The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
New Life Hospice to adopt family, nursing home
Mercy Health New Life Hospice has adopted families and nursing facilities to provide for those most in need.
Over the past several years, Mercy Health New Life Hospice, 3500 Kolbe Road in Lorain, has adopted families and nursing facilities to provide food, groceries, clothing and Christmas goodies to those most in need.
This year, Samantha Munyan, hospice outreach coordinator, and Susan O’Keefe, volunteer services coordinator, said they wanted to go especially above and beyond than what they’ve done in the past.
“We’ve served either families or nursing homes,” O’Keefe said. “This year, we wanted to do both.”
Around the holiday season, hospice staff work with social workers in Lorain County to pinpoint the families most in need of help, she said.
They then deliver resources and items to each recipient’s residence, O’Keefe said.
When adopting a nursing facility, the hospice identifies those with limited resources or family connections to gift items for the holidays, Munyan said.
Recipients of resources are often someone receiving care from the hospice or related to someone who is, she said.
“Our program is very unique,” Munyan said. “Unlike a doctor’s office or hospital, our team members serve directly in the patient’s home or assisted living.
“There’s a lot of ability for members to really understand the true dynamic of a family. They see if there’s no food in the fridge or are struggling.”
O’Keefe said although there is concern that some patients may pass away before the holidays, it doesn’t stop the hospice from expediting resources their way.
“It doesn’t stop us from providing benefits to the family,” she said. “In fact, it probably increases our level of urgency.”
Munyan said the hospice’s mission, whether holiday season or not, is to bring good to those in need, especially those who are poor, dying or underserved.
“We’re really stretching our arms around everyone we can this year,” she said.