, and protection for the sick and the weary. According to some historians, the first hospice originated on the archipelago of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea during the early part of the 11th Century and was committed to caring for the ill and dying en route to and from the Holy Land.

After exploring procedures to ease the dying process, Dame Cecily Saunders, an English physician, was the first to formally introduce the concept of hospice care and use the word “hospice” to describe the specialized care of those patients with terminal illnesses.

In the mid-1960s Dr. Saunders, in order to bring awareness of the importance of patients as individuals, founded St. Christopher’s Hospice in London, England.

Founded in 1974 by Florence Wald, and a group of nurses, doctors, and clergy, The Connecticut Hospice was America’s first Hospice of its kind in the United States.

More than a hundred years ago, Con- cord Regional VNA was formed, and at that time was known as the Concord District Nursing Association. The Central New Hampshire VNA and Hospice was formed by merging the Community Health & Hospice of Laconia, and the VNA of Southern Carroll County in Wolfeboro in 2010. Granite VNA was formed in 2021 with the merger

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of Concord Regional Visiting Nurse Association and Central New Hampshire VNA & Hospice of Laconia and Wolfeboro.

Granite VNA, a not-for-profit organization, provides home and community-based healthcare to 82 communities throughout the greater Concord and Lakes Region Areas. It is comforting to adults and children alike to receive Home Care services when recovering from surgery or illness. Hospice care begins after treatment of a disease is halted, and it is clear that the person is not going to survive the illness. Hospice Care concentrates on giving comfort and serenity to patients, who may have only weeks or months to end of life. Capital Region Palliative Care in association with Granite VNA and Concord Hospital assists patients in finding relief from symptoms, anxieties and stresses of serious illnesses. Granite VNA also provides pediatric and maternal child health services and wellness programs.

It is the Mission of Granite VNA to “Enhance dignity and independence for people by delivering quality health care and promoting wellness in homes and communities through all stages of life.”

Grief Support Services in those difficult weeks following the death of a loved one, will be of help through those days, weeks and months of disturbed sleep, diminished appetite, and lower energy levels. There is no “normal” for grief. Everyone is an individual and handles sorrow differently. Grief may show up in all areas of your life, whether it be psychological, social, physical or spiritual. There are many authors, who have written about the different path grief may take you.

“Chicken Soup for the Grieving Soul” by Jack Canfield and Mark Hansen is a book of stories about Life, Death, and Overcoming the Loss of a Loved One. “Awakening From Grief” by John Welshons & Wayne Dyer is about Finding the Way Back to Joy. Other books include Expectations You May Have for Yourself in Grief, Books to Help Grieving Adults, Books to Help Grieving Children, Resources for Suicide Survivors, and Tips for Handling the Holidays.

Tickets for the Granite VNA Hospice Home and Garden Tour in the Lakes Region are on sale for $50.00 at Blacks Paper & Gift Shop located at 8 South Main St., Wolfeboro – open Monday thru Saturday from 9 am – 5:30 pm and on Sunday from 9 am to 5 pm, Winni Paw Station located at 35 South Main St., Wolfeboro – open Monday thru Saturday from 10 am – 5:30 pm. Closed on Sunday, and On-line at www.granitevna.org/hometour or call 603 230-5664.