Update 3.18.20

The Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice is working closely with local, state and federal agencies to respond to potential cases of novel Corona Virus or COVID-19.   As you are aware, cases of COVID -19, the disease caused by this coronavirus, have occurred in growing numbers both globally and in the USA.  The situation is evolving, but what we do know is that reducing the spread of this virus and reducing the risk to our employees, volunteers, patients, families and community members is our utmost priority.

We have implemented our Emergency Operations Plan, effective March 12, 2020.

The Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice will continue with its operations, as usual, adhering to CDC guidelines for infection control and visitation.  Direct fieldwork staff will be working remotely and visiting patients to and from their own homes.  The Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center will be closed to in-person sessions and groups meetings, effective March 16, 2020.

Our offices and Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice remain open, with social distancing and revised visitation protocols put into place, per local, state and federal mandates.

Necessary meetings and trainings will be held by telephone conferencing.   Elevated sanitizing procedures have been implemented.

Providing care to our patients and families will continue, as it has for the past 40 years.  These emergency preemptive measures will stay in place as long as deemed necessary.

The Karen Ann Quinlan Memorial Foundation Board of Directors, staff and volunteers maintain our continued commitment to our mission and the people we are privileged to serve.

Sincerely,

Marlina Schetting, MSW, LCSW, CT
Chief Operating Officer
Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice

In an preemptive effort to limit the exposure of our clients and staff to the possible spread of the COVID-19, coronavirus, all in-office individual counseling sessions and support group meetings normally held at the Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center have been temporarily suspended.

You are not alone and our counselors are available to counsel with you via telephone. They are working now to re-schedule/schedule your session via phone, instead of an office visit.

Please call our main number 973-948-2283 if you have any questions or immediate needs. If we are counseling another client your call will be returned ASAP. Please be sure to leave a message with your name, phone number, and indicate which counselor you would like to return your call.

You may also contact us via email with our concerns using the contact us form below. Thank you for your understanding of these preemptive measures as we strive you keep our clients, staff and the community safe.

Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice is implementing agency wide protocol as advised by the Center for Disease Control and the County of Sussex Department of Health and Human Services. We are taking these precautions to protect our patients, their families, our staff and others in the community from contracting and/or spreading COVID-19.

At the Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice we require all incoming visitors to reconsider their visit if they are experiencing even mild symptoms of the virus. All common areas at the facility are restricted.

ALL visitors to the Home for Hospice, the Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center and our administrative office, including employees, and board members are required to complete a brief questionnaire regarding their exposure to COVID-19 and or symptoms. ALL visitors may also be subject to further screening, including a temperature scan and may be required to use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as facemasks.

All in-home hospice patients and their families are required to complete and sign the questionnaire. For hospice patients that reside in assisted living or nursing homes Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice will continue all services and is in working in complete cooperation with the protocols established by those facilities under the protocols established by the CDC.

All Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice staff is following the appropriate CDC guidelines for Transmission Based Precautions, and using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) properly.

1. Have you engaged in international travel within the last 14 days to countries with sustained community transmission. (China, Iran, South Korea, Italy, Japan, Hong Kong) __YES  __NO

2. Do you have any signs or symptoms of a respiratory infection, such as a fever, cough, and sore throat. __YES  __NO

3. In the last 14 days, have you had contact with someone with or under investigation for COVID19, or are ill with respiratory illness. __YES  __NO

4. Do you reside in a community where community-based spread of COVID-19 is occurring. __YES  __NO

The official theme for Social Work Month in March 2020 is “Social Workers: Generations Strong.”

Celebrated each March, National Professional Social Work Month is an opportunity for social workers across the country to turn the spotlight on the profession and highlight the important contributions they make to society.

Our nation’s almost 700,000 social workers have amazing tenacity and talent.

They confront some of the most challenging issues facing individuals, families, communities and society and forge solutions that help people reach their full potential and make our nation a better place to live.

The Role of a Social Worker

How Social Workers Help With End-of-Life Care

We celebrate the contributions of all social workers during National Social Work Month in March.

Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice – Let us help.

The vast majority of Americans say what they want at the end of life is to die in their own homes, as comfortable and pain-free as possible. The hospice philosophy is about making sure that a patient’s death experience reflects their wishes. Here are five ways that Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice helps to deliver this:

We give you comfort. The staff at Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice are experts at managing life- limiting illness. Our team ensures that medication, therapies and treatments all support a care plan that is centered on the patient’s goals. And our services can be offered wherever the patient calls home, allowing friends and family to visit freely—something they might not be able to do in a hospital ICU setting.

Hospice gives you peace. Beyond physical relief, Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice strives to help patients and families find emotional and spiritual comfort during what is often a very traumatic time. We are able to provide families with counselors, therapists, spiritual care advisors and bereavement professionals who can best support their struggles with death and grieving. These services are part of the hospice benefit, covered by Medicare, Medicaid or most private insurances

Hospice gives you something extra. Hospice is not only about compassionate medical care and control of pain. Art and music therapists inspire joy; pet therapy and massages are offered in addition to many other programs.

Hospice gives caregivers guidance. Most families are not prepared to face the death of a loved one. In addition to caring for patients, Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice also offers services for families and loved ones that provide emotional support and advice to help family members become confident caregivers and adjust to the future with grief  support for up to a year.

Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice gives you more. Be it more joy, more love, or more quality of life in general, the goal of Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice is to offer patients the ability to enjoy the time they have remaining, and create meaningful memories for their families. We offer more moments of life.

John Post

Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice invites the community to Dealer Appreciation Night at Subaru World of Newton. The event will be held on Friday, November 29 between 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. during the dealerships annual Black Friday Car Sales Event.

Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice will provide light refreshment and will be on hand to spread the word about the great work being done by Hospice because of the generous support of Subaru World of Newton. For five years Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice has been the recipient of the Subaru Share the Love campaign. For every new Subaru vehicle purchased or leased from November 14, through January 2, 2020, the purchaser/lessee can choose the local “Hometown Charity”, Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, as the recipient of a $250 donation from Subaru.

“We welcome this opportunity to meet with and talk to the community about the great work being done by Subaru World of Newton and Subaru Corporate,” said John Quinlan, Director of Foundation at Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice.  “Subaru has donated over eighty thousand dollars via the Share the Love campaign, which goes directly towards patient care to those in our community.”

“Stop in for great discounts and incentives during the annual Black Friday Car Sales Event – Dealer Appreciation Night,” said Brooke Canty, Business Development Manager for World Auto Group.  “If anyone has been putting off purchasing a new vehicle the Share the Love campaign is the perfect time to get a quality all-wheel drive vehicle while supporting a local non-profit organization.”

Subaru World of Newton will also hold several buyer incentives on the 29th including the first 25 people will receive $500 towards the purchase of a new vehicle and applicable participants may also be eligible for a FREE 50″ television with the purchase of a new vehicle.

For more information please contact the dealership directly at 973-579-5000.

Each butterfly pictured represents a child that has used the services of the Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center in the last five years.  You can try to count them, but it will be easier to tell you that there are 296 butterflies on this wall.  The Thursday before Thanksgiving is nationally recognized as Children’s Grief Awareness Day, so on this November 21^st, the bereavement center wanted to give a visual of how many children have had to deal with anticipatory grief and bereavement.

The day is designed to help us all become more aware of the needs of grieving children — and of the benefits they obtain through the support of others. Children’s Grief Awareness Day is an opportunity to make sure that grieving children receive the support they need.

Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice Reminds the Community that “#SoonerIsBetter!”

(Newton, NJ) – November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month and hospice and palliative care programs across the country are reaching out to raise awareness about hospice and palliative care. Hospice is not a place but is high-quality care that enables patients and families to focus on living as fully as possible despite a life-limiting illness. Palliative care brings this holistic model of care to people earlier in the course of a serious illness.

“Every year, nearly 1.4 million people living with a life-limiting illness receive care from hospices in this country,” said Edo Banach, president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. “These highly-trained professionals ensure that patients and families find dignity, respect, and love during life’s most difficult journey.”

Hospice and palliative care programs provide pain management, symptom control, psychosocial support, and spiritual care to patients and their families when a cure is not possible.

Hospice and palliative care combines the highest level of quality medical care with the emotional and spiritual support that families need most when facing a serious illness or the end of life.

Throughout the month of November, Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice will be joining organizations across the nation hosting activities that will help the community understand how important hospice and palliative care can be.

More information about hospice, palliative care, and advance care planning is available from Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice by call 973-383-0115 or visiting our website at KarenAnnQuinlanHospice.org or from NHPCO’s CaringInfo.org.

Vides and stories from families showing the many ways hospice and palliative care make special moments possible can be found at www.momentsoflife.org.

The month of November is National Hospice Month. Since 1993 Dr. Edward Tirpack has been hosting Dental Day for Hospice with the Friends of Hospice. This annual event celebrates the amazing work of the Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice. This year, Dr. Tirpack and Dr. Gilbert Tapia along with their highly-skilled dental team will once again host Dental Day for Hospice. They will be donating the proceeds from dental procedures provided on Monday, November 11, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m to the Friends of Hospice. Sparta Dental Designs is located at 16 Lafayette Road in Sparta. During this event donations will be accepted; 50/50 raffle tickets will be available for purchase and the Friends of Hospice volunteers will be in the Sparta Dental Designs living room to answer your questions about hospice. There will also be give-aways and light refreshments served.

Dr. and Mrs. Tirpack have been longtime champions of the hospice mission serving as board members, committee chairs and volunteers committed to raising funds and awareness for hospice care. “Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice is a not-for-profit organization and they will treat any patient regardless of their ability to pay,” said Dr. Tirpack, “That’s what inspires me. I hope to make the community aware of their outstanding hospice care and what services are in place to support patients and their family members.” Celebrating their dedication to Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, Sparta Dental Designs was the first recipient of the Heart of Hospice Award in 2012. With any event, corporate support is always a winning recipe to ensure success. Benco Dental, a full-service dental distributor, has been the longtime event sponsor for Dental Day for Hospice under the leadership and personal contributions of territory representative Preston Hay.

“The commitment to Dental Day for Hospice from the doctors and the Sparta Dental Designs team is truly appreciated and has helped many patients and family members throughout Sussex and Warren Counties in New Jersey and Pike County, Pennsylvania from the revenue it has generated since its inception in 1993,” stated Lisa O’Hara, President of Friends of Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice. To secure an appointment for Dental Day for Hospice, please call Sparta Dental Designs at 973-729-2113. More information about Sparta Dental Designs can be found at www.SpartaDentalDesigns.com or like them on Facebook.

The Karen Ann Quinlan Memorial Foundation is passionately dedicated to providing Hospice care for the terminally ill and bereavement counseling for those who have lost loved ones.
Please call 800-882-1117 to reach all of our services at:
Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice at 99 Sparta Avenue, Newton, NJ
Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice at 104 Bennett Avenue, Milford, PA
Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice in Fredon, NJ – an award winning hospice care facility!
The Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center at 5 Plains Road, Augusta, NJ with satellite offices in Pike and Warren Counties.

For further information regarding hospice programs, bereavement programs, memorial or celebration events and much more, visit:
www.KarenAnnQuinlanHospice.org or follow on Facebook.com/KarenAnnQuinlanHospice.org.

Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice is an independently owned, not-for-profit hospice program and proud to be the preferred hospice provider for Newton Medical Center and the Atlantic Health Care System.

Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice received a grant award of $3,000 from the Richard L. Snyder Fund at the Greater Pike Community Foundation for grief and bereavement education and outreach.

The Great Pike Community Foundation was created to enable generous individuals, families, and local businesses to maximize their charitable support through organized, targeted, long-term community philanthropy.

Grief may be experienced in response to physical losses, such as death, or in response to symbolic or social losses such as divorce or loss of a job.  The grief experience can be affected by one’s history and support system. Taking care of yourself and accessing the support of friends and family can help you cope with your grief experience.

Mourning is the expression of the emotions and thoughts related to grief. Most individuals who suffer the loss of a loved one will grieve, but not all will externalize their grief. To mourn is to release those emotions in order to allow for healing. This release can be through emoting (crying, etc.), talking, writing, physical  activities (running, exercise) or any other healthy method of release.

Bereavement is the state of grief and a time period of mourning after a loss, generally referring to the loss of a loved one. Bereavement work involves the truthful and honest experiencing of the full range of emotions which occur during one’s grieving process. Every individual’s grieving process will be as unique as their relationship with their loved one. Throughout bereavement, grief can be cyclical, meaning that it can come and go. One moment may be different from the next and it sometimes feels as though you are moving backward along this road. You would not be the only person feeling that way.

The most important thing to remember during this time is to be compassionate toward yourself. Losing someone you love can change your entire world. It becomes important to honor and experience your needs and emotions as they are, not how you or anyone else wants them to be or thinks they should be. This is your time to do what is best for you.

The Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center will hold an Expressive Arts Workshop for Adults on Wednesdays in September starting on the 4th. The weekly, two-hour workshop, 6 – 8 p.m., will explore ways to mourn and release emotions through various modalities including, art, drama, music, journaling and reading. The workshop is open to anyone in the community and registration is limited. There is a $100 fee to help cover the cost of materials and supplies.

Other resources available to everyone in the community include our Bereavement website CopeWithGrief.org. an online resource page which is readily available to you at any time.

Peer support groups can be a tremendous resource during challenging times. They provide an opportunity to share your story with others as well as to hear from others who have experienced the loss of a loved one. Please visit our website to view the group schedule. In the event you cannot access our online resources, please contact our Bereavement Center to speak with our staff at 973-948-2283.

If you find yourself continuing to struggle during your grieving process and feel you may benefit from some individual support, our Bereavement Center offers one-on-one counseling. There is a suggested donation amount of $25 per session, but no one is ever denied access to services based on ability to pay.

Joel T. Peterson, MSW, LSW

Bereavement Counselor

Community Outreach and Education

mailto:jpeterson@karenannquinlanhospice.orgjpeterson@karenannquinlanhospice.org