Hospice on the road to help others live a life
WaipunaHospice is taking to the road and coming to Katikati.
Adelegation of staffwill be hitting the road in the Waipuna Hospice caravan during Hospice Awareness Week, from May 14 to May 20.
During thatweek, the WaipunaHospice caravan will be parked outside the various hospice shops in the district with the public encouraged to call in and have a chat. It’s Katikati’s turn on Wednesday, May 16.
Waipuna Hospice marketing and fundraising director Sas Pearce said this is as an opportunity for the public to chat to Waipuna Hospice’s knowledgeable and empathetic staff who can help demystify hospice, answer questions and distribute information to take away.
Awareness week was a good time for communities to better understand how Waipuna Hospice can help peoplewho are facing end of life— and assist their families too, she said.
She said people were often not aware that hospices provide care for people of any age, with any life-limiting condition.
Hospice cares for families and their caregivers, both before and after death.
“We want to break some barriers and have people come away from our awareness week thinking about things like advanced care planning and what hospice does.
“We want to encourage people to live life to the full and tackle things on their bucket list.
“So often we hear people say: ‘I would love todo… one day’. We want to encourage people to make today that one day, and do something they love today rather thanwaiting until they are facing end of life,” Sas says.
Waipuna Hospice’s awareness week will focus on bucket lists.
Those visiting the caravans would also be given the opportunity to jot down one of their bucket list items.
“Include your contact details, pop the information in our bucket, and go in the draw to win spot prizes, plus we’ll see if we can work some magic for one lucky winner— helping them tick off their bucket list item,” she said.
The awareness week would also include a bucket list challenge, with participants encouraged to tackle a bucket list item and photograph the activity.
For further details visit www.waipunahospice.org.nz
The third item on Waipuna Hospice’s awareness week calendar is a Planning for the Future symposium— a conversation around the changing landscape of palliative care. The symposium, whichwill be held on May 14, will cover topics such as what is important at the end of life by Dr Yvonne Bray, it’s always too early, until it’s too late by Bay of Plenty District Health Board CEO Helen Mason, plus other topics by local and international palliative care specialists.
Alimited number of tickets are available to the symposium.