The Hampton Rotary Club, a long-standing philanthropic club that provides financial support to many individuals and organizations in Sussex County, presented checks for $15,000 to both Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice and Sussex County YMCA. The club held its last meeting on Tuesday, May 16 at the Lafayette House restaurant. The club, which has raised nearly one million dollars since it’s inception is disbanding due to diminishing membership.
The club also presented checks to the Gideons, DASI, Ginnie’s House and Project Self Sufficiency. We would like to thank Hampton Rotary for being one of our top 10 donors of all time and for all they have done, not only for Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, but for all of Sussex County.
Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice has been named a 2017 Hospice Honors “Elite” recipient by Deyta Analytics, a division of HEALTHCAREfirst, the leading provider of web-based home health and hospice software, billing and coding services, and advanced analytics.
Hospice Honors, a prestigious program, recognizes hospices providing the highest level of quality as measured from the caregiver’s point of view. Deyta Analytics holds a special recognition, Hospice Honors Elite, to honor hospices scoring above the Deyta Analytics National Performance Score on all 24 of the evaluated questions.
The Hospice Honors is a landmark compilation of hospices providing the best patient and caregiver experience. The award recognizes top performing hospices for their hard work and dedication. Karen Ann Quinlan is one of six hospices in New Jersey to be recognized for Hospice Honors and one of two to achieve the Hospice Honors “Elite” designation.
“We are honored to be in the company of other New Jersey Hospices, and health care facilities nationwide, being recognized by Deyta Analytics. To achieve “Elite” status validates the exemplary care extended to our community by our dedicated team,” said Cecelia Clayton, Executive Director at Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice.
The Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) was mandated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As part of the HQRP, all Medicare-certified hospices are required to submit quality data to The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS). The survey was designed to measure and assess the experiences of patients who died while receiving hospice care, as well as the experiences of their primary caregivers. Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice utilizes the vendor DEYTA to collect and submit data on our behalf to CAHPS.
DEYTA administers a CAHPS, hospice experience of care, survey to caregivers after the death of a hospice patient. The survey asks questions about care during the patient hospice stay.
Hospice Honors acknowledges high performing agencies by analyzing performance of Hospice CAHPS quality measures. HEALTHCAREfirst identified award recipients by evaluating hospices’ performance on a set of 24 quality indicator measures. Individual hospice performance scores were aggregated from all surveys with a final survey status of complete for the evaluation period and were compared on a question-by-question basis to a national performance score calculated from all partnering hospices contained in HEALTHCAREfirst‘s Hospice CAHPS database.
When should I wash my hands?
Many illnesses can be prevented with regular hand hygiene using soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Clean your hands often, and request that others do the same.
Before eating;
Before, during, and after preparing food;
After using the bathroom;
After coughing, sneezing, blowing your nose, or caring for someone who is ill;
After taking out the garbage;
After petting animals;
When visiting someone who is sick; and
Whenever your hands look or feel dirty!
What hand hygiene products should I use?
Keeping your hands clean is the number one way to prevent the spread of infection. Here are a few things to consider when choosing a hand hygiene product.
Plain soap and water is one of the best ways to remove germs from your hands. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the following are steps to properly washing your hands: wet, lather, scrub, rinse, and dry.
Alcohol sanitizer is good to use if soap and water are not available. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers that contain at least 60 percent alcohol can quickly reduce the number of germs on hands in some situations, but sanitizers do not eliminate all types of germs. It’s great to carry a small dispenser with you when you are out shopping, at the grocery store, in an airport, or on a plane.
Antimicrobial soap is used in healthcare settings like doctor’s offices, dentists, or hospitals. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it is not necessary to use antibacterial soaps at home.
What is antibiotic resistance?
Antibiotic resistance happens when bacteria change in a way that reduces or eliminates the ability of antibiotics to kill that bacteria. Washing your hands will help keep you healthy and prevent your need for antibiotics. But if you get sick, do not pressure your healthcare provider for antibiotics. If you are prescribed antibiotics, take all of them—even if you start to feel better.
Here are some other ways to celebrate World Hand Hygiene Day.
You can commit to always cough into your sleeve and not your hands. You can play handwashing games by singing a song for children when they wash their hands. You can make handwashing a routine and important part of your daily life to prevent the spread of harmful germs in your home.
Please join us on May 5 in celebrating the importance of clean hands worldwide to stop the spread of antimicrobial resistance!
On Thursday, April 27, Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice Honors, presented by Lakeland Bank, was held at Panther Valley Country Club in Allamuchy. We would like to thank all who attended the event. Congratulations to the honorees which included: Robert, E. McCracken, Reverend Ernest M. Kosa, Marlina R. Schetting, MSW, LCSW, CT, Kathy Shane, RN, BSN, Willard and Jeanette Klemm and Friends of Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice. Please note: The slideshow make take a few moments to fully load.
We would like to thank everyone who attended Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice Honors last night. 224 is the winning secret number. If your program has winning number please call us at 973-383-0115. The winner will receive two free tickets to the 2017 Wine and Cheese Festival to be held on September 10 at Waterwheel Farm in Fredon. Good Luck!
We recently held a donor reception and open house for the new, permanent location of the Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center. The center is now located on 5 Plains Road in Augusta with satellite offices in Hackettstown and Milford, PA.
Why is National Healthcare Decisions Day happening?
NHDD exists to “to inspire, educate and empower the public and providers about the importance of advance care planning.” This year NHDD was launched on April 16 and continues through the week.
Why is NHDD targeted at the public and providers?
All adults should discuss and document their healthcare wishes in the event of a crisis. Accidents and acute illness can happen to anyone at any time, but far too few adults have done anything to plan ahead. It is well known that providers can do a better job of raising the topic of advance care planning and incorporating patient’s wishes into their delivery of care. NHDD offers a chance to address both these populations at the same time.
Why does NHDD start on April 16?
It was inspired by Benjamin Franklin’s quip that “nothing in life is certain but death and taxes.”
Is NHDD only about end-of-life decisions?
No. NHDD encourages all adults to discuss and document their wishes for any event in which they cannot speak for themselves. How many Americans have engaged in advance are planning? Various studies suggest that only about a quarter of all adults have engaged in advance care planning.
Is it difficult to engage in advance care planning?
No. There are all sorts of free tools that are available to start and structure the conversations, and free advance directive forms for every state and several particular interests are available to document the discussion. These are all available at www.nhdd.org. Specifically, the short videos are an excellent way to start the conversation with loved ones. The hardest part is often just raising the topic, which is how NHDD can help. It creates a reason to “have the talk” and provides the tools to do it.
Do I need a lawyer to create an advance directive (living will, health care power of attorney, etc)?
No. Free forms and information are available for every state at www.KarenAnnQuinlanHospice.org/AdvanceDirectives. New Jersey and Pennsylvania advance directive forms are also available at our office located on 99 Sparta Avenue in Newton. Every hospital in the US is required to provide patients information about advance directives, so you can always ask at your local hospital.
Are you doing this to encourage people not to seek aggressive care?
Absolutely not. We want to encourage people to discuss and document their wishes so that they get the right care for them. For some patients this may mean aggressive care and for others it means nothing more than managing pain.
How can people help?
First, lead by example. Do your own advance care planning. Then, let others know about it. For your loved ones, you want to be sure they know your wishes. For everyone else, it is good enough to say you’ve done it. Then, encourage all those contacts to do the same. NHDD is a grassroots initiative, and we can use all the help we can get to spread the word. You can share on Facebook (www.facebook.com/nationalhealthcaredecisionsday) or on Twitter @NHDD/#NHDD. Be creative.
NEWTON, NJ — Community Health Accreditation Partner, Inc., (CHAP) announced that Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice has been awarded CHAP Accreditation under the CHAP Hospice Standards of Excellence. By achieving CHAP Accreditation, Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice has also been deemed to meet the Medicare Conditions of Participation and is certified as a Medicare provider. During the CHAP evaluation Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice was found to have no deficiencies or faults and no required actions were necessary.
CHAP Accreditation demonstrates that Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice meets the industry’s highest nationally recognized standards. The rigorous evaluation by CHAP focuses on structure and function, quality of services and products, human and financial resources and long term viability. Simply stated, adherence to CHAP’s standards leads to better quality care. “By achieving CHAP Accreditation, Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice has shown a commitment to excellence,” said Karen Collishaw, CHAP President & CEO. “For more than 16 years Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice has achieved CHAP Accreditation, and we are excited to continue our partnership by offering support in its commitment to providing quality care and continuous improvement.”
Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice provides a variety of services to patients and their families in Sussex, and Warren Counties in New Jersey and Pike County in Pennsylvania.
CHAP is an independent, not-for-profit, accrediting body for community-based health care organizations. Created in 1965, CHAP was the first to recognize the need and value for accreditation in community-based care. CHAP is the oldest national, community-based accrediting body with more than 9,000 agencies currently accredited nationwide. Through “deeming authority” granted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), CHAP has the regulatory authority to survey agencies providing home health, hospice and home medical equipment services, to determine if they meet the Medicare Conditions of Participation and CMS Quality Standards. CHAP’s purpose is to define and advance the highest standards of community-based care.
For more information about the CHAP Accreditation process, please visit the CHAP website at www.chapinc.org.
For additional information, contact Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice at 973-383-0115.
Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center now located on 5 Plains Road in Augusta, NJ
(AUGUSTA, NJ) – The Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center will take occupancy in its new, permanent home on April 1, 2017. Formerly located on 61 Spring Street in Newton, the Bereavement Center will now be located on 5 Plains Road in Augusta in the former Moonlight Imaging building.
The public is invited to an open house at the new location on April 12 from 3 – 6 p.m. Light refreshment will be served and attendees will get a tour of the new center and learn about the programs that will be offered there.
The new Bereavement Center in Augusta is central headquarters for the bereavement program with satellite centers located on 214 Washington Street in Hackettstown and at the United Methodist Church, on Ann Street in Milford, PA.
“We want to thank everyone who has helped to make this move possible,” said Cecelia Clayton, MPH, Executive Director at Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice.
“We’ve come a long way since the opening of the first bereavement center at the St. James Episcopal Church in Hackettstown. This move will enable us to further serve the growing need for bereavement counseling in our community,” said Clayton.
Clayton, formerly Director of Bereavement, initiated many of the organization’s bereavement programs that are still in effect today.
In 2000, Clayton realized a need in the community for bereavement counseling, and not wanting to limit these groups to only hospice families, presented a proposal to the hospice Board of Directors to create the Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center, named after Karen Ann Quinlan’s father, who along with his wife Julia were founders of the hospice. Joseph Quinlan died on December 7, 1996.
The Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center, utilizing space offered to the hospice by St. James Episcopal Church, opened its doors on April 2, 2000 in Hackettstown, NJ. The opening of the Hackettstown office assured that bereavement programs would be available not only to hospice families, but to anyone in the Warren County community who was grieving a loss through death.
Bereavement counseling was also offered at the hospice administrative offices located on 99 Sparta Avenue, before officially opening a second location of the Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center at 61 Spring Street in 2011.
“We are very excited to start this new chapter, where we can offer our services in a beautiful and comforting setting. The Bereavement Center is a not-for-profit agency that offers services not only to hospice families, but to our community as well. We are the only bereavement center in the state that offers full bereavement and anticipatory grief services,” said Diana Sebzda, MA, LPC, FT, Director of Bereavement.
“Our services are completed funded by donations from the community. We are proud to say that we never turn anyone away regardless of their ability to pay. Services include individual grief counseling, Coping with Loss Support Groups, Children Art Bereavement Programs, Pet Loss Support Groups, workshops for school professionals, workshops to teach facilitating your own support group, and so much more,” said Sebzda.
“In 2016, we offered individual counseling to more than 1,484 people from the Spring Street office, that doesn’t include the number of people that attended group support meetings at that location,” said Sebzda.
“We simply outgrew the Spring Street location. We needed additional private rooms for one-on-one counseling, a large conference room for workshop space, staff meetings and in-service seminars, smaller classrooms for webinars and staff training and a special room dedicated to families and play therapy,” said Sebdza.
“We are always developing new programs. A new facility with better visibility in the community, better parking, and a centralized location will help us to have meetings and events on the weekends, and evenings and attract more volunteers. We will continue to build upon the excellent programs that we currently offer.”
“We are at 50% of our goal to raise $350,000 to fund the new center. We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the campaign so far. Meeting our fundraising goal will ensure that we can continue to offer support groups, scholarships for children’s bereavement art programs and more in a safe, comfortable and caring environment,” said Clayton.
Those who wish to donate or have questions about the campaign can contact John Quinlan, Director of Foundation, at 973-383-0115 ext. 148 or visit the hospice website at KarenAnnQuinlanHospice.org/Capital
Free Screening of ‘Being Mortal’ on April 19, 2017
Newton Theatre and Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice are holding a free, community screening of the documentary “Being Mortal” on April 19, 6 p.m. at Newton Theatre on 234 Spring Street in Newton. After the screening, audience members can participate in a guided conversation on how to take concrete steps to identify and communicate wishes about end-of-life goals and preferences.
“Being Mortal” delves into the hopes of patients and families facing terminal illness. The film investigates the practice of caring for the dying and explores the relationships between patients and their doctors. It follows a surgeon, Dr. Atul Gawande, as he shares stories from the people and families he encounters. When Dr. Gawande’s own father gets cancer, his search for answers about how best to care for the dying becomes a personal quest. The film sheds light on how a medical system focused on a cure often leaves out the sensitive conversations that need to happen so a patient’s true wishes can be known and honored at the end.
“Being Mortal” underscores the importance of people planning ahead and talking with family members about end-of-life decisions.
Seventy percent of Americans say they would prefer to die at home, but nearly 70 percent die in hospitals and institutions. Ninety percent of Americans know they should have conversations about end-of-life care, yet only 30 percent have done so.
The free screening is made possible by a grant from The John and Wauna Harman Foundation in partnership with the Hospice Foundation of America.
For more information about the free screening, contact Lee Ellison, Director of Marketing at Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice at 973-383-0115 or lellison@karenannquinlanhospice.org. Attendees can also register on our website at www.KarenAnnQuinlanHospice.org/BeingMortal.
Click here for a guide on choosing a health care proxy.
A living will allows you to document your wishes concerning medical treatments at the end of life.
Before your living will can guide medical decision-making two physicians must certify:
You are unable to make medical decisions,
You are in the medical condition specified in the state’s living will law (such as “terminal illness” or “permanent unconsciousness”),
Other requirements also may apply, depending upon the state.
A medical power of attorney (or healthcare proxy) allows you to appoint a person you trust as your healthcare agent (or surrogate decision maker), who is authorized to make medical decisions on your behalf.
Before a medical power of attorney goes into effect a person’s physician must conclude that they are unable to make their own medical decisions. In addition:
If a person regains the ability to make decisions, the agent cannot continue to act on the person’s behalf.
Many states have additional requirements that apply only to decisions about life-sustaining medical treatments.
For example, before your agent can refuse a life-sustaining treatment on your behalf, a second physician may have to confirm your doctor’s assessment that you are incapable of making treatment decisions.
What Else Do I Need to Know?
Advance directives are legally valid throughout the United States. While you do not need a lawyer to fill out an advance directive, your advance directive becomes legally valid as soon as you sign them in front of the required witnesses. The laws governing advance directives vary from state to state, so it is important to complete and sign advance directives that comply with your state’s law. Also, advance directives can have different titles in different states.
Emergency medical technicians cannot honor living wills or medical powers of attorney. Once emergency personnel have been called, they must do what is necessary to stabilize a person for transfer to a hospital, both from accident sites and from a home or other facility. After a physician fully evaluates the person’s condition and determines the underlying conditions, advance directives can be implemented.
One state’s advance directive does not always work in another state. Some states do honor advance directives from another state; others will honor out-of-state advance directives as long as they are similar to the state’s own law; and some states do not have an answer to this question. The best solution is if you spend a significant amount of time in more than one state, you should complete the advance directives for all the states you spend a significant amount of time in.
Advance directives do not expire. An advance directive remains in effect until you change it. If you complete a new advance directive, it invalidates the previous one.
You should review your advance directives periodically to ensure that they still reflect your wishes. If you want to change anything in an advance directive once you have completed it, you should complete a whole new document.
What is hospice care? Hospice focuses on caring, not curing and in most cases care is provided in the patient’s home. Hospice care also is provided in freestanding hospice centers, hospitals, and nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Hospice services are available to patients of any age, religion, race, or illness. Hospice care is covered under Medicare, Medicaid, most private insurance plans, HMOs, and other managed care organizations.
In the living room, a grandfather laughs and plays video games with his granddaughters. Later, he joins the rest of his family to say grace before enjoying a meal together. Moments like these may seem ordinary to most. Would it surprise you to know that this grandfather, Robert, is dying and on hospice care?
Many people think that being on hospice means lying in a bed, barely conscious. Robert is a patient who proves that is not case. Many of his final moments were anything but ordinary, and they would not have been possible without the help of hospice.
Robert’s experience is not unique. The mission of Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice is to provide specialized care for end-of-life patients and their families. More simply, hospice care supports living one’s life to the fullest with dignity regardless of how much time remains.
When Robert was diagnosed with cancer, he “wondered if there was any chance of getting my quality of life back while I was still alive.” His answer, “I knew at that moment it was time to call hospice.”
Here are some of the common myths of hospice that need to be put to rest:
MYTH: Hospice care means leaving home. FACT: Hospice services can be provided in a patient’s own home, a nursing home, long-term care facility or a hospice care center.
Hospice is not a place. In fact, hospice services can be provided to a terminally ill patient and his or her family wherever they are most comfortable, or wherever they consider “home.” Robert’s wish was to make sure he was able to stay home at the end of his life. Hospice made it possible for Robert’s son, Eric, and his family to move into Robert’s home and enjoy dinner together four to five times each week.
MYTH: Hospice means forgoing all medical treatment. FACT: Hospice nurses and physicians are experts in the latest medications and devices for pain and symptom relief.
In every case, a hospice provider will assess the needs of the patient, deciding which medications and equipment are needed for maximum comfort. For example, Robert’s medical staff provided sleep medication to help him through the night. “I am speaking from the heart when I say hospice provides not only superb medical care, but also offers compassion that I would not have gotten anywhere else,” Robert said.
MYTH: Hospice means strangers care for you. FACT: Hospice provides a dedicated team of specialists to suit the needs of each patient and educate family members to serve as caregivers.
Hospice organizations strive to educate family members to serve as the primary caregivers for an end-of- life patient. In addition, “The doctors, nurses, aides, social workers, therapists and chaplains who make up my hospice team are there whenever I need them,” Robert said, “All I have to do is pick up the phone and someone from hospice is there to help.”
MYTH: Hospice care ends when someone dies. FACT: Hospice organizations offer bereavement services for all ages.
Hospice counseling services that deal specifically with grief and coping after the loss of a loved one are available at no cost for up to a year after someone dies. Robert’s son, Eric, credits hospice as something that he and his family can always look back and reflect on in a positive way.
MYTH: People on hospice are in bed, waiting to die. FACT: Hospice enables special moments and memories at the end of a life that would otherwise not happen.
Robert called hospice because he wanted to live happily and with dignity, restoring a quality of life that he would have otherwise lost to invasive treatments and surgeries. In a final letter chronicling his hospice experience, Robert wrote, “If I inspire others to call hospice, I know I’ve made a difference.”
To learn more about how hospice can help you and your family please call Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice at 973-383-0115.
