CONEJO HOSPICE INC
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Mission Statement
Since 1977 Hospice of the Conejo has been dedicated to serving as a community based, non-profit, non-medical, volunteer hospice and grief support center, whose objective is to affirm life, even when faced with life-limiting illness and grief, by providing compassionate support, care, guidance and education to individuals and families facing critical illnesses and end-of-life issues. Hospice of the Conejo is committed to providing a bias free environment where all will feel welcomed. All of our services are always offered completely free of charge. 100% of our funding is raised through private donations, fundraising events and grants.
About This Cause
Our primary goal and purpose, through all of our programs, is to provide care, dignity, guidance and support for the residents in our region. By continuing to provide quality, well-trained volunteers and professional licensed therapists, we ensure that the emotional and physical well-being of our patients and their care-giving family members is supported and improved. At the same time we are improving our volunteer's quality of life by providing them a meaningful avenue of service in which to give back to their community. Though some have been modified during the Covid-19 pandemic we continue to offer them all, as follows: 1. Our Legacy Hospice Care provides specially trained volunteers who assist patients and their care-giving family members. Our volunteers offer emotional support and guidance and are there to comfort, to listen, they may prepare a meal, run errands, brush their patient's hair and help with other general grooming needs. Of equal importance is the direct support, respite and guidance given to the care-giving family members who struggle with what is often a first time and overwhelming experience. As a non-medical hospice we are uniquely positioned to offer our care and support outside the constraints put on medical hospices by Medicare and private insurance. This mean we are able to assist those who are still undergoing corrective treatment and before the patient receives a six-month prognosis; as a result we are often with our patients for months and even years before they qualify for medical hospice care. Our volunteers, therefore, form strong bonds and meaningful relationships with their patients and the families they serve and thus are able to help them prepare and understand what to expect when the time comes to move into medical hospice care making it an easier and smoother transition. Our volunteers remain with their patients through the entire progression of their illness which stabilizes the emotional and physical health of the family as a whole. 2. Our Grief Support services were started in 1987 to respond to a profound need in our community to assist residents dealing with loss and grief from all circumstances. Many of our clients come to us as surviving loved-ones of our hospice patients but many also come from the community at large. This has now grown into the largest component of our budget as we facilitate over 50 professional, therapist-led grief support sessions each and every month for people of all ages and from all walks of life. To insure our grief support sessions are readily available to all residents, we not only provide sessions at our own facility but also partner with Westminster Free Clinic to offer our bi-lingual support groups, and provide four different groups for seniors at the Goebel Senior Center and Senior Concerns; our Borderline and Woolsey Fires support groups are offsite as well in partnership with Give an Hour. 3. NODA (No One Dies Alone) is our unique and special program that provides our specifically trained volunteers who sit vigil, 24/7, with patients in their final hours of life, who would otherwise die alone because loved-ones are unable to be present. This not only serves the patient by giving them comfort and dignity in their final hours, but gives peace of mind to family members who were not able to be there in time or to the elderly spouse who was just too exhausted to remain bedside. A secondary comfort and service is to the nurses and caregivers who simply do not have the time to sit vigil with their patients and feel tremendous guilt when they are forced to leave their patients to die alone. 4. Our Patient/Pet program helps our patients keep their beloved pet by their side throughout their illness. Many times these patients do not have the means to care for their pets and they are tragically removed from the home stripping that patient of the unconditional love and companionship a pet provides. Our program provides volunteers who walk, groom, feed and otherwise care for the pet including visits to the vet. 5. Our VolunTEENS program provides teens a meaningful avenue of service in which to give back to others. These wonderful teens volunteer at our patients homes and assisted living facilities by singing songs, playing games, running errands, and otherwise interacting with the patients/seniors. 6. We have a Lending Closet of medical equipment and supplies (i.e. wheel chairs, walkers, canes, commode chairs, shower chairs, adult diapers, adult supplements) which we give to those in need completely free of charge. 7. Our Education Center provides general information and guidance on placing a family member into hospice care as well as what might be expected when faced with a terminally ill family member. We also provide referrals for Medical Hospice agencies. We take calls everyday helping people understand what steps to consider when dealing with the loss of a loved one, including participation in one of our therapist-led support groups. We also participate in community health fairs, expos and events and respond to unexpected crisis that profoundly affect our community (unexpected tragedies, suicide, etc.). 8. Our Friends and Flowers program delivers friendship and joy in the form of beautiful bouquets from flowers donated to us by local growers, flower shops, merchants, weddings & special events. Our volunteers make the bouquets and then deliver them to our patients, seniors in assisted living and to Meals on Wheels clients. 9. Errand Angels: Newly established in 2020 in response to the Covid- 19 stay at home orders this program provides support to our clients and home-bound residents by providing volunteers who run errands (pick up prescriptions, grocery shopping, etc.) and provide transportation to doctors appointments etc. We recently delivered ballots for home-bound residents. 10. As we looked for inventive ways to bring comfort to our clients during the Covid Pandemic, the Threshold Music Program was developed. Music is an especially powerful communication tool when a person is nearing the end of life or when they are feeling isolated and alone. Music can bring memories to the surface and create good feelings in mind and body. Hospice of the Conejo partnered with local musicians (who are also struggling to make a living during the pandemic) and provided them a small stipend. They then bring their talent to our patients. Whether its playing a small outdoors concert for the patients at a board and care facility or standing at a window of someone who hasn't been able to leave their room, this program brings the joy of music and a sense of normalcy into the lives of people we serve.