Christmas especially important at St. Joseph’s

Celebrating Christmas in a hospice is a balance between celebrating the season and creating loving memories for families and their loved ones in palliative care.

The whole point of a hospice is to create a home-like environment. It is Christmas in most peoples’ homes so it is Christmas in the hospice, said Ryan Wiest, site administrator Carmel Hospice in St. Joseph’s Home, Covenant Health.

“It would be “odd and uncomfortable” if there was no Christmas in the hospice, said Wiest.

In addition to Christmas decorations there are various community programs that include delivering Christmas gifts to those in palliative care. These are often in the form of Christmas stockings holding a range of little gifts including small stuffed animals, chocolates, toiletries and perhaps some games. It is often those little stuffed toys that bring delight to patients, sometimes hugging them, said Wiest.

It is natural for us to celebrate the birth of someone, and as a society we are becoming more comfortable with the idea of honouring the person who has died — remembering their life, said Wiest.

“Their death is a celebration of their life,” he explained.

Someone in palliative care is very much aware they are in the final months or weeks of their life and they often prepare for that. There may be a conscious effort to spend time with loved ones, and that includes creating special memories. These are memories that mean so much to the family left behind after their loved one has passed on, said Wiest.

Even if someone passes away during the Christmas season families often choose to associate that experience with the positive aspects, the wonderful memories, of their loved one, said Wiest.

There is a chapel in the building, which is available for anyone wanting a moment of quiet reflection. There will even be Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services held there, said Wiest. Sometimes those in palliative care choose to participate.

Fresh flowers and gifts, located a block from Carmel Hospice on Third Street NE, provide the decorations at Carmel Hospice.

NEWS PHOTO GILLIAN SLADE Christmas decorations at Carmel Hospice help to create an atmosphere of "home" and assist in making lasting memories for loved ones. There are also community support beds in the facility and that is where Charlotte Welz, 91, is recuperating after a...