Myths are common in hospice, for both patients and physicians. Breaking through the myths helps ensure each conversation about hospice is accurate and productive. We are always available at Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice to talk to you or a loved one regarding appropriateness for Hospice and how it works.

Myth: Hospice is only appropriate for the last few days of a terminal illness.
Truth: Hospice’s goals are symptom management and quality of life. If a patient’s health status is in continual decline, he or she likely qualifies for hospice care. Sooner is better when it’s time for Hospice. The sooner you make the decision the sooner we here at Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice can help you and your family with our multi-disciplinary team which includes: doctor, nurses, aides, volunteers, chaplains, social workers and bereavement counselors.

Myth: A patient cannot leave hospice.
Truth: Patients don’t always continually decline. Sometimes health will improve. Hospice is based on ongoing evaluation. Patients can come off or go on hospice as needed.

Myth: If on hospice, a patient cannot receive any treatment.
Truth: Hospice is not based on a “no treatment” philosophy, rather a shift in treatment goals. If a patient is on hospice for cardiac problems and then breaks a bone, that injury can be treated without coming off hospice.

Myth: All medications stop and morphine is administered.
Truth: Medications that are necessary to preserve quality of life are continued. A multi-disciplinary team ensures medications are continually evaluated and discussed.

Myth: Patients die sooner on hospice.
Truth: According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, hospice care patients can live 29 days longer than non-hospice patients, with a better quality of life. To learn more about Hospice and see if it may be appropriate for you or a loved you can view our FREE virtual presentation, “What is Hospice,” by clicking the link: https://bit.ly/3XHWEmC

The effects of unresolved grief on children can be devastating. From a child’s perspective, the experience of loss is not only overwhelming emotionally, but affects cognitive functioning as well.

Young children may be unable to recognize or categorize their losses, let alone sort them one from another. They may receive unclear explanations or no information at all about why these losses have occurred.

Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice and the Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center will host the Children’s Art Bereavement Program on Thursday evenings, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m., starting on March 9. This themed program is designed for children (age 6-12) who have experienced the loss of a loved one through death. This program will focus on meeting the individualized needs of grieving children through art and play.

This series also helps children understand their own unique feelings in grief, allows them to come together with others who have also experienced the loss of a loved one, and provides an environment where they feel comfortable asking questions and expressing their feelings and fears about death.

For the adults, a simultaneous group will be provided for the parents or guardians. This group will be educational and supportive in nature.  

Registration for this session is limited. Pre-registration is required and there is a $150.00 fee to help cover the cost of materials and supplies. Limited scholarships are available. Please call Lorri Opitz, Bereavement Counselor, for more information or to register at 973-948-2283 or email lopitz@karenannquinlanhospice.org.

At the Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center we have over 500 books on Grief, from working through the grief process with children, to inspirational devotionals on grieving…from anticipatory grief, to how grieving affects our brain chemistry.

All of our titles are available for lending through the Grief Learning Library at the Bereavement Center. To borrow a book please visit the Bereavement Center located on 5 Plains Road in Augusta during normal business hours – 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and “sign” the books out as you would at the public library.

It’s a wonderful resource for anyone experiencing grief for the first time or reflecting on a past loss. Plus, we have professionals on staff if you feel you may need more help navigating through the grief process. For more information please call 973-948-2283.

Atlantic Health System and Hackettstown Medical Center are committed to building healthier communities, beyond simply the delivery of excellent health care in our hospitals, medical practices and facilities. Understanding and supporting the needs of our local communities in Warren County is a top priority for Hackettstown.

With that in mind, the Community Advisory Board (CAB) of Hackettstown Medical Center was recently pleased to award Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center with a Hackettstown Medical Center CAB grant for uncompensated Bereavement Care in Warren County.

A list of priority health needs in the Hackettstown Medical Center service area were identified in our most recent Community Needs Assessment which include, but not limited to – heart disease, diabetes & obesity, substance misuse, mental health and cancer.

This grant awarded to Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center has met one or more of the identified priority health needs, and will now help Hackettstown Medical Center and Atlantic Health System address these needs – this is great news for residents of this region!

Click on the image to start/view the video.

Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center and Abbey Glen Pet Memorial Park present the Annual Pet Memorial Butterfly Release Ceremony. Due to inclement weather the butterflies were not able to be released at the ceremony. Please join us in watching the release that was held on Wednesday, September 14. Please watch until the end for a scroll of all the names that were commemorated on Sunday, September 11.

Marlina Schetting, Chief Operating Officer at Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice presents a check to the winners Maureen and Glenn Lewis of Sparta as John Quinlan, Director of Foundation looks on.

The winner of the 2021 Friends of Hospice – Half for Hospice is Maureen Lewis of Sparta. Maureen won $9,440 in the drawing that was held on Wednesday, December 8. Congratulations to the winner and thank you for donating $500 back to Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice! Stay tuned for details on the 2022 Half for Hospice. Proceeds benefit the programs and services at Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice.

(l-r) Helen Vellekamp, Harmon’s Face Value Store Manager stands with Store Associates Val Kerwin and Linda Bazylevich near a display of hand sanitizers donated to Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice.

Helen Vellekamp, Store Manager for Harmon’s Face Value, located at the Franklin Shopping Center, 100 Rte. 23 North in Franklin, NJ, reached out to let Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice know they were arranging a community sales campaign and that Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice was selected as a beneficiary of the products sold.

This featured product was University Medical Pharmaceuticals Hand Sanitizer which was on display throughout the store. Guests were asked by store associates if they would like to purchase a bottle to be donated to Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice and positive responses were plentiful.  Helen Vellekamp and her team were proud to present the hospice with 390 bottles of hand sanitizer.  The Harmon’s team members noted that the accolades for Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice were abundant and that most of the donations from customers were followed with a testimony of how Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice touched their lives or the lives of someone they knew.

The organization has distributed this donation to the Home for Hospice for their care team and families at the facility; the Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center, for field nurses and staff and volunteers. Also, a quantity of the hand sanitizers were allocated to be included the 2021 Blizzard Packs, an annual outreach from the Social Service Department for area residents throughout Sussex, Warren and Pike Counties. The Blizzard Pack  contains a variety of staples as well community resource guides in the case of an emergency.

National Children’s Grief Awareness Day (NCGAD) was created in 2008 by Highmark Caring Place and is observed the Thursday before Thanksgiving.

This initiative is meant to bring awareness to grieving children who are often referred to as the forgotten mourners. Many times, the adults or older siblings are entrenched in their own grief, leaving young grievers without the support needed during this critical time.

Places like the Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center can provide the support a grieving child may need. We do this in a variety of ways such as individual counseling and children’s art and play groups. Many times, children are not able to find the words to express their grief and we can use play, music, art, and books to help them give voice to their grief and help them process their loss.

You can help support grieving children too! Thursday, November 18th you can wear blue to raise awareness and facilitate a conversation about supporting grieving children. You can use the hashtag #childgriefday on all your social media to help bring attention to this initiative. You can click on, and share, this link http://childrensgriefawarenessay.org/cgad2/pdf/butterfly/pdf . The blue butterfly is named Hope and we can all take pictures of us “Holding On To HOPE”

Additionally, hhis “Holding on to Hope,” sheet provides space for a name or names of those you wish to “Hold On To HOPE” for, whether in memory of them or in honor. https://www.childrensgriefawarenessday.org/cgad2/pdf/bubble.pdf

Together, let’s spread “Hope” to let grieving children know that we are here for them, we care, and they are not alone.