Connection Spring 2016

Palliative Care, pg 2 Denise Watson, pg 3 Care Choices, pg 5 Grief Camp, pg 6The Community Newsletter of Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care Spring 2016Mountain Valley Hospice Increasing Ways to Serve CommunityDenise Watson, Executive Director of Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative CareIn 2016, Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care is growing and changing!SECU Hospice Home of Yadkin: In December 2014, the “Imagine a Home” capital campaign kicked off to fund thedevelopment of a six-bed hospice home in Yadkinville. The “Imagine a Home” campaign set a goal of $2.5 million andhas generated more than $2 million, including a $1 million challenge grant from the State Employees’ Credit Union(SECU) and naming rights to the facility. Efforts are ongoing to generate additional funds for the project. Agroundbreaking ceremony was held lastDecember. Construction of this new facility isscheduled to begin later this year and takeabout a year to complete. The new facility ismodeled similarly to the Joan & Howard WoltzHospice Home in Dobson, NC. It will servepatients who have pain and other symptomsthat cannot be managed at home, as well aspeople who require residential care at the endof life. [For more information on the SECUHospice Home of Yadkin, see page 7.]Martinsville Office: Mountain ValleyHospice continues to see extensive growth inour Virginia hospice program, especially in the Photo Credit: Kenny HookerMartinsville-Henry County area. In an effort to The SECU Hospice Home of Yadkin’s groundbreakingmeet the needs of patients in this area moreefficiently and to engage in the community, we are opening a new location this year. The new office will be located inthe Patrick Henry Mall complex, 730 Church Street, Martinsville. An open house will be held on a date to be determined.Medicare Care Choices: Last year, Mountain Valley Hospice was one of 141 hospices nationwide selected bythe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to participate in a new and innovative demonstration projectcalled the Medicare Care Choices Model (MCCM). CMS recognized that only 44 percent of Medicare patients use thehospice benefit at the end of life, and most use the benefit for only a short time. The MCCM project will evaluatewhether Medicare beneficiaries who qualify for coverage under the Medicare Hospice Benefit would choose to receivethe supportive care services typically provided by hospice if they could continue to seek curative services. Due to a two-phase roll-out of the project, Mountain Valley Hospice began offering enrollment in the MCCM project on January 1 inNorth Carolina and will expand enrollment into Virginia, January 1, 2018. The new Mountain Valley Hospice project iscalled Care Choices and will be offered over a five-year test period.The purpose of MCCM is to test whether Medicare beneficiaries who qualify for coverage under the Medicare Hospice Continued on page 2

Increasing Ways to Serve Community cont.Benefit and dual eligible beneficiaries, eligible for the Medicaid Hospice Benefit, would elect to receive the supportivecare services typically provided by hospice if they could continue to seek curative services. The hospice will engage inshared decision-making, case management and coordination of the patient, family and their providers to ensure that thepatient’s pain and symptoms are managed and to offer appropriate levels of counseling and address other care needs.CMS anticipates expenditures to be reduced through this new model and patient outcomes improved. [For moreinformation on Medicare Care Choices, see page 5.]By engaging in new and innovative programs such as MCCM, adding a new hospice home in Yadkin County, andexpanding our services in Virginia, we are positioning our hospice to better meet the needs of patients and families atthe end of life. facebook.com/mtnvalleyhospiceWhat Is Palliative Care?Dr. Glenn Golaszewski, Medical Director of Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative CarePalliative care is specialized medical care that focuses on relief of the symptoms and stress of serious illnesses. Inmedicine, palliation refers to the reduction or elimination of bothersome symptoms, including at times when the diseaseitself cannot be cured. The goal is to prevent and ease suffering and to improve quality of life for patients and theirfamilies.Like any specialist physician referral, a palliative care Volunteer, not actual hospice patient, pictured.consultation may be ordered by the patient’s primaryphysician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant.Consultation may be requested for expert assistancewith symptom control in a wide range of advancedillnesses, including heart failure, lung disease, kidneyfailure, liver disease, cancer, HIV disease, and avariety of progressive neurologic conditions includingAlzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ALS,progressive supranuclear palsy, and multiple sclerosis.All insurances cover palliative care consultations in thesame way that any other specialist physician referral iscovered.Some of the more common reasons for palliative care Photo Credit: Kenny Hookerinvolvement include addressing poorly controlled Physician Glenn “Dr. G” Golaszewski visits at the Woltz Hospice Home.symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath, nausea,vomiting, constipation, agitation, depression and anxiety. Better symptom control is intended to improve overall quality oflife and can also allow a patient to better tolerate medical treatments such as chemotherapy. Additionally, palliative careconsultations may be requested to meet with a patient and their family to discuss their goals of care and assist patientsin meeting their personal goals in what may be a limited time frame.While focusing on optimal symptom control and quality of life, a person need not forgo curative treatments in order toreceive palliative care. Instead, the palliative care team will provide an extra layer of support to patients and theirfamilies, while bringing particular expertise in advanced illnesses and symptom control.Palliative care is typically provided by a team of experts, including palliative care physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses,and social workers. The palliative care team works with the patient’s regular medical provider and other specialists ortherapists to alleviate burdensome symptoms and help the patient achieve their individual goals of care. Continued on page 4

CONNECTION p3Denise Watson: Always Serving, Always BuildingPam Cook, Pam Cook Communications, LLCDenise Watson never planned on becoming ExecutiveDirector of one of the region’s largest non-profithospice agencies, but there are thousands of familieswho are glad she did. That’s because Denise is firstand foremost a caregiver who just happens to be anadministrator. It’s a unique skill set that has served herand her clients well for more than two decades.Denise was born and raised in Mount Airy, and Photo Credit: Cecania Branchgraduated from North Surry High School. She went into Denise Watson, Executive Director of Mountain Valley Hospicethe workforce immediately after graduation, and thenseveral years later enrolled at Surry CommunityCollege, where she earned an Associate Nursingdegree in 1991. With degree in hand, Denise became alabor and delivery nurse at Forsyth Medical Center,before landing a job as a prison nurse in Winston-Salem. Not long afterward, she was recruited for adifferent kind of healthcare position altogether.“I had a friend who worked at Hospice of Surry County, and she told me, ‘This is really where you need to work,’” Deniseexplains. “I had taken care of babies, moms and prisoners, but never hospice patients. Even so, I went in for aninterview.I showed up in my prison blue scrubs, and they hired me on the spot.” Continued on page 4Mountain Valley Voices Choir Offers Comfort through MusicFonda Younger, Voices DirectorDid you know that Mountain Valley Hospice & PalliativeCare has a choir? Yes, we do: the Mountain ValleyVoices! The choir has 35 to 40 hospice volunteers wholove singing and ministering to others.So, you might ask, where do they sing? Venues includechurches (but not on Sunday mornings or Wednesdayevenings), long-term care facilities, Woltz HospiceHome, community groups/organizations, and seniorcenters. They charge no fee to perform.When and where do the Voices practice? Choirpractice is held on Wednesday afternoons from 4-5p.m. at Mountain Valley Hospice’s Mount Airy office.How can you get in touch with the Voices for further Photo Credit: YouTube.com/MVHPCinformation or to schedule them for an event? You maycontact me, Fonda, at the Mount Airy office at Fonda Younger leads the Voices at MVH’s Christmas party last December.336-789-2922 (toll-free 1-888-789-2922). A calendar of the Voices’ upcoming performances may be found atmtnvalleyhospice.org/events/calendar.

Denise Watson cont.Denise started out as a nurse case manager at Hospice of Surry County, Inc. and was promoted to Director of Nursingwithin two years. In 1999, she was asked to take over the job as Executive Director. The new position meant long hoursand more responsibilities, but Denise didn’t shirk from either. (Hospice of Surry County, Inc. merged with NorthernHospice of Surry to form Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care in 2005.) As Executive Director, Denise manages a staff of more than 250 employees, oversees care for patients in a 17 -county area, and is responsible for fundraising and development which helps to maintain operations and build new facilities. One of those facilities is the Woltz Hospice Home in Dobson, which has been serving the community since 2009. Another is a $3.5 million state- of-the-art hospice home in Yadkinville, which is expected to begin construction soon. Photo Credit: Josh Armstrong “It took a lot of work to develop and build the 20-bedDenise Watson speaks at MVH’s anniversary celebration last October. hospice home in Dobson. That was a four-year project. The Yadkin County hospice home has also taken about four years to develop,” she says. “It’s time consuming, but you have to have growth, and you have to follow the need in your community.”In addition to her primary duties, Denise has taken on leadership roles in a number of local, state, and nationalorganizations which help to support the hospice mission, including a nationwide partnership that promotes innovation inthe non-profit hospice sector. Through all this, Denise has also managed to maintain a normal home life. She and herhusband, Greg, have raised three children, two of whom have chosen to follow their mom into the healthcare field.Denise Watson has come a long way since her days at North Surry High School, and her career path has beenrewarding. “I think being a nurse was a good foundation for me to know what it takes to serve and meet the needs of ourhospice patients because they come first before anything else,” she says. “I’ve grown since I first came to [MountainValley Hospice], and it’s been a real learning process along the way. I didn’t come here expecting to become ExecutiveDirector, it just sort of happened, but they’ve kept me for this long, so I guess they like me (laughs).”Palliative Care cont. “It’s hard to put into words what Mountain Valley Hospice’s bereavement services have meant to me. KnowingAt Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care, both of our there is a counselor to talk with you when you need eitherfull-time physicians are board certified in hospice and one-on-one or group support lets me know I am not alone inpalliative medicine and provide ongoing education to our this journey. I have friends through hospice and thestaff in a wide variety of topics related to symptom bereavement services that I would have never knownmanagement, advanced illness, and end-of-life care. Our otherwise. They have enriched my life!”palliative care team is able to care for patients in anylocation, whether it be in the hospital, nursing home, adult Betsy Hamliving facility, or the patient’s home.Palliative care can be provided at any age. MountainValley Hospice also has an active Kids Path programwhich delivers team-based pediatric palliative care tochildren with severe neurological impairments, genetic ormetabolic syndromes, organ failure, and cancer.

Re-Sale Shoppe Approaches One-Year AnniversaryMarisa Miller & the Mountain Valley Hospice Re-Sale Shoppe StaffThe Mountain Valley Hospice Re-Sale Shoppe is very excited about the yearwe have had since opening in Mount Airy on June 2 last year. The Re-SaleShoppe thrives on donations mainly from the local community and families ofpatients we have served. The store also could not exist without the help ofnumerous volunteers who generously give their time. The entire staff alongwith volunteers work tirelessly, keeping donated merchandise cleaned, priced,and ready for resale.Through its earnings each month, the Re-Sale Shoppe offers financialassistance to patients who cannot afford insurance. In addition, the store canbenefit patients who need items such as a toaster oven, a radio, sheets,pillows, blankets, clothes, or a microwave. We receive an email or phone call togather the things when available, at which time someone will arrive to sign forthe items and take them to the patients in need.The Re-Sale Shoppe gets its inventory through donations only. We alwaysneed donations in gently-used condition, including books, clothing and shoesfor all ages and genders, home goods and furniture. The Re-Sale Shoppecould also use anyone who may want to help their community by volunteeringtheir time to the store. There is a short class to take, but it is well worth your Photo Credit: Marisa Millertime. Re-Sale staff Marisa Miller, left, with Heather JonesThe Re-Sale Shoppe would like to thank everyone who has had a hand inhelping us get our first year off the ground, including our wonderful customers who come to the store on a weekly basisto shop with us. This helps us meet the needs of our families who depend on Mountain Valley Hospice in their troubledtimes. Visit mtnvalleyhospice.org/re-sale-shoppe for more information, including directions and the latest deals. facebook.com/mtnvalleyhospiceresaleshoppeMedicare Care Choices Allows Curative Treatment with Hospice CareMary Beth Wood, Director of Palliative Care and TransitionsMountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care has beenawarded an opportunity to participate in a MedicareDemonstration Project called the Medicare CareChoices Model. We have chosen to call our model ofcare “Care Choices.” Our organization is one of 141agencies across the country who have been awardedthis opportunity, so it is quite the honor. The goal of Care Choices is to improve the quality of care to those who enroll in this model. Medicare knows that hospice provides excellent care to terminally-ill persons and their families. Medicare also knows that it is a difficult decision to forgo curative or aggressive treatment for life-limiting illnesses and conditions. FOX8’s Natalie Wilson, left, interviews Mary Beth Wood about Care Choices What if Medicare offers hospice care to people whohave a terminal illness and condition, who are still seeking curative or aggressive treatment with hope for a cure? Continued on page 6

Children’s Grief Support Camp Now Taking RegistrationsSarah Tweed, Bereavement CoordinatorHave you heard about Mountain Valley Hospice &Palliative Care’s Brighter Days Children’s Camp? It ishosted annually by our Bereavement Department withthe assistance of other staff and volunteers. The campprovides an environment for children to express theirfeelings and grief. Similarly to adults, children grieve intheir own time and in their own way. We help themthrough their grief by providing a safe place and outletto express their emotions and feelings throughactivities. Along with the safe place, we also assistthem with learning coping skills on how to effectivelydeal with those feelings.One important reason to get your child involved in theBrighter Days camp is that they have the opportunity tomake new friends their age who are also going through Photo Credit: Kristie Byrdsimilar losses. One of the most memorable camp Sarah Tweed, right, enjoys a relay race at last year’s Brighter Days camp.events for me was when a preteen was sharing that herdad had died. This was very difficult for her, and when she felt she could no longer express her feelings through words,her tears started flowing down and soaking her face. A few seats away, another preteen stood up, hugged her and toldher it was okay. That preteen then went on to share that her dad had died as well. Instantly, they bonded and were ableto help each other throughout the day with their individual feelings. Continued on page 9Medicare Care Choices cont.Will it improve the care and comfort of these individuals? Will itassist them in formulating plans and wishes for their care? Will ithelp their families cope? These questions are being asked byMedicare and by the organizations who will provide the MedicareCare Choices Model.Since January, Mountain Valley Hospice has been enrolling people who meet the eligibility criteria for the Care ChoicesModel. Patients who meet the criteria have a diagnosis of advanced cancer, advanced heart disease, advanced lungdisease or HIV/AIDS. They must live at home and not in a facility at the time of enrollment. They have a Medicare A, Band a Part D plan (and cannot be, or have been, enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan for the past 24 months). Theeligible person cannot have been enrolled in a hospice in the past 30 days. In addition, they must have been hospitalizedtwice in the past 12 months for the advanced illness/condition or complications. And lastly, they must have visited theirmedical provider at least three times in the past 12 months for the advanced illness/condition or complications.Although the criteria may be strict, this structure will allow for some very specific data to be collected, while offeringincreased care to patients not previously eligible! We are excited about Care Choices and look forward to serving a newpopulation of people who will benefit from expert palliative care as they pursue a cure. We understand that not all willqualify for Care Choices. However, we can offer either transitions or palliative care to those who are not enrolled in CareChoices. For more information please contact Mary Beth Wood, Director of Transitions and Palliative Care, or KarenBellamy, Chief Clinical Officer, at 336-789-2922 (toll-free 1-888-789-2922). The Connection is Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care’s newsletter to the community at large, delivered at no cost to its recipients. It is created by MVHPC’s Marketing and Development Departments. Editor-in-Chief: Josh Armstrong Publisher: Sheila Jones

Volunteering Is Rewarding for Self, Comforting for PatientsGary Kniskern, Volunteer and We Honor Veterans RepresentativeHospice has had a special place in my heart for severalyears. My former boss, Howard O. Woltz, Jr., as wellas his wife and other family members, wereinstrumental in making the Joan & Howard WoltzHospice Home a reality. Since its opening, I havevisited many friends and family members who wereprivileged to receive the excellent, loving care of thehospice staff.Previously I had served as a volunteer lay chaplain atNorthern Hospital of Surry County and also on a verytime-consuming governing committee of the MoravianChurch. When my term was up on the churchcommittee, it was obvious to me that I wanted to workwith hospice as a volunteer.The hospice-visiting volunteer aims to provide Photo Credit: Gary Kniskerncompanionship to the patient, and often respite for the Volunteer Gary Kniskerncaregiver. In the last year and a half, it has been aprivilege and a blessing beyond measure to visit patients, many of whom could not communicate. It is very obvious tome that even though a person is comatose or just non-communicative, they are either aware of what is going on aroundthem or at least know when someone who cares for them is present. One instance that brought tears to my eyes waswhen I was spending time with a patient whom I had not yet heard speak during the months I had been visiting her.These visits always included a one-way conversation, reading from the Bible and a prayer. The patient never looked atme but just stared straight ahead. On this particular day, after the prayer, I said that God loved her and so did I. To mysurprise, she turned, looked me straight in the eyes and said “I know.” What an amazing moment!One of my desires is being able to visit and minister to veterans who are hospice patients. Hospice has a wonderfulprogram called We Honor Veterans, in which a veteran is acknowledged for their service and presented with a pin from Continued on page 8Building a Hospice HomePam Cook, Pam Cook Communications, LLCMountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care serves terminally-ill patients and their families in a 17-county area of NorthernNorth Carolina and Southern Virginia. Most patients receive care in their own home, while others receive care at theJoan & Howard Woltz Hospice Home in Dobson.There is, however, a growing need for hospice services and facilities in our region. For example, about 35 percent ofterminally-ill patients in Yadkin County alone are currently in need of professional hospice services; they must turn tohospitals and nursing homes for help, or else travel great distances outside of the county to find a dedicated hospicefacility that provides end-of-life care. Even then, those facilities often have long waiting lists, and sadly, sometimes thepatient dies without the extensive support of a hospice interdisciplinary team. That’s why we are building a full-servicehospice home in Yadkinville.The facility will be named the SECU Hospice Home in honor of the substantial monetary contributions already made bythe State Employees’ Credit Union. SECU has donated $1 million of the $3.5 million needed to complete construction,and now, Mountain Valley Hospice has launched the “Imagine a Home” campaign to raise the remaining funds needed Continued on page 9

Volunteering cont.hospice honoring them. One such patient was a Navy Volunteer, not actual hospice patient, pictured.vet at Central Continuing Care. I had been visiting himfor a few months, but was under the impression that Photo Credit: Kenny Hookerhe had been “pinned.” On one visit to Central, a An individual enjoys the company of a volunteer and a pet therapy dog.hospice CNA told me that this patient had taken a turnfor the worse and that she had learned he had notbeen pinned. Not knowing his condition, I went directlyto the hospice office and got the pin and literature forthe We Honor Veterans program. The patient’s sisterand daughter were with the patient. The next day, Ifound out that the patient had died 20 minutes after Ileft. Besides being a sad moment to lose a patient, itwas also a learning experience. If anyone thinks thatthey should take some action, don’t wait, do it now. Ifyou don’t, the opportunity may be lost forever. That istrue for anyone; let your family know you love them.You may never have another opportunity.There can be humorous times as well. A family member was within five days of dying and had just come home from thehospital when he was pinned. When I leaned over and fastened the pin to his shirt pocket, he said “Ouch!” Everyone,including the gentleman, laughed. It showed us that our sense of humor can be one of the last things to go.Hospice was only a word for me for many years. I knew what it When visiting the nursing home, the patient’s familywas and appreciated what the men and women who work for isn’t always there at the same time. When visitinghospice did. But in 2015, hospice became a reality for my family and in the home, the visits are longer, usually 1 to 2me as my grandmother entered the final stage of her life. It was hours, and there is an opportunity to get to knoweye-opening to see the work of hospice nurses, doctors, social the patient’s family. Sometimes the caregiver willworkers, and counselors firsthand. take advantage of a visit to run errands, do some housework or just relax. These visits offer anMy grandmother had been living with us when she suffered a heart opportunity to know the veteran, their service,attack. That led to a stay in the hospital and, eventually, a week- their younger life, their family life, and to helplong vigil at Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care’s Joan & them focus on pleasant things from their past.Howard Woltz Hospice Home. I stayed with her 24 hours a day Sometimes the hospice volunteer and staff are theduring that last week. The staff provided me with blankets, only people who visit the patient.toiletries, an ear to talk to, and most importantly, the best care Icould have imagined for my grandmother. Many people have the mistaken idea that you enter hospice or go to the Woltz Hospice Home toEven in death, the respect they had for my grandmother, from die. The reality is that for many, their life iswashing her face and hair to standing in line along the halls as she extended and their last days can be pain-free andleft for the final time, still brings tears to my eyes. dignified.The love and care they showed her and our family was unbelievable. There are many ways you can volunteer withIt is compassion of the heart at its finest. Thank you to all the Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care,people who work in hospice! You truly are angels among us! whether visiting patients or completing other tasks, to enjoy a feeling of satisfaction and Rev. Phil Goble, Jr. fulfillment while ministering to others. Please Kannapolis, NC contact Pat Younger, Director of Volunteer Services, at 336-789-2922 (toll-free 1-888-789-2922).

CONNECTION p9Hospice Home cont.to cover the total costs of land acquisition, construction,and furnishing for what will be the first full-servicehospice facility in Yadkin County.The new SECU Hospice Home of Yadkin will be locatedat North Lee Avenue on land adjacent to the SECUcampus in Yadkinville. In addition to serving Yadkinresidents, the SECU Hospice Home will also providecare to patients who reside in Wilkes, Davie, andWestern Forsyth Counties.The 10,000-square-foot facility will feature six patient Photo Credit: Angie Sumnersuites with private baths and enclosed outdoor patios.Other features include a chapel, a family living room, akitchen with dining area, a children’s playroom, a teenroom, a community meeting room with a covered patio,a sunroom, covered porches, a garden, and a beautiful courtyard with a view of Pilot Mountain.We ask the public to support the new SECU Hospice Home by making a donation now so that we can meet our goal thisspring. Donations can even be made in memory of a loved one who passed away. In addition, we also offer namingopportunities for patient rooms, gardens, furniture, and artwork.In the meantime, if you drive past the SECU branch office, you can keep up to date with our fundraising progress bychecking out the thermometer attached to the sign.We invite everyone to donate to the SECU Hospice Home project, and then follow all of the developments online atmtnvalleyhospice.org/secu-hospice-home. For more information, call 336-789-2922 (toll-free 1-888-789-2922).Children’s Grief Support Camp cont.Another reason to get your children involved is due to the many fun and exciting activities that take place. One of myfavorite activities is art therapy. The camp’s staff members provide paint and a blank canvas to each child, and then weencourage them to draw their emotions and feelings on the empty canvas as a song plays in the background. One year,during this activity, a child drew a chain around a heart and talked about how painful her loss had been to her. Anotherchild drew flowers in a beautiful scene because it reminded him of the gardening that he and his loved one hadparticipated in and learned about together. This is a powerful tool to get your children to express their feelings related tothe grief. We also engage and encourage them through writing activities, arts and crafts, relay races, and of courseswimming. We give them breaks throughout the day to develop friendships and just have fun!At the end of the camp, we host a celebration of life ceremony combined with a balloon release. During the ceremony,the children are asked to share things from camp that meant something special to them, if they desire. They alsoparticipate in a musical piece in which they are commemorating and honoring their loved one’s life.An important fact to remember about Brighter Days is that even if we did not have your loved one in hospice services,your children are welcome to attend our camp. It is free to attend and available to any child in the community who hasexperienced the death of a loved one within the last year. All we ask is that you fill out an application including animmunization record.For more information on the Brighter Days Children’s Camp, contact Ben Webb, Kids Path Coordinator, at 336-789-2922(toll-free 1-888-789-2922), or visit mtnvalleyhospice.org/brighter-days-grief-camp.

p10 CONNECTIONBroken Crayons Still ColorBen Webb, Bereavement/Kids Path CoordinatorThis article originally appeared in Mountain Valley Hospice’s bereavement newsletter, The Next Step. To subscribe, visit mtnvalleyhospice.org/nextstep.Traveling down the interstate, I noticed a billboard that I had passed many times before yet never really read. Itsmessage was simple but brilliant. Bold, white words stamped on a soft baby-blue background read, “Broken crayons stillcolor.” I smiled and continued driving but then, in the same way a warm breeze can transport you to somewhere youhave long forgotten, those big, white words carried me away to a memory almost forgotten.In my mind, I immediately found myself sitting at a wooden table across from a boy who had recently lost his father. As aKids Path bereavement counselor, I often joke that Iget paid to play or that I am the only person in ouragency allowed to document in crayon. But the truth is,I have learned some valuable lessons about life, love,and loss while coloring submarines and drawingdragons. This particular visit provided one of thoselessons that live on even after the event has been laidto rest.I remembered myself and the child sitting in the dimly-lit dining room, rummaging through my box of crayons,looking for particular colors to complete ourmasterpieces. We discovered that many of my crayonswere bent and broken. I had a bad habit of leaving mycoloring box in the car on hot days. I should haveremembered my childhood discovery that crayons do Photo Credit: Kristie Byrdnot react well to heat. I had learned this the hard way Ben Webb, right, at last year’s Brighter Days Children’s Campas I scraped splattered crayon from the roof of mygrandmother’s microwave after attempting to make finger paint by heating my crayons in a Styrofoam bowl.I apologized to the young man that my crayons were in such poor shape. He selected a broken cherry-red Crayola thatwas missing its wrapper and, before returning to his picture, said with a childish grin, “It’s okay! Broken crayons still work.”I did not think much of his statement at the time, but today at the intersection of past and present, the deep truth Continued on page 11 A Luau for Ms. SamsMs. Margot Dominique Sams wanted one more vacation: a trip to Hawaii. Hence, social worker Joe Smith andchaplain Beverly Hatcher threw Ms. Sams her very own luau in her home, which Ms. Sams seemed to greatly enjoy. (Thanks to Celeste Robinson for providing the following photos.)

Brett Willis Joins Mountain Valley Hospice TeamPam Cook, Pam Cook Communications, LLCMountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care is proud to welcome Brett Willis as ournew Director of Development.Brett is a Surry County native, Valedictorian of his class at Surry Central HighSchool in Dobson, and a graduate of Davidson College, with a Bachelor of Arts inEnglish.As Director of Development, Brett will identify sources of funding to help supportthe non-profit mission of Mountain Valley Hospice.“I’m thrilled to be joining Mountain Valley Hospice and I look forward to helping Photo Credit: Shutterbugthe organization grow and expand its services to people who need them,” saidWillis. “I’ve witnessed Mountain Valley Hospice perform first-rate care for my ownfamily members, and I’m honored to be a part of that mission.”Prior to joining Mountain Valley Hospice, Brett was a sales representative forMain Oak Emporium, and Barnes & Noble. He also worked for an accountmanagement firm in Raleigh where he prepared internal agency presentationsand brand guidelines for project management teams.“We are so happy to have Brett joining our team,” said Denise Watson, Executive Director of Mountain Valley Hospice.“Brett grew up here and knows the community, and he has developed and maintained valuable contacts in this regionwhich will serve him well in identifying funding sources that will help us maintain our quality of care to patients and theirfamilies.”Broken Crayons cont.concealed in his words spread a childish grin across my face, much like the one I had seen on his face that night afterhis dad’s death. True, people are not crayons, but I think there is a lesson about grief to be learned from crayons bent byheat and broken by pressure. Broken crayons still color and broken people are still useful.People often feel useless and sometimes even worthless after a loss. It is as if death strips away some part of theiridentity, leaving them bare like a crayon whose label has been peeled away by a piddling child. In times of grief,questions surface that are sometimes difficult to answer: “Who am I now that I have lost someone who was so much apart of who I am?” “What do I have to live for when what I lived for lives no more?” Those questions and many more canbe summarized in the question, “What good is a broken crayon?”I do not have the answers to all of the questions that a grieving person may struggle with, but I do know a lesson Ilearned from a little boy with a broken red crayon in his hand: Great beauty can rise from great brokenness when placedin the hands of a skilled artist. Looking back, I remember the final strokes added to the picture by my little friend. I canstill see him hard at work, his tongue slightly sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he completed his masterpiece. Heproudly held it up for my approval, and I have to say it may have just been the most beautiful red rose a six-year-old boyever imagined onto paper.As I write these words, a broken red crayon lay beside my computer as a reminder to appreciate the beauty that cancome from brokenness. I hope I will never again associate brokenness with uselessness. Brokenness is nothopelessness; it is simply a chance to find a new use for an old object. I have learned not to be so quick to throw awaythe broken ones – they may be the ones needed to produce perfection in the artist’s masterpiece.

Locations Grief Support Meetings Mountain Valley Hospice Corporate Office Carroll County Surry County cont. 401 Technology Lane, Suite 200, Mount Airy, NC 27030 3rd Thurs. each month 2nd Thurs. & 4th Tues. each monthp 336.789.2922 • f 336.789.0856 • Toll-Free 1.888.789.2922 11:30 a.m. Moments with Bruce 11:30 a.m. Fonda’s Lunch Bunch Mountain Valley Hospice in Hillsville Golden Corral ● Mount Airy Joan & Howard Woltz Hospice Home 945 Zephyr Road, Dobson, NC 27017 Henry County 2nd and 4th Wed. each monthp 336.356.5000 • f 336.356.5001 • Toll-Free 1.877.356.0356 1st Wed. each month 10 a.m. Self-Care Support Group 2 p.m. Support with Susan YVEDDI Jones Family Center (Room 212)688 North Bridge Street 129 Veterans Drive King’s Grant Retirement ● Martinsville ● Mount AiryElkin, NC 28621 Pilot Mountain, NC 27041p 336.526.2650 f 336.526.2370 p 336.368.1260 f 336.368.1263 Patrick County 1st and 3rd Thurs. each month 3rd Wed. each month 3p.m.FindYour Way/Loved One’sDeath320 West Maple Street 1477 Carrollton Pike 1:30 p.m. Stuart’s Topics and Dessert Lantern Restaurant ● DobsonYadkinville, NC 27055 Hillsville, VA 24343 Stuart United Methodist Churchp 336.679.2466 f 336.679.4734 p 276.728.1030 f 276.728.1041 2nd Thurs. each month Surry County 6 p.m. Support for Bereaved Parents730 East Church Street, Suite 13 18981 Jeb Stuart Highway 3rd Mon. each month Woltz Hospice Home ● Dobson 2p.m.FindYour Way/Loved One’sSuicideMartinsville, VA 24112 Stuart, VA 24171 Mount Airy Public Library Yadkin County 1st Thurs. each monthp 276.403.4764 f 276.403.4600 p 276.694.4416 f 276.694.4308 1st & 3rd Tues. each month 11:30 a.m. Sharing with Sarah 9 a.m. Koffee & Komfort with Kelley Ace’s Restaurant ● YadkinvilleMountain Valley Hospice Re-Sale Shoppe Fairfield Inn (Brkf. Buffet: $7) ● Elkin 542 North Renfro Street Mount Airy, NC 27030 p 336.789.1230Wish to unsubscribe from the newsletter? Want to receive it via email instead? Let us know: [email protected]. 401 Technology Lane #200 Mount Airy, NC 27030 Thanks to Our Partners: