DREXEL HILL, Pa.— Each year, Crozer-Keystone Health System successfully hosts holiday events in remembrance of hospice patients who have passed away.
Planning is currently underway for the Tree of Life ceremony at Delaware County Memorial Hospital and the Memory Tree ceremony at Crozer-Chester Medical Center. The events are open to the public, and personalized invitations are sent out to families who have lost loved ones over the past few years. “It is a celebration of their lives,” says Jane Hanahan, administrative director of CKHS Home Care and Hospice.
This year, the Tree of Life service will take place on Dec. 2, at 7 p.m. in the DCMH Conference Center. Each bulb that is lit on the Tree of Life commemorates the life of someone who has passed away.
“Many remember their loved ones through memorial gifts. These thoughtful donations allow us to better serve our patients by providing extra caregiver hours or other services not covered under their hospice benefit. These gifts also help defray the costs for patients in the Hospice program who do not have a hospice benefit. All proceeds truly benefit our hospice patients,” Hanahan says.
The Tree of Life ceremony begins with a memorial service and is followed by a reception. The ceremony includes a performance by the Haverford Chamber Singers of Haverford High School, as well as guest speakers. Past speakers include Stephen Shore, M.D., medical director of the DCMH Hospice Program, and Reverend Dr. George S. Hewitt, director of Pastoral Care at DCMH.
Organizing the Tree of Life ceremony has been a combined group effort in which the Hospice team and DCMH staff prepare months in advance.
“We have a very dedicated group. It is a major project that involves many of our hospice volunteers. It’s extremely rewarding to be a part of this ceremony,” says Hanahan, who has been in attendance for the past 11 years.
Their team consists of Shore, as well as nurses, social workers, pastoral counselors, volunteers, and home health aides. DCMH departments involved include Public Relations, Environmental Services, Dietary and Maintenance. “There is definitely a joint effort between the Hospice program and the hospital itself,” Hanahan says.
Crozer Hospice’s yearly holiday tradition and celebration is known as the Memory Tree. The Crozer Hospice Memory Tree also provides families and friends with an opportunity to remember their loved ones during the holiday season. The two Memory Trees will be on display in the Crozer-Chester Medical Center lobby, and will remain there for the entire month of December.
The 2008 Memory Tree celebration will take place on Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. in Crozer’s main lobby.
According to Linda Gosser, clinical coordinator for both programs and manager of Hospice at Crozer-Chester Medical Center, “It is meant to be a healing service for those who are grieving. Every year it is great to see entire families and familiar faces in attendance — it is a very bittersweet ceremony.”
Crozer Hospice sells memorial ornaments for a donation of $10 per ornament. All of the money earned goes directly back to patient care.
During the ceremony, all those who have purchased ornaments will have the opportunity to place them on the trees. It is recommended that participants order ornaments in advance to guarantee availability and design choice, but ornaments will also be available on the night of the ceremony.
The ornaments come in four different shapes (heart, star, snowflake and tree) and can be specially personalized with a loved one’s name, date of birth, date of death,
anything else the donor prefers.
According to Hanahan, “Hospice is care and support as well as a philosophy that encourages the continuation of a meaningful life in the presence of a terminal illness. Care is provided not only to the patients, but to their loved ones as well. We provide care in an interdisciplinary team approach to meet their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.”
For more information, call (610) 284-0700 for DCMH’s Tree of Life event, or (610) 447-2339 for Crozer’s Memory Tree event.