Contributions in Action

Through the generosity of private, corporate and organizational donors, we are able to continue providing funding for our patients in their homes, where the majority of hospice care is delivered, as well as Cherry Meadows and ThedaCare Hospice Residence, served by ThedaCare At Home.

Listed below is a summary of the programs and services the Foundation funds:  
 

The Helping Hands Fund
 

This program serves patients who reside at Cherry Meadows and need financial assistance. The funds, which are allocated on a case-by-case basis, assist patients who are under-insured or have no capacity to pay.
 

Music Therapy

Music Therapy is one of the ways in which the Foundation provides additional comfort and support to our hospice patients and their families.  Music therapy helps to make our care more holistic and allows for an alternative means of communication, relating and expressing. Music therapy has been proven to accomplish a number of objectives in the hospice setting such as:

• Pain management;
• Anxiety reduction;
• Expression of emotions (verbally and non-verbally);
• Increased feelings of meaning/purpose;
• Decreased distress/discomfort;
• Decreased terminal agitation/restlessness;
• Decreased feelings of isolation.

Music therapy offers a unique, non-invasive and compassionate approach to end-of-life care. It capitalizes on individual strengths and offers a vehicle for expression.

Pet Therapy

ThedaCare At Home™ recognizes the positive influence that animals can have on hospice patients.  It is no surprise that pets are special and can connect with the human spirit, sometimes more effectively than a caregiver. These special pets have an ability to connect with, and bring joy to, all kinds of people—even those who are normally unresponsive or disconnected from their environment. 

Whether it includes bringing a family pet for a visit at Cherry Meadows, or patient interaction with a trained animal through our volunteer-based therapy dog program, this program has a strong and positive impact on the lives of the families we serve. The Community Hospice Foundation provides the funds needed to support the pet therapy training program for dogs and their owners. When a dog completes this program they are qualified to interact with hospice patients in any setting, including private homes.

Every Life Has a Story

With the end of life comes sorrow, but also reason for celebration. ThedaCare At Home Hospice patients and families are encouraged to celebrate their lives in meaningful and lasting ways.  One way we accomplish this is through our “Every Life has a Story” video program. Hospice volunteers work with patients and their families to video record the patient’s recollections and wishes for loved ones.  Patients are able to share stories from their childhood, memorable events, blessings, hopes and dreams.  Patients can also use this opportunity to express forgiveness or special wishes to those they are leaving behind, bringing comfort to them by knowing that their story will go on long after they are gone.  Beautiful DVDs are created that the family will cherish and pass on from generation to generation

Lifetime Legacy Scrapbooking Program

Volunteers assist family members and/or patients in creating beautiful scrapbooks that celebrate patient’s present lives, reflect on their past and share their life experiences with future generations.  The Foundation assists in funding the supplies for the patients and their families to create these keepsakes.

Hospice Hopes and Dreams Fund

One of the most rewarding programs the Foundation supports is the Hospice Hopes and Dreams Fund, which enables the ThedaCare At Home™ Hospice program to make possible a joyful experience for a hospice patient or grieving spouse and/or children.   In order to cope with thoughts of death, many hospice patients likely have a last wish—for something that will make a memory for those they leave behind. We at the Community Hospice Foundation receive many wishes, hopes and dreams such as these: 

• I wish to have a room makeover;
• I hope to have one last visit with my daughter, son, family or friend;
• I wish for a motorized scooter so I can become independent;
• I wish to have a wig so kids on the playground don’t tease me;
• I dream of  swimming with the dolphins—to feel free and light;
• I hope to have my poetry published;
• I hope my wish is fulfilled—in time.

ThedaCare At Home Studio Residence

The Foundation’s most recent accomplishment is the ThedaCare At Home Studio Residence, completed in May of 2010.  The nine residential suites are designed to meets the needs of hospice patients who can live independently, but require meal and housekeeping services and medical support.  The residence is staffed with on-site hospice trained nurses, medical assistants and volunteers. 

For information on the hospice services ThedaCare At Home™ can provide to you or a loved one, please call us at (920) 969-0919 or 1-800-984-5554.