tidewell recognizes key role of volunteers during national
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November is National Hospice and Home Care Month, a time to raise awareness about the importance of hospice and home care for patients facing the challenges of advanced illness. Hospice is not a place but high-quality care that enables patients and families to focus on living as fully as possible despite a life-limiting illness.
The story of Tidewell Hospice, Empath Health and hospice in general, cannot be told without recognizing the importance of volunteers. Tidewell began more than 40 years ago as Hospice of Sarasota County, an all-volunteer organization. While Tidewell Hospice is now part of Empath Health, an organization employing more than 2,000 employees and serving more than 10,000 people daily, volunteers are still at the heart of the services provided to patients and their loved ones that make hospice unique in healthcare.
In Fiscal Year 2021, Tidewell’s army of volunteers provided more than 55,760 hours of service. While this number is lower than usual, it is impressive in that this service was provided despite many barriers, particularly limited access to patients because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some other contributions made by Tidewell volunteers in Fiscal Year 2021:
• 476 veteran pinning ceremonies
• 8,880 hours of making PPE and comfort items for our patients
• 17,578 hours of staffing for Tidewell Treasures
• 12,750 hours of assistance at our Hospice Houses
• More than 35,000 individual activities reported We are so grateful for our volunteers and cannot wait to see you in person again.
Tidewell Hospice - Newsletter for Volunteers
November 2021
Tidewell recognizes key role of volunteers during National Hospice and Home Care Month
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Earn service time through volunteer webinars
Tidewell Foundation, area restaurants providing Thanksgiving mealsCOMPASSIONATE COMMUNICATION, 11 am, November 3 – This
webinar will give you skills to help you communicate more compassionately with your patients and in your everyday lives. Join Kelly Rice, senior coordinator of social workers, as she shares practical tips on reflective listening and the importance of using open-ended questions while working with your patients.
GRIEF DURING THE HOLIDAYS, 11 am, November 9 – Whether you are a volunteer looking to provide support for the grieving patient or find that the holidays trigger our own feelings of grief, our Tidewell grief specialists are ready to offer wisdom and guidance. Join Tidewell Director of Adult Grief Services Callie Weber in a discussion of grief during the holiday season and possible new ways of observing what can be a difficult time for those who have experienced a loss.
For the second year, the Tidewell Foundation is connecting with local favorites Grove, Pier 22, and Morton’s Gourmet Market to provide individual Thanksgiving meals for our hospice and home health patients and their families.
As you plan Thanksgiving dinner for your family, please consider donating a dinner to a local family in our care. Through your kindness, Tidewell’s patients and families will enjoy a stress-free meal while spending quality time with their loved ones. Each donated meal will be pre-made, ready to heat and serve and hand-delivered to Tidewell patients and their families in time for Thanksgiving dinner.
Last year, through the incredible support of our catering partners and our colleagues, volunteers,and donors, Tidewell delivered more than 340 meals to our patients and families.
Purchase a meal at TidewellFoundation.org/Thanksgiving-Meal-Donation or donate $25 and a meal will be purchased on your behalf.
BULLETIN BOARD | EVENTS AND EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIESTidewell volunteers are invited to join us for the upcoming webinars on Zoom. Your volunteer coordinator will be emailing you the links to register the week before the event is to occur. It is a great way to stay engaged and earn volunteer service time! We will credit the time to your account for each webinar you “attend.” Contact your volunteer coordinator if you have any questions. Thank you!
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Administration Sarasota-Rand5955 Rand Blvd.Sarasota, FL 34238(941) 552-7500
Arcadia917 North Arcadia Ave.Arcadia, FL 34266(863) 231-3300
Bradenton3355 26th St. W.Bradenton, FL 34205(941) 782-4900
Ellenton4151 37th St. E.Palmetto, FL 34221(941) 845-3000
Englewood12034 North Access Road Port Charlotte, FL 33981(941) 548-2300
Lakewood Ranch6310 Capital Drive, Ste. 100Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202(941) 552-5900
Port Charlotte1144 Veronica St.Port Charlotte, FL 33952(941) 979-4300
Sarasota-Southgate3550 S. Tamiami Trail Sarasota, FL 34239(941) 487-3100
Venice220 Wexford Blvd.Venice, FL 34293(941) 441-2000
Locations
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Introducing New Englewood Volunteer Coordinator Tashara Cruel
Captain finds new home with Tidewell volunteer
Tashara Cruel is excited to begin her new role as volunteer coordinator in Englewood. Tashara began her career at Tidewell in 2019 as a social worker on the long-term care team in Ellenton. Tashara relished her role as a social worker and has found joy bringing light to her patients and being the bridge between patients and their families.
Having had the experience of working with some volunteers throughout her time in long-term care, Tashara understands the integral role each volunteer possesses. Tashara has gracefully and eagerly stepped in to conduct veterans pinnings when a volunteer was unable to visit facilities as well as facilitated virtual contact between patients and their families.
Captain, a 15-year-old Shih Tzu mix, arrived at Vintage Paws Sanctuary, a senior dog rescue in Sarasota, shortly after his owner passed away under Tidewell Hospice care. Tidewell Volunteer Coordinator Jessica Simmons knew Captain had been his owner’s best friend and loyal companion until the very end. Two elderly men bonded in love. But Captain’s job was over. He was alone and in search of a new home with a collection of neglected medical and dental conditions.
Captain was checked out by a vet and diagnosed with abscessed teeth, a detached third eyelid and a serious heart murmur. But he had spunk.
Enter Susan Culliton. Over the years, Susan had owned several rescues. But by 2016, she was pawless for the first time. Susan and her husband, Tom Culliton, moved to Sarasota just as the pandemic hit. When it was “safe” to come out, Susan gravitated to what she loved most: “old people and old dogs.” She completed her Tidewell volunteer training and her Vintage Paws volunteer orientation. The next phase of her retirement was about to unfold.
Susan and Captain met in the Cuddle Room at Vintage Paws. Susan was smitten and, unbeknownst to him, Tom’s carefully-orchestrated retirement lifestyle had just changed. They were going to be a family. Now, life is good for Captain. Four out of his five remaining teeth have been extracted, his eyelid has been reattached and his heart murmur is being treated with meds. He has a standing barber appointment every month.
Susan and Tom are blessed. The Captain is owning the block and meeting new canine friends on his multiple daily walks, eating three square meals, sleeping until he decides to grace them with his presence and frolicking like a kid in the safety and security of his forever home. And did we mention that he has gained 2 pounds in two months? Not bad for an old guy with one tooth!
Born in Jamaica, Tashara moved to the United States when she was 11. Tashara obtained a Bachelor’s in Social Work with a focus on Child Welfare from Florida Atlantic University and then obtained her Master of Social Work with a focus on aging population. Tashara began her career working at Henderson Behavioral Health in West Palm Beach, where she was part of a new program designed to help youth with mental and behavioral struggles and their families pay for extracurricular activities as part of their therapy. From there, she moved to Vita Nova, where she helped young adults who were experiencing homelessness prepare for and find stable employment. In 2019, Tashara and her new husband moved from Palm Beach County to Sarasota.
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A message for Complementary Services volunteers
Thank You for Supporting the Tidewell Trot
Thank you for your overwhelming response to the Reiki classes offered. I am thrilled to report Reiki is back with patients in many areas; results are always amazing.
If you are interested in taking Reiki, please let me know. We continue to add classes in 2022.
The Tidewell Caring Clowns have been invited to attend the Venice Holiday Parade in November. Our clowns continue to work on new routines and are keeping each other laughing.
As you are cleaning out your closets, let us know if you have men’s neckties and shirts we could use for our fidget mats. If you have not tried to make a fidget mat, please give me a call. They are wonderful for our Alzheimer’s patients, and our supply goes fast.
All wheelchair, walker caddies, caps, blankets, quilts, journals and fidget mats are distributed throughout our coverage area. I receive thank you emails all the time from staff, praising the volunteers’ great work. Thank you as always for all that you have contributed. It means a lot to our patients. Also, thanks to those of you who have helped in the Lakewood Ranch office. It is because of you all the supplies get to where they need to go and items continue to be created.
Kind regards,Shirley PerdisattProfessional Services Coordinator
Thank you to volunteers who participated or helped out at the 2021 Tidewell Trot. Your support of the Tidewell Foundation is so meaningful. We deeply appreciate your dedication to our mission of providing perpetual support for the world-class care, free community grief services and other programs of Tidewell Hospice. More than 240 participants ran or walked in the event, all while learning more about Tidewell’s services. It was the first time to hold the event on a Thursday evening and at Nathan Benderson Park. Participants enjoyed the change in venue to Nathan Benderson Park, and we plan to use the park again in 2022.
Thank you for helping us provide care, comfort and compassion to our patients, their families and our community.
VP of Specialized ServicesStacy Groff(941) [email protected]
Volunteer Services North ManagerLakewood RanchMaria Paliotta(941) [email protected]
Volunteer Services South ManagerTami Caruso(941) [email protected]
Onboarding SpecialistSue Forbes(941) [email protected]
CoordinatorGloria Overholt(941) 552-5944 [email protected]
Complementary ServicesShirley Perdisatt(941) [email protected]
BradentonLinda Anderson(941) [email protected]
Ellenton Jessica Simmons(941) 845-3002 [email protected]
EnglewoodTashara Cruel(941) [email protected]
Port Charlotte/DeSoto County Tonja Brooks(941) [email protected]
Sarasota/SouthgateLindsey Schroeder(941) [email protected]
VeniceStacey Sabbah(941) [email protected]
CONTACT INFORMATION