Tree of Memories is Back and in Person!
After two years of being relegated to online-only celebrations, NorthBay Health Hospice & Bereavement is pleased to announce the return to a live Tree of Memories event Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022.
The special holiday-themed memorial ceremony honors lost loved ones of family, friends and community members with a presentation that includes music, placing a ceremonial ornament on the tree, a photo slideshow, and a memorial reading of names.
The program, free and open to the public, will also recognize Pearl Harbor Day and the veterans who gave their lives to protect the freedom of all Americans.
The ceremony will be followed by a small reception of sweet treats.
Participants are invited to submit photographs of loved ones to be included in the slideshow. Email your image to Bereavement@NorthBay.org by 5 p.m. Nov. 30. Please send only one or two images per person.
“Our tradition is to give a ceremonial ornament to all who attend to hang on our memorial tree to honor and celebrate the memory of a loved one,” explained Ruel Guerrero, Hospice Chaplain and Bereavement Coordinator. “After the ceremony, participants are welcome to retrieve the ornament and take it home to use in their own holiday traditions.”
A keepsake ornament will also be available for a contribution of $20 or more to NorthBay Health Hospice. All proceeds from the donations are used to help fund the NorthBay Hospice & Bereavement Program. This year’s keepsake is a golden butterfly with a green stone, reflecting NorthBay Health’s new brand. It also has a magnet, so in addition to hanging it on a tree, it can be displayed on a refrigerator all year long.
The event begins at 1 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Green Valley Administration Center, 4500 Business Center Drive in Fairfield. Questions? Call Brenda Boyd at (707) 646-3517 or email BBoyd@NorthBay.org.
As soon as a patient decides to change their care focus from “cure” to “comfort” they may be ready for hospice. If a physician referral was made, the NorthBay Hospice director will call to set up a visit. A physician referral is not required, patients may enroll on their own, just call us.
Usually, family members are the primary caregivers and, when appropriate, help make decisions for the terminally ill loved one. Members of the hospice team visit regularly to check on the patient’s condition and provide education and support for family members as well as other services. Home health aides make regular visits to provide personal care (such as bathing) and to assist with activities of daily living. Hospice staff is on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Our hospice team develops a care plan that meets each patient's individual needs for pain management and symptom control. The team consists of:
- The patient's physician
- Hospice medical director
- Nurses with special training
- Home health aides
- Social workers
- Chaplain
- Trained volunteers
- Speech, physical, and occupational therapists, if needed.
A referral to hospice care does not always mean death is imminent. With attentive care, comfort and peace of mind that comes with addressing end-of-life decisions, some patients rebound physically as well as mentally. Hospice care can be temporarily or permanently discontinued and curative measures reinstated if a patient improves.
If you don’t fit the criteria for hospice and you’re coping with a serious, life-threatening illness that is limiting your ability to function on a daily basis or preventing you from doing the things you enjoy, consider palliative care. In addition to better symptom management, benefits may include a better understanding of your illness and its progression, and may help you avoid frequent, costly hospital stays and emergency room visits.Palliative care can be initiated at any stage of a serious chronic or progressive illness. Unlike hospice care, palliative care is not limited to those considered to be terminally ill.
If you would like to visit hospice patients, relieve their families by providing respite care, help out in the office, build our community network, or offer your gifts and talents — we want to talk with you!
As a NorthBay Hospice Volunteer, you become a vital member on the NorthBay Hospice team:
- Patient Care consists of companionship to patient, support and relief to family members and caregivers, and help with shopping and errands.
- Bereavement volunteers provide continued support to family and friends after the death of a loved one, with phone calls or visits and monthly mailings.
- Office Support consists of filing, copying, mailing, assembling packets, bagging supplies for patients, and assembling patient information packets.
- Special Events/Fundraising volunteers assist with NorthBay's annual Tree of Memories Ceremony.
Volunteers are required to complete 30 hours of orientation and training sessions and participate in regular monthly meetings. We offer sessions twice a year for Patient Care and Bereavement volunteers, and ongoing sessions for Office Support, events and fundraising volunteers.
For more information, please call us at:(707) 646-3517, or complete our volunteer application.
"We will do what we can, not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die."
— Dame Cicely Saunders, physician, nurse and founder of the Hospice movement (1918-2005).
More end-of-life care resources can be found on the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) website.
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Have you asked your care provider about POLST? POLST, or Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment, is a medical order signed by a patient and health care provider that gives seriously-ill patients more control over their end-of-life care.
