Our Supporters
Dear Friend of the Maine Hospice Council,
Your financial support is more important than ever. Our programming has increased and we need your help to make sure the work continues.
Your generous financial support helps us maintain two full-time staff in order to continue our partnerships with:
- VA – Maine Health Care System
- Department of Corrections
- Maine Health Care Association
- POLST Coalition
- ALS Collaborative
- Maine Pain Initiative
- Twenty-seven direct service Hospice Programs
The list is longer, but our mission is clear. These programs reach out to the underserved and are critical to the health of our communities. With health care access and quality so unevenly distributed, these partnerships help level the playing field. For many years, the Maine Hospice Council and Center for End-of-Life Care has been known for its work with the underserved. The board and staff members of the Maine Hospice Council take pride in advocating for those who have no voice. Our partners acknowledge it is making a difference!
POLST (Physicians Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment) is our newest initiative. POLST is a national program that has already been adopted by many states. In an effort to honor patient wishes at end of life, the initiative encourages health care professionals to take advance directives one step further by putting them into actionable medical orders. However, the emphasis is not simply on the form itself, rather the conversation about goals of care. Meaningful conversations often result in access to a more appropriate treatment options resulting in a better quality of life for both patient and family.
Deb Alpern, Program Director of Palliative Care at MidCoast Hospital in Brunswick shared her experience with patients and POLST: “When I mention to select patients and families how POLST may be of interest to them, I have yet to meet with any resistance or hesitation. In fact, the enthusiasm for clarity around wishes and goals opens the door to valuable discussions that too often fail to happen in our “too busy” world. As a result, people find comfort in knowing they are being heard and respected”. In addition, thoughtful, sensitive, respectful conversations are remembered long after a loved one dies and have been shown to positively impact the grieving process.
The long-term goal of the Maine Hospice Council and its partners is to create a comprehensive advance care planning strategy for Maine. To engage the community in dialogue about the issues that impact care they receive.
For this to happen, we need your help! Funding for the POLST and other MHC programs is dependent on grants and the generosity of concerned individuals like you. Our goal for this appeal is $20,000. Money from this appeal would provide for one part-time staff to assist the POLST Program Manager with community focus groups and a public awareness campaign.
With State Government looking to reduce the amount of General Fund spending, your support is more important than ever! Please send your donation to the Maine Hospice Council and Center for End-of-Life Care today in whatever amount you can afford. You also have the option of donating on-line.
Thank you!
Warmest wishes,
Janet Durgin, Board President 2011 -
Karen Flynn, Vice President
Pat Eye, Treasurer
Rebecca Colwell, Secretary
