By TIM PRESTON — The Independent
Ashland — It all began as “a true grassroots effort,” Susan Hunt said last week as she and hundreds of others marked the 30th anniversary of Community Hospice.
“Thirty years ago the organizers did a good job planning for the needs of the community. They recruited quality employees and in those three decades Community Hospice has helped multiple generations of families,” said Hunt, Community Hospice executive director, as she recalled working with members of a specific family in 1990 and again during 2003.
“Our strength here is our staff and the outstanding job they do,” Hunt said. “They are dedicated to their mission to provide quality care for terminally ill people ... to bring comfort and dignity to people in their final stages of life.”
Hunt says she and the many others who’ve worked and volunteered to help local residents and their families during some of their most difficult personal times are proud of the progress made since the organization began in 1979.
“Hospice has grown and become a very important part of our health care system,” she said, explaining the role of Hospice when aggressive medical treatment is no longer the best option for people with terminal illnesses.
While it began through the work of less than a dozen determined people, Community Hospice now employees 120 health care professionals, Hunt said, later adding 175 people each day are assisted by Hospice in Lawrence and Scioto County, Ohio, as well as Boyd, Martin, Lawrence Greenup, Carter and Elliott counties in Kentucky.
The local agency’s 30th year is also remarkable when you consider the first hospice program in the United States was established only four years earlier, Hunt noted.
“Celebrating a 30-year anniversary in an industry that is only 35 years old is a significant feat for a hospice program.”
The Community Care Center in Ashland, which began operations in 2004, has served an average of 400 people per year, Hunt said. The center provides patients and their family a high degree of assistance with their medical needs and offers comfort as a home-like environment without the often unfriendly feeling of a hospital surrounding.
Hunt said Community Hospice is always appreciative of those who volunteer their time, even if they have no experience in the field.
“The most important skill is the ability to listen, to be there and let people know you care. We do have wonderful volunteers who bring special elements to what we do and are very committed to the organization. And, we have thousands of hospice supporters,” she said. “Our patient satisfaction rate has consistently been one of the highest not only in Kentucky but also in the nation.”
In a letter to hospice supporters and staff, Hunt wrote “Community Hospice, as most hospice programs, began in the hearts of concerned citizens who recognized the need for a more compassionate approach of caring for the dying. For several years we survived on a shoestring budget and from sheer determination of our volunteers. The measure of our hospice remains unchanged from its earliest days. Our purpose is to foster a setting where patients can obtain physical and emotional comfort and their families can receive support and encouragement.”
For more information about Community Hospice resources, as well as volunteer and support opportunities, call (606) 329-1890.
TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2651.
