Rice Hospice – Appleton
proudly unveiled
their new family
room at Appleton Area
Health Services (AAHS).
Located in the west wing
of the Appleton Nursing
Home, the room is completely
redecorated for a
cozy, comfortable place for
families to either take a
break from visiting their
loved one in the hospital or
nursing home, or spend the
night if necessary.
A $10,000 donation from
the Arlys Heinecke estate
made the transformation of
the room possible. Appleton
Hospice Nurse Kris
Benson noted the Heinecke’s
specifically ear
marked the funds for a Hospice
family room. However,
it has been a long process in
the making.
Benson said the local
Hospice has been working
with AAHS as to the logistics
of the room. With the
reorganization to accommodate
resident needs at
the nursing home, this was
a good time to renovate a
room. “This was the perfect
time to pull everything together,”
she said.
The room is beautifully
decorated with a black
leather hide-a-bed and
chairs, flat screen TV,
kitchenette, and a dining
table and chairs. The private
bathroom with toilet,
sink and shower completes
a place Hospice family
members can use as
needed.
Handling the renovations
and decorating were Janae Olson, marketing and
community relations manager,
Kris Schwartz, rehab
aide and CNA at the nursing
home, and Beth Kellen,
RN care coordinator.
Appleton’s Hospice is a
branch of Rice Hospice of
Willmar. Other area
branches are Paynesville,
Benson, Ortonville-
Graceville, Dawson, Granite
Falls, and Montevideo.
The Hospice team consists
of many professionals
– nurses, aides, social workers,
therapists, chaplains,
bereavement coordinators,
and the medical director, as
well as specially-trained
volunteers, who all work
together to support individuals
and their families.
The team works closely
with the patient, their family,
and the patient’s personal
physician to develop
an individualized plan of
care that helps the patient
meet their goals for living
the last months of their life.
Rice Hospice Programwide
Director is Mary Beth
Potter. Hospice employees
for the Appleton branch are
Social Worker Kathy
Tweten, Nurse Kris Benson,
Volunteer Coordinator Liz
McTighe, and Hospice Chapalin
Barb McKewin.
What is Hospice
Dealing with a terminal
illness can be overwhelming.
The patient and their
family can find themselves
in the midst of hospital visits,
trips to the emergency
room, fatigue, pain and
emotional stress. With so
much to deal with, it can be
hard to know the best
course of action to address
all these issues and more.
Hospice is here to help.
Hospice provides care to
both patients and families
when a family member has
been medically diagnosed
with a terminal progressive
disease with a life expectancy
of six months or
less if the illness runs its
normal course.
Hospice neither hastens
nor postpones death, but affirms
life and regards dying
as a normal process.
The Hospice team comes
to the patient’s home –
whether that be in their
private home, nursing
home, assisted living facility
– or hospital, to provide
a full umbrella of care. Covered
by Medicare, Medicaid,
and most private insurance
companies, the
Hospice benefit includes all
medications, medical
equipment, and services required
to treat the terminal
diagnosis.
Hospice is available 24
hours per day, seven days a
week. In the middle of the
night or weekend, patients
and families may call to
talk with a Hospice team
member. If needed, the
Hospice staff member will
come to the home to help
with care.
Hospice is about quality
of life, and living each day to the fullest.
Once the patient has
passed on, grief support is
provided to the surviving
family members for at least
13 months, helping the
family through all those
painful firsts. Through
mailings, phone calls, and
optional support groups and
individual meetings, those
who are grieving can access
support along their road of
transition.