Sue Dougherty is the volunteer coordinator at Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice. She is the person to contact if you are interested in training to become a hospice volunteer. She can be reached at 973-383-0115 ext. 121.
Anthony Grigal – Community Liaison
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.
Foundation recipient of Google Ad Grants Award
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.
Hospice volunteer training in September
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
Iron Temple presents at hospice in-service
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.
We will talk to your group
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
Hospice speaks to Frelinghuysen Seniors
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 us at the Fair!
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://1b4.cb4.myftpupload.com/
Volunteers (l-r) Bea Smith, June Roberts, members of the Friends of the Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice volunteer group.
Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice named ’16 Hospice Honors recipient
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 recipient of Women in Business award
Cecelia Clayton, MPH, Executive Director of Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice was awarded the “Women in Business Award” at the 31st 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.
Hospice founder recognized with $35,000 Making A Difference Award
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.
Hospice Honors
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.
National Healthcare Decisions Day
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.
Julia Quinlan, mother of Karen, reflects on 40-year milestone
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.”
Advance Directives and Living Wills
National Healthcare Decisions Day
Every Year April 16th is NATIONAL HEALTHCARE DECISIONS DAY
To honor the commitment that “your decision matters” on that day, Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice offers free living will packets for either NJ or PA when you stop into their office at 99 Sparta Ave, Newton NJ. If you call that day, one can also be mailed to you.
You may also print out an Advance Directive for your state by visiting either of these sites:
Advance Directives
Eventually, a life-limiting illness will take away a patient’s ability to make health care decisions. While the decisions still have to be made, someone else has to make them. If plans have not been made, this can
become a burden, cause delay, or lead to costly and lengthy court proceedings. Steps should be taken to control these decisions so the patient’s wishes will be respected.
Living Wills
A living will is a statement about the patient’s wishes regarding medical treatment that directs the doctors when the patient is no longer able to communicate their desires. If a patient does not want to be kept on life-prolonging devices (such as feeding tubes, IV’s, or respirators), it needs to be specifically stated in a living will. A copy of the living will should be given to the patient’s doctor, the hospice, any treatment center where the patient resides (i.e., a hospital or nursing home), and to the designated
proxy.
The living will does not affect life insurance and cannot be required for being insured or for the receipt of health care services. Any medical treatment that is used for the purpose of providing comfort or alleviation of pain will be continued unless otherwise stated in the will.
Proxy Designation
One way to ensure that the patient’s wishes will be honored is the naming of someone who is trusted for the making of medical decisions. This person is named as a proxy, or durable power of attorney, to make only those medical decisions related to the care of the patient. This person should be named in the living will. A replacement should also be named in case the person originally named is unable or unwilling to perform the duties of the proxy. If a proxy is not named by the patient, state law will determine guardianship.
If you have any questions you about living wills or proxy designation, contact the hospice. We will do our best to answer any questions you may have, and help refer you to the appropriate resources.
Estate Concerns
After your loved one has passed on, there are many things that you need to do. The first things that the executor of the estate needs to do are:
- Locate the original will (the will must be signed and witnessed).
- Contact social security.
- Call the Veteran’s Administration if your loved one was a veteran.
- Contact employers for information on pension benefits.
The next thing that needs to be done is to apply for probate of the will. Probate is the procedure by which the court will prove the will to be valid or invalid. In most cases, probate involves collecting the deceased’s assets, liquidating liabilities, paying necessary taxes, and distributing property to the named heirs. The executor should visit the Surrogate’s Office, known as the Registrar of Wills in some cases, of their country.
They should bring with them:
- The original will
- The death certificate with a raised seal
- Names and addressed of persons named in the will and all next of kin
- Petition for grant of letter with oath of personal representative (in Pike County)
- Probate fees will vary with each estate. The Surrogate’s Office (Registrar of Wills) will issue Surrogates
- certificates which give the executor authority to act for the estate.
Creating A Will
It is important to have a will so that you can direct exactly how your property should be distributed, rather than leaving that to task to the state. When writing your will, it is also important to follow all legal
guidelines. Your will must be signed and documented, and it is important to have it notarized. If the will is not notarized, than witnesses will have to be provided and will have to come in to sign witness forms. It may be best to contact your lawyer and ask for assistance in forming you will.
Why Have a Will?
Your will ranks up there as one of the most important and far reaching documents that you will ever sign. A will should be viewed as an expression of you and your feeling for your loved ones, as well as those causes
and institutions close to your heart. This is what a will empowers you to do:
- It lets you decide who will receive al the property you own and have accumulated through the years. If you have no will the state decides who receives what according to very inflexible rules.
- Your will contains the names of the persons who you select to handle your estate.
- As a parent this is the document where you would name the guardian/s of your children.
- Reflect your desire to held friends, family members, nonprofit causes and institutions.
- Draft the document with the help of your attorney to minimize death taxes that will be facing your family after your death.
- Make a final expression of your personal values. You could provide aid to a special friend and distribute the most cherished possessions of your life.
- To accomplish all of this is not hard. Nor, in most cases, is it expensive. It does necessitate on your part thoughtful decisions.
What If a Change Needs to be Made?
Make a small change in your will can be done by using a “codicil”. This is simply an amendment that will take care of your desired change while at the same time preserve the balance of your will.
If you find you need to make major changes, a new will would be the recommended path. Your new will would also need to specifically revoke all previous will that might exist.
In either situation you will need your attorney’s help. Every 3 or 4 years it is recommended hat you visit with your attorney regarding your will. There might be some changes that you would not know about in state and federal laws that could affect you.
If you find that you have to make changes to your will, we hope that you would give positive consideration to one more: A bequest to Karen Ann Quinlan Charitable Foundation. A simple statement is all it would take:
“I bequest to Karen Ann Quinlan Charitable Foundation, located at 99 Sparta Avenue, Newton, NJ 07860 the sum of $______ for its’ purposes.”
Types of Bequests
They are several different types of bequests you can use to accomplish your objectives: Specific, General, Residuary, Contingent, and Percentage.
Specific Bequest:
During the distribution of an estate a specific bequest is always satisfied first. When the estate is not large enough to cover all the bequests, the specific requests are satisfied first. A specific bequest is a bequest of a specific item, distinguished from all other items- “my grandfather clock,” “my savings account at _____ Bank #2929440,””my blue Oriental rug.” If you dispose of the item expressed in a specific bequest during your lifetime and do not update your will, the intended recipient of that bequest does not receive anything. A good reason to periodically review.
General Bequest:
During the distribution of an estate, the general bequest is satisfied second. A general bequest is a bequest of property, which is similar to all other items of the same kind, usually cash. When there is insufficient cash to meet the general bequests, property passing under the residue will be sold to raise the necessary cash.
Percentage Bequest:
A percentage bequest is a bequest that is based on a percentage (5%, 10%, 50%) of the residue of another asset. When you utilize percentage bequests in your will, it is very likely that the recipient will receive something, as was your intention. But there is no precise way to tell exactly what dollar amount the bequest will be worth.
Residuary Bequest:
A residuary bequest is a bequest of all or a portion of the balance of your estate after the specific and general requests are satisfied. The residue is the last portion of your estate to be settled. The residue is the last portion of your estate after the specific and general requests are satisfied.
Contingent Bequest:
You can set up a contingent bequest to take effect if your primary intention cannot be met or maybe that person predeceases you.
If There is No Will
If there is no property will be distributed according to the state’s intestacy laws. The surviving spouse, or the next of kin if there is no spouse, may apply to the Surrogate (Registrar) to become the administrator of the estate. To apply to become administrator, you must bring:
- A death certificate with a raised seal
- Names and addresses of next of kin
- An estimated value of the estate Petition for grant of letters of administration with oath of personal representative (Pike County)
- Again, fees will vary with each estate.
Contact Information
There are many different organizations that may need to be contacted after your loved one has passed on. A few of the more important ones are:
Sussex:
- Sussex County Surrogate: (973)579-0920
- Hall of Records, 4 Park Place, Newton, NJ 07860
- Veterans Administration: (973)383-4949
- Sussex County Office on Aging: (973)827-5421
- Social Security Administration: (800)772-1213
Warren:
- Warren County Surrogate: (908)475-6223
- Warren County Office on Aging (908)475-6591
- NJ Bureau of Veteran’s Services (908)689-5840
- Social Security Administration (800)772-1213
Pike:
- Pike County Register of Wills (570)296-3508
- 506 Broad Street, Milford, PA 18337
- Area Office on Aging: (570)775-5550
- Veterans Affairs: (570)296-3563
- Social Security Administration (570)342-8062
Personal Records
If it can be very helpful to have the family to have photocopies of records/documents which are needed to settle an estate stored in a place where they are easily available. The original documents should be kept in a fireproof box, safe deposit box, or safe. The items you should have photocopied
and stored together are:
- Will, contact information (name, address, and phone number) for attorney
- All insurance policies (life, property, auto, etc.) and contact information for the insurance agent
- Real estate deeds, title policies, closing statements, mortgages (and records of payments), tax receipts for
- property improvements, leases
- Stock and bond certificates or receipts; contact information for brokerage
- Bank account numbers and respective contact information, (include both checking and savings account information)
- List of assets and outstanding loans
- Safe deposit key and box number; contact information for the bank
- State and federal income tax returns for the last three years or more; contact information for tax form preparer
- Birth certificates for the patient, spouse and any dependents
- Marriage certificates or proof of divorce
- Automobile ownership certificate and registration
- Social security card (or record of S.S. number)
- Military discharge papers
- Any contract which the patient is involved in
- List of assets and outstanding loans
- Safe deposit key and box number; contact information for the bank
- State and federal income tax returns for the last three years or more;contact information for tax form preparer
- Birth certificates for the patient, spouse, and any dependents
- Marriage certificates or proof of divorce
- Automobile ownership certificate and registration receipts
- Social security card (or record S.S. number)
- Military discharge papers
- Any contract which the patient is involved in
- Any business records
- Receipts, appraisals or evaluation estimates of personal belongings (jewelry, art, antiques, etc.)
- Funeral or memorial service instructions; contact information for funeral director or memorial society
- General instructions for spouse and/or children
The above will not be applicable for everyone, but it is a basic checklist of what information it is important to have organized at the time of passing.