Brian Medkeff-Rose to Retire After Decades of Compassionate Leadership

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Brian Medkeff-Rose, M.Div., M.A., Bereavement Counselor at Homeland HospiceAt the end of October, Brian Medkeff-Rose, M.Div., M.A., Bereavement Counselor at Homeland Hospice, will retire after more than 28 years of compassionate leadership. During his time with Homeland, Brian has implemented innovative approaches to reaching and supporting the bereaved. His deep well of empathy and support has helped countless people find new purpose amidst the pain of loss.

Brian graduated from the Methodist Theological School in Delaware, Ohio. He was ordained by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and obtained his clinical pastoral education from Bethesda Hospital in Ohio, which prepared him to work in acute care, outpatient care and long-term care, as well as elder services, home health and hospice care. Brian’s clinical pastoral work led him to Harrisburg and, ultimately, to Homeland Hospice. Homeland Hospice is a nonprofit hospice program that serves communities throughout Central Pennsylvania.

“I kBrian Medkeff-Rose at the Homeland Hospice 5knew immediately Homeland was where I belonged,” Brian says. “I’ve been proud to be part of a team approach to care. Social workers, physicians, nurses’ aides, volunteers – we have all worked together to help those in need.”

As a bereavement and spiritual counselor, Brian has used an out-of-the-box approach to create a path forward for individuals experiencing loss. Several years ago Brian launched the Men’s Breakfast and Women’s Luncheon Series, which provides a monthly platform for individuals to connect with others on a similar path. Through these events, strangers become friends by sharing a safe space to speak about their journey of grief.

In 2019, Brian helped organize “A Journey from Hops to Beer: The Grief Path” for individuals in Homeland’s bereavement program. At the event, Brian discussed the similarities in the journey of grief to the process of making beer. Both take time and patience. At the event, individuals at different points in the grieving process talked about their experiences and offered each other support.

Brian Medkeff-Rose decorating for Christmas“We never stop grieving,” Brian says. “The amount of time since the death of your loved one does not matter. It’s always okay to cry.”

In addition, Brian has helped incorporate messages about the grief process into Homeland Hospice’s Annual Memorial Walk and 10th Anniversary Event, “Guitars, Gifts & Gratitude,” held last November.

“I am so fortunate to have worked alongside of Brian,” says Noelle Valentine, MSW, LSW, Bereavement Counselor for Homeland Hospice. “He has given me the foundation to serve our patients and their families with a servant’s heart.”

At the core of Brian’s outreach exist a simple message of love, self-care and the acceptance of transformation as part of the grieving process.

“Brian’s love and passion for his work is contagious,” says Mary Peters, MSW, Assistant Director of Social Services for Homeland Hospice. “He will be greatly missed by our staff and hospice families.”

“It’s been a privilege to know our patients and families and support them through their life-changing journeys,” Brian adds. “They will always have a special place in my heart.”

Homeland Hospice’s bereavement support program is available to the bereaved of Homeland’s patients as well as anyone in the community who is experiencing grief. Bereavement support group meetings also are held on a rotating schedule throughout the year.

To learn more, please contact Homeland Hospice at (717) 221-7890.

Homeland Hospice Selected for National Project to Improve Care

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Homeland Hospice, a nonprofit hospice program that serves communities throughout Central Pennsylvania, has been selected to participate in the alpha testing phase of a new tool to standardize the collection of data for hospice patients. Homeland is one of 20 hospice programs chosen nationally, and the only hospice in the state participating in the project.

The Hospice Outcomes Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool is a project led by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) designed to better understand care needs throughout a patient’s dying process and contribute to the patient’s plan of care. The HOPE tool will also allow CMS to analyze data between patients and hospice programs across the country.

“A core goal of the HOPE tool is to understand how a hospice team works together to put the patient’s needs first,” says Mary Peters, MSW, Assistant Director of Social Services for Homeland Hospice. “A patient-centered approach to care has always been our philosophy.”

Homeland team members include a registered nurse case manager, hospice medical director, attending physician, volunteer coordinator, social workers, spiritual counselors, home care aides and others.

The HOPE tool alpha testing involves three phases, which includes training, data collection, and a forum scheduled in June 2021 to review the data and offer feedback about the tool.

Homeland has completed training and is in the data collection phase. During this phase, a patient’s primary hospice team – including a registered nurse, social worker and spiritual counselor – is present for each assessment.

With Homeland’s expansive service territory, data collection has required additional time and travel and Homeland’s dedicated staff has risen to the occasion.

“I’m proud of our staff for taking on this additional project,” Mary adds. “We are committed to providing excellent data to support the HOPE tool.”

Homeland Hospice is a hospice program that serves 14 communities throughout Central Pennsylvania by providing end-of-life care either in a person’s home or wherever they reside, including nursing facilities. Homeland also provides bereavement support to families for a full 13 months following the death of their loved one. This service is available to anyone in the community who is experiencing grief.

To learn more, please contact Homeland Hospice at (717) 221-7890.

Finding the Hope in Hospice … for 10 Years

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Myra Badorf, Assistant Director of Development for Homeland HospiceMyra Badorf is the Assistant Director of Development for Homeland Hospice and on August 16th celebrated her 10-year anniversary. Upon looking back, she shares her thoughts with us.

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“Caregiving often calls us to lean into love we didn’t know possible.” ~ Tia Walker, author

I’ve worked for Homeland Hospice for 10 years now … never on the front lines like so many of my colleagues, but never far from the heartbreaking stories of untimely and sometimes tragic deaths, to the beautiful descriptions of the passing of an elderly person who lived a good life full of love of family, success in a career, a strong faith and peace … even welcoming death in the end.

My mother is 89 and my father is 88, and my family and I are blessed to still have both in our lives. Plus, I have never had anyone close to me ever needing the services of hospice. But I too know that it is a matter of time. With two parents looking at the doorstep of 90, I expect it now, and I will welcome the support hospice services have to offer when that time comes.

Here at Homeland Hospice I have the good fortune of reading the letters and cards of thanks that we receive from the many family and friends of those we have cared for over the years. Many of them include a monetary donation as a way to express their appreciation and gratitude, for which we are thankful.

These letters make me proud of the people I work with—our nurses, social workers, aides, chaplains, volunteers. All of them deal with important life issues daily, never wavering from this calling of hospice. I don’t know what burdens they carry for our patients, how it effects their off hours, or their health, but what I do know—to do this, they must have what we refer to as “the heart of hospice.” You see, it takes a special person, especially in the medical field to do this kind of work. Nurses are trained to heal. They are also trained to solve problems—which is an essential skill for anyone providing hospice care. In most cases healing will not come, but the opportunity to ensure a peaceful, pain-free death, managing complicated symptoms … well, our staff are second to none.

“Death is not the enemy sir, indifference is! You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you, you’ll win, no matter what the outcome.” ~ Patch Adams

Homeland Hospice’s Soup & Casserole Program

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By Laurie Murray, Volunteer Coordinator for Homeland Hospice

The end-of-life journey is a time when extra comfort and support is needed as patients and their families are often fatigued physically, emotionally and spiritually. A hospice caregiver is often faced with situations that can change daily or even hourly. Frequent medications, dressing changes, safety, toileting, feeding, and emotional support easily fills their day, and in many cases, their night too. In addition, there are situations in which a spouse or caregiver may never have prepared a meal. The patient is the one who always handled that daily task.

Homeland Hospice has found that for many patients and their families a simple home-cooked soup or casserole that can be taken from the freezer, heated, and enjoyed is a huge blessing. It is comfort for the belly! The meals are prepared by volunteers either working independently or as a group. Before Covid-19, our focus was having church groups prepare the meals. Now, there are people looking for opportunities to serve from their homes, so we are seeing more individual cooks becoming involved.

Some of our volunteers simply cook a little extra when they are preparing a meal for their own family. Church group often use the left-overs from a community or church meal to make a yummy dish or soup.

The meals are prepared in 8×8 aluminum pans, wrapped in aluminum foil, placed in a gallon freezer bag, labeled with the ingredients and reheating instructions and frozen. Volunteers then either contact Laurie to pick up a meal from them or the they are welcome to delivers it to the Homeland Hospice office. The meals are stored in a freezer at the office until it is delivered to a patient by hospice staff or by another volunteer, a “Casserole Courier.”

The meals do not remain in the freezer for long! With a census of over 200 patients, twenty meals can disappear very quickly. We are always accepting new cooks to assist with this program.

The Soup & Casserole Program is just another “extra” that is provided by Homeland Hospice. It helps in bring comfort to our patients, but also alleviates some of the stress from family caregivers.

Mary Beth, a faithful volunteer making soups and casseroles stated, “I’m so happy to help. All of the events of the world have made me feel helpless. This opportunity has once again made me feel helpful.”

Message from Dr. Rox

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With Dr. Rox’s help, Homeland is making a conscious effort to STOP the panic, anxiety, heightened stress levels, and frustration caused by the current state of our lives due to the pandemic.

Right now, she is encouraging everyone to thinking about the importance of boosting our immune system to fight viruses such as COVID-19 and the Flu. Research has proven time and time again that the body’s stress response systems are directly connected to the immune system and can influence what type of immune cells are made, where they go in the body, and how they function.

In other words, stress weakens your immune system.

People tend to focus on the conveniences they have lost, which heightens their stress levels. Dr Rox encourages everyone to use the power of mindfulness to help reduce stress and strengthen their immune systems.

She reminds us that mindfulness is a NON-RELIGIOUS practice.

“Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens. Mindfulness also involves acceptance, meaning that we pay attention to our thoughts and feelings without judging them—without believing, for instance, that there’s a “right” or “wrong” way to think or feel in a given moment. When we practice mindfulness, our thoughts tune into what we’re sensing in the present moment rather than rehashing the past or imagining the future.”  (Greater Good Science Center of Berkeley University of California, 2020)

Try These Three Ways to Stop, Breathe, Listen, and Connect

Practice #1: Come back to your breath. Every time you learn a new fact about this virus, stop, take a deep, calming breath, and notice what is happening in your body. Where are you storing this new information? Breathe deep and release any tension you’re holding. Here’s a simple practice for letting go.

Practice #2: Find ways to connect. Social distancing is the compassionate response to the challenge before us, but physical isolation doesn’t mean disconnection. Write letters to your friends, hold video chat parties, call your neighbors, send love notes to family and friends who live far away. If you’re feeling isolated, try this connection meditation to recharge.

Practice #3: Offer loving-kindness to the world. Whether you’re someone who hasn’t yet connected with this specific mindfulness practice, you’ve tried it and it felt a little odd, or you’re someone who relies on this practice for connection and nourishment—now is the time to offer our deep love to the world. Here’s how you can create a loving-kindness practice that feels right to you.

MEDITATION SOURCES: www.Mindful.org

 

Roxane E. Hearn, PhD (Dr. Rox) is Homeland’s Employee Wellness Program Coordinator, Health & Wellness Psychologist and Personal Health Coach. To learn more about or contact Dr. Rox, please visit www.MyDrRox.com.