Call 973-383-0115 for more information

Mary Ellen A. discusses her experience at the Home for Hospice. She tells how the home and staff were so welcoming it was like family. https://youtu.be/u_WYymFGGUM

Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice has been nominated for the prestigious Sussex County Economic Development Partnership New Business Award. The Sussex County Economic Development Partnership will hold its Awards Luncheon on Friday, September 23, 2016 at 12:00 Noon at The Lafayette House, Lafayette, NJ.

We Procrastinate.  We’re not proud of it, be we all do it.  It’s no secret that many of us “hit the ground running” each day; come up for air on weekends and marvel, perplexed and vexed, at the passage of time.  No wonder talking “face to face” has been put on hold.  Multi-tasking and technological advances, such as voicemail, email, facebook, tweeting and text-messaging, have nearly rendered dialogue as an archaic art form.

And yet, we know there are really important circumstances that warrant more than a perfunctory “fly by” chat with our spouse, child, colleague or friend.  Serious illness is one of the critical issues requiring a deliberate and sensitive discussion with our loved ones.  The value of having a true “heart to heart” talk with our family regarding our health, health care wishes and future health care cannot be underestimated.

A recent survey, conducted by the Conversation Project, reported that 90% of people say that talking with their loved ones about end-of-life care is important, but only 27% have actually done so.

80% of people say that if seriously ill, they would want to talk to their doctor about end-of-life care. 7% report having had an end-of-life conversation with their doctor.

Similarly, 70% of people surveyed say they want to die at home, but in reality, 70% die in hospitals or institutions.

I would urge everyone to make the time for meaningful, albeit challenging, conversations about life-changing issues.  If you find the task daunting, there are many wonderful social workers, counselors and clinicians in your community that are trained to help.  You’ll be so glad you did!

Marlina R. Schetting, MSW, LCSW, CT
Administrator
Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice 

When is the right time to have that difficult conversation?

Karen Ann Quinlan Charitable Foundation is a recipient of a Google Ad Grants award. The Google Ad Grants program supports registered nonprofit organizations that share Google’s philosophy of community service to help the world in areas such as science and technology, education, global public health, the environment, youth advocacy, and the arts. Google Ad Grants is an in-kind advertising program that awards free online advertising to nonprofits via Google AdWords.

Call 973-383-0115 for more information

Sue Dougherty, volunteer coordinator at Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, will hold hospice volunteer training starting September 7. The training sessions will be held at the Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center, located on 61 Spring Street in Newton, NJ. The training is free, but pre-registration is required. You can click here to register for the classes. Volunteers are a pivotal part of the hospice team and you can contact Sue at 973-383-0115 to find out how you can get involved. . https://youtu.be/0f-Mej4af90

Owner of Iron Temple of Martial Arts https://www.facebook.com/ITMMA/ in Hampton and Sergeant with the NJ State Police, Dave Fritsch and office manager Laura Battaglia presented at Karen Ann Quinlan’s in-service on Tuesday. The presentation “When the Situation Becomes Volatile” covered topics that attendees can use in both professional and personal situations. The in-service programs are a value to everyone in the association and help to ensure that we have a well-trained and supported staff.
Many thanks to Dave and Laura! The presentation was awesome!

Dave and Laura of Iron Temple Martial Arts presented at a recent in-service at Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice.

Call 973-383-0115 for more information

We will come talk to your group at no-charge to you. Topics can include advance directives, living wills, POLST and hospice vs. palliative care and more. Contact Anthony Grigal, Community Liaison at 973-383-0115 for more information. https://youtu.be/PjfDoKV4yaQ

Marlina Schetting and Stephanie Bootsma recently spoke to the Frelinghuysen Senior Club.

Marlina Schetting, MSW, LCSW, CT, Administrator of Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice recently gave a presentation to the Frelinghuysen Seniors Club. Topics included hospice care and challenges of dealing with alzheimer disease.

Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice would would love to speak with to your group. Our coverage area is vast, serving patients and families throughout Sussex and Warren Counties in NJ, Pike County, PA and surrounding areas. Our knowledge and educational resources are comprehensive.

It would be our pleasure to send a hospice professional to meet with your group to share details and solutions to some of the difficult issues facing families, friends and colleagues who are dealing with the terminal illness of a loved one.

To discuss scheduling a presenter please call 973-383-0115 to speak with Anthony Grigal or email agrigal@karenannquinlanhospice.org.

Visit the Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice booth at the NJ State Fair/Farm and Horse Show. Our booth is located in the Kosa Sussex County Building. While you are there enter to win a 2016 Harley-Davidson FLSS Softail Slim S worth $18,899! Tickets are $20 and only 1500 will be sold!

You can also purchase your tickets at:https://karenannquinlanhospice.org/

Volunteers (l-r) Bea Smith, June Roberts, members of the Friends of the Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice volunteer group.

Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice has been named a 2016 Hospice Honors recipient by Deyta Analytics. The Hospice Honors is a landmark compilation of hospices providing the best patient and caregiver experience. Established by Deyta Analytics, this prestigious annual review recognizes hospices that continuously provide the highest level of quality as measured from the caregiver’s point of view. Hospice Honors acknowledges high performing agencies by analyzing performance of Hospice CAHPS quality measures.

“Hospice Honors is a landmark compilation of hospices that provide the best patient and caregiver experiences,” said Bobby Robertson, President and CEO of HEALTHCAREfirst. “I am extremely proud of Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice for achieving this highest of honors and congratulate them on their success.”

Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice was one of three hospice providers in the State of New Jersey to obtain the Deyta Analytics Hospice Honors accolade in 2016. Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice Executive Director, Cecelia Clayton credits her professional staff for going above and beyond to meet the needs of the patients and families served. “We are pleased to be in the company of other award-winning hospices and healthcare facilities nationwide. To be the only hospice in Northwest New Jersey to receive this continued recognition validates the exemplary care extended to our community by our dedicated team,” said Clayton.

Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice is an independent and local non-profit organization that provides a full continuum of high quality medical, emotional and spiritual services to individuals requiring hospice, their family members and the community. The organization serves families in Sussex, Warren and Pike County, PA and nationwide-wide at the Home for Hospice in Fredon, NJ.

Cecelia Clayton, MPH, Executive Director of Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice was awarded the “Women in Business Award” at the 31^st Annual Quality in Business, Quality in Living awards dinner held at Crystal Springs Country Club earlier this year. The award was established by the Sussex County Chamber of Commerce and acknowledged community leaders in 17 categories for their contributions to the quality of life in the community and workplace.

Clayton was awarded in recognition of her established track record of significant accomplishments in the community and business. Clayton has worked for Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice and the community in various capacities since July 1990. As Director of Volunteers, Clayton initiated many of the organizations bereavement education groups which eventually led to the creation of The Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center in 2000. The center ensures that bereavement programs are available not only to hospice families, but to anyone in the community that is grieving a loss through death. To-date there are three centers in Newton, Hackettstown and Milford, PA.

In 2002 Clayton was named the Executive Director at Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice. Under her tenure the hospice has achieved growth from a small hospice of fewer than 50 patients a day in Northwest NJ to one that is now licensed and operates in two states, NJ and PA and the Home for Hospice in Fredon which can accept patients nationwide.

View the video tribute to Julia Quinlan above, which was filmed by Erin Dubec, Anthony Scalia and Nicholas Libraro.

On May 6, 2016, Julia Quinlan was recognized and awarded $35,000, at the 20th Russ Berrie Making a Difference Award Ceremony at Ramapo College.

The award was established by businessman Russel Berrie in 1997 to reward New Jerseyans who have made a significant difference in their communities through a lifetime of service or a single heroic act.

“Through this award, we honor the contributions of people who don’t seek recognition for what they do, yet generously give of themselves to make New Jersey a better place,” said Angelica Berrie of Englewood, president of The Russell Berrie Foundation. The top honoree of the award receives $50,000. Second place – which Quinlan received – wins $35,000, and the third place honoree receives $20,000.

“I’ve dedicated my life to do this work and make people aware of the hospice, aware of being able to be in hospice care and receiving the care you should receive at the end of your life. It has been very rewarding to me,” said Quinlan in a recent interview with The New Jersey Herald.

The Russell Berrie Foundation was established in 1985 by Russell Berrie, an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. Russell Berrie had a passion for giving that was grounded in his deep belief in humanity, the importance of touching the lives of ordinary people, the importance of strengthening the local community in New Jersey and the power of using philanthropy to help achieve transformational change. The Russell Berrie Foundation seeks to continue Russ’ mission by providing significant support to strengthen New Jersey’s art, cultural and health care institutions and celebrates everyday people who make a significant difference in the lives of others through the Russ Berrie Making a Difference Award.

Photo by Paul Wheeler- Shown at the Quinlan Hospice awards ceremony Thursday at Panther Valley are, from left: Sue Dell, R.N., Excellence in Care Award; Honorable Paul W. Armstrong, J.S.C. Ret.), Pioneer Award; Lucian Fletcher Jr., M.D., Founder Award; Cecelia T. Clayton, MPH, Excellence in Leadership Award, and Skip Klimas, Heart of Hospice Award. Not shown are Noel Balch and Frances Howe, Spirit of Hospice Award.

Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice’s friends, staff, volunteers and supporters joined together on April 28 at the Panther Valley Golf Club to celebrate those individuals who have advanced the cause of hospice in our community and beyond. Lucian Fletcher Jr., M.D., received the Founder Award for his almost four decades of service as a board member. Skip Klimas, owner of S.K. Paper Shred, received the Heart of Hospice Award for his tireless fundraising for hospice. Hospice volunteers Noel Balch and Frances Howe received the Spirit of Hospice Award for their almost 20 years of service as hospice volunteers. Sue Dell, RN, long-time nursing supervisor and clinical manager, received the Excellence in Care Award.

Cecelia T. Clayton, MPH, received the Excellence in Leadership Award for her service as executive director for more than a decade.

Honorable Paul W. Armstrong, J.S.C. (Ret.), received the Pioneer Award for his more than 40 years of work advancing the cause of patients’ rights.

Robert Vandenbergh, chief operating officer of presenting sponsor Lakeland Bank, served as emcee for the event. The music was supplied by DJ Ray Cordts.

Other major sponsors included Newton Medical Center, Contral Security, Eastern Propane, Lion Technology, Regional Cancer Care Associates LLC and Smith-McCracken Funeral Home.

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Published by: National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization

National Healthcare Decisions Day is on Saturday, April 16, 2016 and is dedicated to inspire, educate and empower the public about the importance of advance care planning.

Advance care planning involves making future healthcare decisions that include much more than deciding what care you would or would not want; it starts with expressing preferences, clarifying values, identifying health care preferences and selecting an agent to express healthcare decisions if you are unable to speak for yourself.
National Healthcare Decisions Day is a collaborative effort of national, state and community organizations committed to ensuring that all adults with decision-making capacity in the United States have the information and resources to communicate and document their future healthcare decisions.
In honor of National Healthcare Decisions Day, NHPCO encourages everyone to:

Have A Conversation

Advance care planning starts with talking with your loved ones, your healthcare providers, and even your friends- all are important steps to making your wishes known. These conversations will relieve loved ones and healthcare providers of the need to guess what you would want if you are ever facing a healthcare or medical crisis.

Complete Your Advance Directive

“Advance Directives” are legal documents (Living Will and Healthcare Power of Attorney) that allow you to plan and make your own end-of-life wishes known in the event that you are unable to communicate. To learn more, download the “Understanding Advance Directives” brochure now.

Engage Others in Advance Care Planning

Please pass along brochures, information and advance directives to others in your family, workplace and community. Help others have a conversation about advance care planning.

“National Healthcare Decisions Day exists to inspire, educate and empower the public and providers about the importance of advance care planning.”

Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice encourages Sussex and Warren County, NJ and Pike County, PA residents to visit their offices in Newton, NJ and Milford, PA on the week days of April 11-15 and April 18-22 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to pick up a National Health Care Decisions folder to assist with this this very important issue. For additional questions, please call Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice at 973-383-0115 or 800-882-1117.

N.J. Supreme Court decision on March 31, 1976, changed course of global medical ethics

Published in the Daily Record, April 3, 2016

Forty years ago on March 31, a landmark New Jersey Supreme Court decision regarding a young woman from Roxbury altered the legal and ethical landscape of healthcare across the country and around the world. Her name was Karen Ann Quinlan, and her tragic circumstance led to the establishment of living will and other rights of hospital patients, including their legal “right to die.”

Quinlan, 21, lapsed into a coma in 1975, allegedly after mixing alcohol with a tranquilizing drug. Once her condition was considered irreversible, her devoutly Catholic parents, Joseph and Julia, asked her doctors at St. Clare’s Hospital to remove her from the respirator that was keeping her alive and put her fate “into God’s hands.”

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