A recent Celebration of Life provided a meaningful way for families to remember lost loved ones. Baptist Hospice Golden Triangle held its annual observance Nov. 6 at the Plymouth Bluff Environmental Center in Columbus.
“The event in memory of those who have passed away under hospice care provides a time for hospice staff to express to families the honor it is to care for their loved ones during their illness,” said Amy Williams, RN, physician referral and marketing manager at Baptist Hospice-Golden Triangle Home Care. Families are also able to express what hospice care meant to them.
Pam Bullock of Columbus knows hospice from two perspectives. She is a hospice volunteer, but her father-in-law and stepfather both received hospice care.
“Hospice is just a lifeline for the family as the patient transcends through their final days,” said Bullock. “I love what hospice does and what it means to the patient and the family.”
Hospice care focuses on comfortable, compassionate medical care and provides emotional and spiritual support.
The Nov. 6 observance included a slide show set to music, showing photos of patients submitted by their families. Shannon Hatton, social worker and bereavement coordinator, read the names of patients who had passed in 2015.
“This was a very moving celebration of life,” said Bullock.
The ceremony concluded with a dove release and the reading of a poem entitled “Little Dove” by Baptist Hospice Director Judith Jarrett
Williams said the release of white doves helps in the grieving process and opens the doors to “letting go” while representing the loved ones’ spiritual journey home.
Baptist Hospice provides emotional and spiritual support as well as bereavement services for up to one year after the passing of a patient.
Jarrett said, “This is a deeply personal journey, and to be allowed to be a part of that journey is a priceless gift to each of us.”
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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