Thank You Eversource Foundation for Helping our Home Care staff!

April 30, 2020

Home health care is becoming a new front in the national fight against COVID-19 as hospitals discharge patients home and others strive to stay out of them. The World Health Organization just named 2020 the year of the Nurse and Midwife and with National Nurses week right upon us, Pemi-Baker would like to say thank you to all of our Nurses and Licensed Nurse Assistants who go above and beyond, day in and day out.

Home care nurses, therapists, and aides — who normally help an estimated 12 million Americans with everything from bathing to IV medications — are now taking on the difficult and potentially dangerous task of caring for coronavirus patients. While Americans are being told to keep to themselves, home health providers and their clients still largely have to engage in person, often in close proximity. Many agencies are ramping up phone or video visits but these are typically not covered by insurance and even the smartest phone can’t listen to someone’s lungs or get them to the bathroom.

The crisis is testing the industry, but it’s also a moment of pride for workers who have often felt under-recognized. “We have taken the Covid 19 pandemic as an opportunity,” said Danielle Paquette-Horne, PBCH Home Health, Palliative and Hospice Care Director. “We’re getting a chance to establish what can be done different by modifying our daily operations and to show the community that they can continue to count on us to serve them and their family during this pandemic,” Paquette-Horne said.

Coronavirus care at home has expanded rapidly in the last few weeks. Some agencies in most states are now taking COVID-19 patients referred after hospitalization or nursing home care or as an alternative to them, and Pemi-Baker Community Health is rising to the challenge.

Pemi-Baker Community Health’s COVID-19 taskforce meets three times a week to assure Pemi-Baker is up to date with CDC guidelines and like their colleagues in hospitals and nursing homes, PBCH’s home care workers have faced a scarcity of protective equipment.

“We are very grateful to the EVERSOURCE Foundation for their recent grant to help us buy more protective supplies for our nurses, LNAs and patients,” said Chandra Engelbert, Pemi-Baker Community Health, CEO. “To have a community partner we can rely on when our non-profit faces these challenges, is crucial and priceless,” said Engelbert, “Countless Pemi-Baker friends have also sewn cloth face masks for our staff and patients, (double prevention), and we want to thank them as well.”

To help raise funds, Pemi-Baker Community Health is holding a ‘NO-SHOW AUCTION’ throughout the month of May. With over 70 items to bid on, Raffles to invest in and Specialty Services to donate towards, they are hoping to make up for the fact that they had to cancel their largest fundraiser of the year. Please visit www.32auctions.com/PBCHMay2020 to participate.

For over 52 years, Pemi-Baker Community Health has served family, friends and neighbors in 18+ towns and they couldn’t have done it without the generosity of individuals and businesses alike. Pemi-Baker would like to thank the following businesses for sponsoring the NO-SHOW AUCTION: Dumont Construction Inc., Mid-State Health Center, Northway Bank, Speare Memorial Hospital, NEEBCO, MatrixCare by ResMed, Noyes Insurance, Service Credit Union, Insurance 24, Steve and Carole Osmer, Brian Weeks Electric, Highline Acoustics, Deb Hills Cleaning Services, Peabody & Smith Realty.

~By Anna Swanson

National Healthcare Decision Day. Have You Signed Your Forms Yet?

April 16, 2020

COVID-19 crisis puts thoughts of health care decisions in different light.

Pemi-Baker Community Health can help!

National Healthcare Decisions Day has been held on April 16 for twelve years. Yet, April 16, 2020 is a very different time than any of those previous years. The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way Americans are living – and the focus on advance care planning has taken on a profound meaning for many people.

Pemi-Baker Community Health and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization want to acknowledge NHDD by stressing the importance of talking with your loved ones about your health care wishes and documenting those wishes by completing an advance directive. In fact, given the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) across the country, completing your advance directive – or reviewing and updating your care preferences if you have an advance directive – could be timely.

“Given the uncertainty that we find ourselves coping with during the COVID-19 public health crisis, taking time to talk about the care you would or would not want with your loved ones is a worthwhile activity for all of us to undertake,” said NHPCO President and CEO Edo Banach. “Far too many Americans put off talking about their health care wishes and then they find themselves in a medical crisis and it may be too late to ensure that you get the care you want.”

Advance care planning includes completing an advance directive (also known as a living will) and appointing a healthcare power of attorney (someone to make healthcare decisions for you if you are unable to speak for yourself). Then, most importantly, sharing your decisions with your family and loved ones.

Visit the Pemi-Baker Community Health website www.pbhha.org to download these free resources. Lisa Fortson, MSW, Pemi-Baker’s Hospice and Palliative Care Supervisor, stated that, “Pemi-Baker’s Social Work department is available for questions about the forms by calling 603-536-2232. It’s also important to remember that having these thoughtful discussions with your family and documenting your wishes can be a gift to your loved ones should you become critically ill and unable to speak for yourself. Your priorities will be clear to them.”

~ by Anna Swanson

Grieving Cut Short-helpful ways to cope with loss during this pandemic

April 7, 2020

As we are enduring this COVID-19 pandemic, a memory from my youth appeared in my mind a few days ago. In 1964, I got my first real job- one that I actually got a paycheck for. I was a sophomore in high school. Minimum wage was $1.00 an hour at that time! I was hired as the “library page” for our village library. Every weekday, after school, I worked for an hour, putting the returned books back on the shelves and relocating the ones that browsers (not yet a computer term) had misplaced. One of the titles that piqued my interest was RATS, LICE AND HISTORY: A Chronicle of Disease, Plagues and Pestilence by Hans Zinsser. It was first published in 1935, so it was probably already thought of as “an old title” by 1964. It was written intelligently and with scientific detail, but its author purposely wrote in a style that could easily be understood by the general public. The book was the eighth best-selling title in non-fiction noted by THE NEW YORK TIMES for 1935. A Wikipedia search will also inform you that several medical professionals credited the work to inspiring them to enter upon their chosen profession. The book focuses on the history of the disease of typhus and its deadly effects. It has been regarded as a biography of an illness. Besides Dr. Zinsser’s work, I was also reminded on Edgar Allen Poe’s THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH and Thomas Mann’s DEATH IN VENICE, fictional works that deal with similar phenomena.

We are already feeling the loss our normal routine and activity due to the precautions necessitated by the appearance of this virus. Staying at home is quite the discipline. In my current profession as Hospice Chaplain and Bereavement Counselor, I cannot help but be moved deeply, even to the point of tears, as I watch the nightly news. A nurse in an urban hospital companions a man who is dying and becomes the messenger to his family, assuring them that he died peacefully. They were unable to be with him because of preventative precautions. A prohibition on closeness when closeness is most needed. Bodies are transferred to refrigerated trucks, and I wonder how long it will be before their families can claim them- if that is even a possibility.

Other persons continue to die of other things in this time, but this virus impacts on everyone. Two Sundays ago, the forty-nine year-old middle son of acquaintances of mine died of a cardiac aneurysm. Speaking with his mother, I learned they were permitted only a brief prayer service at an outside shrine on the grounds of their church. Only his parents, his spouse and children, and his two siblings with their spouses and children were present. This very popular, well-loved, and gregarious family are bereft of the very social supports that could help to assuage their sudden and shocking loss. We are all touched by this experience and may very well carry the heaviness of it within ourselves for a long while.

In times when we are deprived of the comfort of social interaction in the face of loss and grief, small things become important. If you have lost someone during this time (whether or not from COVID-19), perhaps these suggestions might help. Create a small sacred space in your home to honor your loved one. If it helps to place a photo of your loved one there, do that. If there are other mementos, use those as well. Use candles safely. Hannaford is still selling flowers- and we can still access food markets. If you have a spiritual practice or a religious tradition, make use of its words and rituals. If your loved one enjoyed music, listen to it. If they delighted in favorite foods, cook a meal to honor their memory. See if you can stream a movie they enjoyed.

If you are staying at home with family members, cherish the intimacy this time can offer you. Reach out to others who knew your loved one- email, texting, phone calls, or FaceTime. If you need comfort and help, ask for it. Make use of what can be available to you now, even in these extraordinary circumstances. Above all, allow yourself your feelings and your expression of them. Tears and groans are perfectly acceptable. I highly recommend (what I call) “therapeutic screams”- inside the car is the best place. Hopefully, we will find a time in our future when what we have not been able to do now will be able to be done later. So many people are assuring us that we will come through this- and we will! By the way, Dr. Zinsser’s book is still available!

~By Guy Tillson, MDiv, MA-Pemi-Baker Community Health Hospice Chaplain & Bereavement Counselor

Coping During Social Distancing

March 20, 2020

Since we’re all staying home—and it’s looking like we will be for at least a while— you might be starting to wonder how exactly you’re going to fill up your time. Pemi-Baker has some ideas with digital gatherings and events. But it’s also important to stay as connected as possible with family, friends, and neighbors, give back to your community, get the material supplies you need, and find new ways to keep yourself entertained.

Entertainment: Explore the World, Virtually

With a library card, you can continue to borrow digital resources like e-books, audiobooks, music, TV shows, movies, and more. Visit your local library’s website to find out which services they partner with. OverDrive/Libby, Hoopla and Kanopy are some popular ones. Now’s also the perfect time to check out video streaming services, download a few podcasts, or explore the depths of YouTube. Cultural institutions are moving museum and art gallery exhibits and performances online too, but if you just need a break for something mindless and happy, animal videos are the way to go. The Cincinnati Zoo is offering daily Facebook Live video streams of Fiona the hippo, and Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium filmed its pretty adorable penguins roaming and visiting other exhibits after closure.

Remember to Love Thy Neighbor Now

Now is the time to reach out to one another. Do you know the people who live on your block or in your apartment building? If you can’t call, put a note on their door with your name and phone number. Explain that you live next door or down the street. Tell them you want them to feel free to ask for help. Many people are uncomfortable asking for help. Instead of just saying, “Do you need help?” offer to do something specific for them.

There are many things you can do. Before you run to the grocery store, drug store or a restaurant to pick up take-out, call and ask your neighbors if they need you to pick up something for them. Volunteer to walk their dog or would it be helpful for them if you put their mail and newspaper beside their front door? Does their yard need maintenance? Ask if they would like you to start raking or maybe putting their trash out or bringing the empty cans back into the garage would be helpful. If you have extra soap, toilet paper or other staples, leave a care package at your neighbor’s door. If you’re looking for ways to engage your children, have them help with some of these ideas.

Don’t Forget Self-care to Manage Your Stress and Anxiety.

It can seem like you don’t have time for things like self-care. But this situation is a marathon — not a sprint – and it’s important to take care of yourself throughout. Take a 10-minute break to do some light breathing exercises or yoga. Purposeful, mindful breathing has been shown to be an effective tool against anxiety. Right now, the meditation app Headspace is offering some free tools picked just for this time, and it’s offering totally free subscriptions for healthcare workers. Www.Calm.com is another great site and Balance is a meditation app you can download on your phone.

Consider limiting your coronavirus news consumption. It’s important to stay informed, but refreshing your feeds constantly for tidbits of news on the coronavirus isn’t going to prove productive. Instead, check the CDC website for updates periodically and try to spend most of your day focused on other things.

Talk to your friends and family. It’s important that even though this situation leads to increased social isolation that you stay in touch with people. Don’t be afraid to reach out to a friend for a phone call — or better yet — a video chat.

Pemi-Baker Community Health is Continuing Their Important Services.

Here at Pemi Baker Community Health and Hospice we take our patient’s health seriously and also the health of ourselves and our community. We want to assure you that we are taking measures to prevent the spread of the virus into our community. We are following both the CDC and the NH Department of Health’s recommendations for healthcare workers. In order to meet the needs of our home care and hospice patients and to minimize vulnerable patients from going out into the community, our field staff will continue making home visits.

We have taken steps to prioritize our Rehab Therapy Patients at Boulder Point. To minimize exposure and help our patients continue their physical and occupational therapy we have: Limited entrance to our facility to patients only, suspended all memberships and swim lessons, implemented social distancing with staff by working from home and separating work stations and surfaces are wiped down after each patient with CDC recommended bleach solutions as well as always washing hands after contact with surfaces and patients.

Please reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns by calling our office: 603-536-2232

Be well and stay safe.

~Anna Swanson

COVID-19 UPDATES

March 10, 2020

Direct link for NH Department of Health & Human Services Covid-19 Website

Data from Johns Hopkins showing state-by-state trajectory of new cases to monitor reopening resurgence

January 5th, 2021: Phases for NH COVID-19 Vaccine distribution

September 15th, 2020: CDC Introduces a New Web Page on How to Select, Wear and Clean Your Mask

September 1st, 2020: Pemi-Baker Leadership team announces memberships and aqua classes will be discontinued until the facility can safely hold group programs.

In consideration of the ongoing COVID-19 changes as well as the Boulder Point facility needs, it has been decided to discontinue our membership, swim lessons and joint mobility programs indefinitely. One-on-one, Aquatic Physical Therapy will continue and it is our intention to resume our classes when renovations are complete and we have a safe plan of return established. This was not an easy decision but it is an opportunity to begin doing the needed repairs and upgrades to the facility starting with the HVAC system, which was approved by the PBCH Board.

We want to publicly thank Liz, Kristin, Anna, Callie, Mary and Diana for all their hard work, dedication and energy they continuously put into their classes! We look forward to the day when we can bring these programs back.

July 1st, 2020: Pemi-Baker Leadership team announces memberships and aqua classes will remain closed through the end of August.

“At this time the Pemi-Baker Community Health Leadership Team and COVID 19 TaskForce have decided to delay re-opening of our aquatics classes and memberships until the end of summer. Factors taken into consideration on this decision include the small size of our Locker Rooms and Front Entrance, staffing required for cleaning and monitoring the State of New Hampshire’s infection rates as state-wide re-opening occurs. We continue to grow our outpatient therapy census in the safest way possible for our patients.”

June 22nd, 2020: FDA advises consumers not to use hand sanitizer products manufactured
by Eskbiochem. FDA Article about Eskbiochem

May 20th, 2020: Direct link for NH COVID-19 REOPENING GUIDANCE

May 18th, 2020: New direct link for COVID-19 Testing Questions and Sign up

May 12th, 2020: New Covid-19 Testing Sites

Concord, NH – Tomorrow, the State of New Hampshire is launching a new testing site in Concord, NH. The testing location will be at 28 Stickney Avenue and will be open seven days a week 11:00 AM — 7:00 PM. Residents with any COVID-19 symptoms, with underlying health conditions, over the age of 60, or who are healthcare workers can request and reserve a test.

Interested individuals can sign up and reserve a test by going to the online portal here. They can also email covidtesting@dhhs.nh.gov, call the COVID-19 Coordinating Office at 603-271-5980, or by going through a health care provider.

The state’s volunteer medical corps, MMRS, is also partnering with the New Hampton Fire Department to increase community-wide access to testing by mobilizing a one-day testing site in New Hampton on Saturday, May 16, at the New Hampton Fire Department at 26 Intervale Drive. Register Now!

“We are ramping up our capabilities and rapidly expanding access to testing,” said Governor Chris Sununu. “This is one of our top priorities, and we are making huge strides every day.”

The COVID-19 Testing Registration portal is key to the State’s ongoing efforts to increase access to COVID-19 testing by ensuring qualifying residents can schedule a test without a referral from a medical provider.

There are now seven drive through testing sites as part of the Community-Based COVID-19 Testing Program. The fixed drive through testing locations are in Claremont, Concord, Lancaster, Milford, Plymouth, Tamworth and Rochester.

April 7th, 2020: Stay at Home Reminders-Resources to call for home grocery delivery

NEED HELP?

Anyone over the age of 60 or anyone who has a compromised immune system that may make you vulnerable to the affects of COVID 19 can get help getting groceries!

Call the number below that corresponds to the town in which you live. The person who answers the phone will take your order, if no one is available, please leave a voicemail with name and number. Once the shopper fills your order it will be delivered to your home. Prior to reaching your home, you will receive a phone call with the cost of your order. We ask that you tape a check to your door and we will leave the groceries at your doorstep. If you are unable to tape a check to your door please discuss with the delivery person to make an alternative plan. If desired, your receipt can be emailed, texted or potentially mailed to you. The receipt must go back with delivery person to store to pay for your order.

Shopping and delivery days will be Tuesdays and Thursdays

WHO TO CALL:

Plymouth: Plymouth Police Department- 603-536-1804

Ashland & Holderness: Theresa Melanson-603-833-6291

Campton, Thornton & Ellsworth: Food Pantry-603-960-1127

Rumney & Wentworth: Laurie Coffin-603-786-2468

If you have been diagnosed with COVID 19 or have been quarantined by a physician please let the person who is taking your order know.

March 17, 2020: Continuing Important Services

Here at Pemi-Baker Community Health, one of our core values is remaining “Rock Solid” by providing home health care as well as rehab therapy regardless of what challenges come our way. In light of the developing COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we would like to inform you of what actions we are taking to prioritize our patients.

To minimize exposure to Rehab patients at Boulder Point:

Limited entrance to our facility to patients only
All memberships and swim lessons have been suspended until further notice
Social distancing has been implemented with staff by working from home when it is possible and by separating work stations
Surfaces are wiped down after each patient with CDC recommended bleach solution
Washing hands after contact with surfaces and patients

Home care and Hospice employees have also taken actions to minimize exposure.

Here at Pemi Baker Community Health and Hospice we take our patient’s health seriously and also the health of ourselves and our community. We want to assure you that we are taking measures to prevent the spread of the virus into our community. We are following both the CDC and the NH Department of Health’s recommendations for healthcare workers. In order to meet the needs of our home care and hospice patients and to minimize vulnerable patients from going out into the community, our field staff will continue making home visits.

March 16, 2020: PBCH Suspending All Fitness Memberships

In an effort to work with the CDC guidelines and follow their recommendation to limit exposure, PBCH will be suspending ALL membership classes and programs until further notice. Moving forward auto pays will not be collected until the resumption of services. We consider you a part of our Pemi-Baker family and your safety remains our highest priority. We feel this is best way to keep our members, patients, and staff safe from unnecessary exposure to COVID-19. Pemi-Baker’s Homecare, Hospice, Physical & Occupational Services continue at this time.

March 13, 2020: Children’s Swim Lessons Postponed Through April

The COVID-19 Taskforce has met and decided to postpone our aquatic swim lessons program beginning Monday, March 16^th, for the next 4-6 weeks. Pemi-Baker Community Health will pro-rate 5 weeks due to this change in the schedule.

Pemi-Baker Community Health will re-evaluate in 4-6 weeks to determine when the aquatic swim lessons will resume.

Please contact Crystal, a member of our COVID Taskforce, if you have any further questions, cgonzalez@pbhha.org or 603-536-2232.

March 10,2020

Pemi-Baker Community Health is committed to serving our patients in New Hampshire and keeping you informed about local updates with respect to COVID-19, also known as the Novel Coronavirus 2019.

Your safety is our priority, and our infection control team is continuing to ensure that patients can continue to receive safe and exceptional home health care. PBCH has not altered our operations but are conducting screenings according to the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As members of your local community, we strive to act in the best interests of patient, employee, and community by complying with CDC guidelines and taking precautions as necessary.

We have assembled the following resources to help you stay informed and protect yourself during this developing situation:

‘There is no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread to humans through the use of pools or hot tubs. Proper operation, maintenance, and disinfection (e.g., with chlorine and bromine) of pools and hot tubs should remove or inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19.’ ~CDC

Helpful Precautions:

1) NO HANDSHAKING! Use a fist bump, slight bow, elbow bump, etc.

2) Use ONLY your knuckle to touch light switches. elevator buttons, etc.. Lift the gasoline dispenser with a paper towel or use a disposable glove.

3) Open doors with your closed fist or hip – do not grasp the handle with your hand, unless there is no other way to open the door. Especially important on bathroom and post office/commercial doors.

4) Use disinfectant wipes at the stores when they are available, including wiping the handle and child seat in grocery carts.

5) Wash your hands with soap for 10-20 seconds and/or use a greater than 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer whenever you return home from ANY activity that involves locations where other people have been.

6) Keep a bottle of sanitizer available at each of your home’s entrances. AND in your car for use after getting gas or touching other contaminated objects when you can’t immediately wash your hands.

7) If possible, cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue and discard. Use your elbow only if you have to. The clothing on your elbow will contain infectious virus that can be passed on for up to a week or more!

8) Disinfect your phone and tablets daily!

Thank You New Hampshire Electric Co-op Foundation

February 28, 2020

Pemi-Baker Community Health wants to say THANK YOU to the New Hampshire Electric Co-op Foundation for a very generous grant for a new commercial washer and dryer! This is a huge upgrade for our facility and was sorely needed. If NH Electric Co-op is your utility company you can help. Funding for grants such as these come from NH Electric Co-op members who participate in the Round-Up Program and have their monthly electric bills rounded up to the nearest dollar.

Founded in 2006, the purpose of the New Hampshire Electric Co-op Foundation is to improve the quality of life for their members and the communities they serve. As a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), the NHEC Foundation provides grants to charitable organizations, throughout NHEC’s service territory that are designed to promote health and social well-being programs, enrichment programs and/or educational programs, hunger programs, cultural art programs and academic achievement programs.

We are so lucky to have such a great business in our community!

Pemi-Baker Receives Grant from Heart & Hands Thrift Shop

January 28, 2020

Pemi-Baker Community Health recently received a grant from the Heart & Hands Thrift Shop for a new pool exercise platform. “We’re very excited to have this platform for our therapy pool. It allows children to stand in deeper water while doing their aqua therapy and is also used by our taller aqua aerobics participants in the deep end,” said Kathryn Schwartzer, PT, DPT.

The Heart & Hands Thrift Shop, located at 8 Maple Street in Meredith, is a collaboration of three Meredith Churches: Trinity Episcopal Church, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church and the First Congregational Church. The thrift shop is run by volunteers and one paid employee, with all the money raised coming from donated items. “We have given over $220,000 in grants and scholarships since opening our doors in August of 2017,”said Lisa Clark, Heart & Hands volunteer. Scholarships and grants have been given to many non-profits in the Lakes Region including local students and student programs, summer camp participants, the Meredith Food Pantry and now Pemi-Baker Community Health is a lucky recipient.

Pemi-Baker Community Health would like to thank those involved with the Heart & Hands Thrift Shop as well as those who have donated to the shop over the years. Community generosity is not just about giving, it’s about making a difference. Thanks to you, Pemi-Baker Community Health and many other non-profits in the area can continue to make a difference touching the hearts of your families and neighbors.

Pemi-Baker Community Health is a non-profit visiting nurse association servicing 18 towns in central and northern New Hampshire. For over 52 years it has been the home care provider of choice for Grafton County. In addition to at-home healthcare (VNA) services, they also provide hospice and palliative care, on site physical and occupational therapy, fitness memberships, Bereavement and Caregiver Support groups and other community outreach programs.

~by Anna Swanson

The Full Impact of Grief

January 16, 2020

The word “bereavement” is something that we normally associate with our experience of the death of someone we have known, loved, and cared for. The word, however, is actually connected with the adjective “bereft” which means “deprived of” or “left without”, so it can actually refer to any experience of loss, whether small or great, temporary or permanent. The great pioneer in the field of death and dying, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, frequently said, “All of life is loss”. Our experience of life is filled with change and change moves us from various sets of experiences to others.

When I found it needful and helpful for myself to attend a Bereavement Group following the deaths of my father (2011) and my brother (2013), the grief counselor who facilitated the group said, “A loss is any experience of the absence of someone or something that has been a part of your world. That absence has changed your vision and perception of your world as you had known it and your experience of it.”

If you think about that for a bit, we are experiencing loss frequently in our lives on all sorts of levels. These can be seemingly small and temporary. There is a commercial currently running on television of a thirty- or forty-something year old white collar worker (wearing a necktie) probably just ready to leave for work. He is peering at the faucet in his kitchen sink which is NOT running. His exasperated remark is, “THIS isn’t on the schedule!” Maybe to make this more personal, consider your own reaction and behavior when you cannot find your car keys! Relatively small, insignificant, and temporary losses, perhaps- but they alter the individual’s perception of an efficient and smoothly-running world.

When we do endure the death of someone we have loved, or if we are the victim of a crime or a natural disaster, or if we have lost our job, or if we are coming to terms with the loss of our personal powers through illness or aging, we are in a state of bereavement whether we are conscious of it or accepting of it or not. Kubler-Ross also used the word “denial” to describe an experience where we avoid recognizing the loss. It is a way of defending ourselves against our own feelings of powerlessness in not knowing how to handle the change of our world-view. Sadly, many persons decide simply to “Soldier on” or “Return to business as usual”.

After a death, a very common reaction is “It’s all over now. I don’t need to bother with anything more.” But loss has far-reaching effects on our lives, touching on our emotions, our physical health, our material and financial security, our social interactions and relationships with others, our occupational and recreational involvements, and our spirituality or life-direction. These effects can be uncomfortable, stressful, and even debilitating.

Beginning on Monday, February 3, 2020, Pemi-Baker Community Health will be offering a new Bereavement Group series entitled “THE FULL IMPACT OF GRIEF”. Each session will look at a particular aspect of our lives to gain a greater understanding of how our loss has affected that area of our existence. We will explore ways we can process our responses and reactions. The group will meet in the Grady Conference Room at Speare Memorial Hospital, beginning promptly at 12:30pm and concluding by 2:00pm. The group will meet weekly through Monday, March 16, 2020. There is no fee for attendance.

Pemi-Baker Community Health will also be resuming its monthly Drop-In Bereavement Group which meets on the LAST WEDNESDAY of each month in the Main Conference Room at Pemi-Baker’s offices at Boulder Point in Plymouth. This group is less formal with no set curriculum or session topics, though take-home reading materials are made available. The first session of the Drop-In Bereavement group for this new year is on Wednesday, January 29, 2020, beginning promptly at 5:30pm and wrapping up by 7:00pm. Again, there is no fee for attendance.

Both Groups are facilitated by Guy Tillson, MDiv, MA, Bereavement Counselor and Hospice Spiritual Counselor for Pemi-Baker Community Health. He may be contacted at gtillson@pbhha.org or at 603 536-2232, Extension 206, if you have any questions or concerns.

~by Guy Tillson

Pemi-Baker Community Health Recognized as a ‘We Honor Veterans’ Partner

November 11, 2019

It may surprise many people to learn that 25 percent of those who die every year in the U.S. are Veterans. To help provide care and support that reflect the important contributions made by these men and women, Pemi-Baker Community Health (PBCH) has become a national partner of We Honor Veterans, a pioneering campaign developed by National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

As a We Honor Veterans Partner, PBCH will implement ongoing Veteran-centered education for their staff and volunteers to help improve the care they provide to the Veterans they proudly serve. The nation is seeing many of the Veterans who served in World War II and Korean pass away—and the number of deaths of Vietnam Veterans is beginning to rise.

The We Honor Veterans campaign provides tiered recognition to organizations that demonstrate a systematic commitment to improving care for Veterans. “Partners” can assess their ability to serve Veterans and, using resources provided as part of the campaign, integrate best practices for providing end-of-life care to Veterans into their organization. By recognizing the unique needs of our nation’s Veterans who are facing a life-limiting illness, Pemi-Baker Community Health & Hospice is better able to accompany and guide Veterans and their families toward a more peaceful ending. And in cases where there might be some specific needs related to the Veteran’s military service, combat experience or other traumatic events, PBCH will find tools to help support those they are caring for.

“We thank Pemi-Baker Community Health for partnering in the We Honor Veterans program,” says NHPCO President & CEO Ed Banach. “We Honor Veterans partners are committed to providing quality Veteran-centric care to the Veteran patients they serve. They understand how a Veteran’s military service, combat experience or other traumatic events, could impact their end-of-life experience.”

The resources of We Honor Veterans focus on respectful inquiry, compassionate listening, and grateful acknowledgment, coupled with Veteran-centric education of health care staff caring for Veterans. To learn more about We Honor Veterans or to support this important work via a secure, online donation, please visit www.wehonorveterans.org.
“VA shares a common goal with our nation’s hospices, and that is to provide the best possible care specifically tailored for Veterans, meeting their goals of care in their preferred setting. As we focus on working together and unite our services and skills, We Honor Veterans will channel our combined strengths directly to Veterans – wherever they are receiving care,” added Banach.

With 52 years of experience, serving over 900 clients from 18 towns in central and northern New Hampshire, Pemi-Baker Community Health is the home care provider of choice for Grafton County. Services include at-home healthcare (VNA), hospice and palliative care, on-site physical and occupational therapy and fitness memberships including a fitness gym and fitness classes in our 90-degree therapy pool. PBCH is located at 101 Boulder Point Drive, Suite 3, Plymouth, NH. To contact us please call: 603-536-2232 or email: info@pbhha.org Visit our website: www.pbhha.org and like our Facebook Page: @PBCH4

~By Anna Swanson

Grieving In a Season of Celebration

November 6, 2019

Christmas decorations started being displayed in stores as early as August. It’s now autumn, so the awareness that “the holidays” will soon be upon us is unavoidable. Pumpkins sold in October became Halloween Jack-o-lanterns. Pumpkins sold in November will become the fixings for the pies for our Thanksgiving dinner dessert. Some years ago, a now-deceased friend of mine made the comment that “the holidays” were “The Bermuda Triangle of heightened family dysfunction.” Though we’ve usually thought of the holidays as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s; traditions with the winter celebrations of the Solstice, Yule, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa probably have their own versions of holiday angst.
The Christmas movies that seem to run perpetually on the Hallmark Channel seem to poke at the discomfort of holiday stress with their standard and predictable happy endings. TV series will also portray something of holiday craziness. In 1995, the movie “Home For the Holidays’ unfolded the story of a museum restoration artist flying home for Thanksgiving with her affable parents, an eccentric maiden aunt, a black-sheep-of-the-family gay son, and an embittered sister. The star-studded cast included Holly Hunter, Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Geraldine Chaplain, and Robert Downey, Jr. Further back in 1968, there was a cinematic telling of a highly-conflicted medieval Christmas, “The Lion In Winter.” It won Katharine Hepburn her third Academy Award, and its own star-studded cast also featured Peter O’Toole, Anthony Hopkins, and Timothy Dalton. These powerful characters engage in some very brutal backbiting and hostile verbal exchange that is memorable in its cleverness. As entertaining as these portrayals might be, the element of recognition that strikes us is the familiar experience of holiday-related stress.

Lest you think I’m a “Bah! Humbug!” Scrooge-like person, I want to assure you that I normally enjoy the holidays, despite the pressures of preparation and the cranked-up party-going that is a challenge to my normally introverted personality. In my forty-plus years of work in various helping professions, I have noticed that the holidays are sometimes dreaded rather than welcomed by more people than we might imagine. In our own lived real experience, the holidays become even more difficult if we have endured a significant loss. These losses can include the death of someone we have loved, the breakup of a relationship, the loss of employment, relocation, witnessing the debilitating disability of someone we are caring for, or financial or material disaster. It’s not for nothing that Elvis sang of a “Blue Christmas” in his throaty and soulful baritone.

Because the holidays can be especially difficult for persons grieving losses such as those noted above, Pemi-Baker Community Health & Hospice will be offering TWO Monday times to meet with those in need of support throughout the holiday season. The groups will start before Thanksgiving and conclude after New Year’s: November 18 and 25; December 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30, 2019; and, January 6, 2020. The daytime afternoon group (12:30-2pm), will meet in the Grady Conference Room at Speare Memorial Hospital, 16 Hospital Road, Plymouth, NH. The early evening group (5:30-7pm), will gather in the Main Conference Room at Pemi-Baker Community Health, 101 Boulder Point Drive, Suite 3, Plymouth, NH. There is no cost for attendance.

Topics at the sessions will include: emotional self-care during the holiday season; choosing (or NOT choosing) to attend gatherings and celebrations; not feeling like “making merry”; recollections and reminiscences of previous holidays; suggestions for home rituals to remember loved ones; and, entering upon a new year without someone who is no longer present.

The groups will be facilitated by Guy Tillson, MDiv, MA, Bereavement Counselor for Pemi-Baker Community Health. If you have questions about the program or are interested in participating in one of the groups, please contact Guy by email at gtillson@pbhha.org or by phone at (603) 536-2232, Extension 206 so that adequate preparations for the groups can be made.

Please consider donating to Pemi-Baker Community Health as the holidays approach. If you order gifts on line, Amazon will give a percentage of your purchases directly to Pemi-Baker Community health by using Amazon Smile. Visit www.smile.amazon.com and choose Pemi-Baker Community Health. Giving Tuesday, December 3rd, is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and is a movement to create an international day of charitable giving at the beginning of the Christmas and holiday season. Visit our website to give: www.pbhha.org. Thank you from the team at Pemi-Baker!

~By Guy Tillson, MDiv, MA