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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 28, 2018)
8A | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2018 | SIUSLAW NEWS PeaceHealth prepares to ‘Light Up a Life’ this December November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, and PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medi- cal Center is gearing up for its 23rd annual Light Up A Life ceremony, which raises funds for these vital services. This year’s ceremony will be on Dec. 8, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the Florence Events Center. The Light Up A Life ceremony offers local residents an opportuni- ty to remember and recognize their loved ones. Stars may be purchased to honor a loved one who has died tients who aren’t able to travel to or someone special. The names will years old. Dr. Kerner, who joined Peace the hospital. be attached to the stars, which are Together, Dr. Kerner and his hung on a holiday tree. Stars of Da- Harbor 13 years ago, is a passion- vid are placed on a menorah table. ate promoter of palliative care and highly motivated team have built a successful community-based Recognition is also given during the “reading of the The Light Up A Life ceremony palliative care program that has bridged the gap for many names” segment of the cere- offers local residents an patients who did not qualify mony. opportunity to remember and for home health services and Peace Harbor’s Hospice were not yet ready for hos- and Palliative Care programs recognize loved ones. pice. are overseen by Medical Di- The program has greatly im- rector Stephen Kerner, DO. Al- hospice. His patient-centered phi- though the hospital has provided losophy has motivated him to drive proved access to care for the most hospice services for many years, the as far as 45 minutes out of town on vulnerable patients, thereby reduc- palliative care program is just two occasion to care for hospice pa- ing emergency department visits, Heartfelt House to open in June at RiverBend As they celebrate Thanksgiving this week, families from as far away as Benton, Doug- las and Coos counties say they’re grateful for the Heartfelt House, which is under con- struction on the Riv- erBend campus. The 20,208-square-foot house is slated to open in June. It will be a home away from home for out-of-town patients needing treatments in Eugene-Springfield and families of patients who re- quire long stays at Peace- Health Sacred Heart Medical Centers at RiverBend or Uni- versity District. The Heartfelt House will have 20 rooms: a 10-room wing for families of pediatric patients and a 10-room wing for families of adult patients. “It’s one of the best things that could happen to River- Bend,” said Heather Swesso, a Sutherlin resident whose two daughters were born prematurely, requiring stays in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Her youngest, Paisley, born at 30 weeks, spent 78 days in the NICU at RiverBend after her birth in January 2016. Swesso said she was lucky to be able to stay at her aunt’s house in Springfield during that time. But even the short drive from her aunt’s house to the hospital felt too long for the new mom eager to check on her fragile new- born. When the Heartfelt House is completed, visit- ing a loved one will be as simple as a 5-minute walk across the street. “It’s going to put so many peoples’ minds at ease be- cause they’re going to be able to be right there,” Swesso said. The Heartfelt House is a $8.4 million project fund- ed entirely through philan- thropy. It is a collaboration between PeaceHealth, which will own the land and building, and Ronald McDonald House Char- ities, which will oversee day-to-day operations. Guests will pay from nothing to a modest fee, depending on their cir- cumstances. No one will be turned away because of inability to pay. That lessens the financial blow to families who already are dealing with the stress of illness, injury or other medical conditions. Following a diagnosis of prostate cancer and sur- gery in June, Larry Wood, of North Bend, needed 40 radiation treatments over eight weeks. He wanted to have the treatments in the Eu- gene-Springfield area. But he couldn’t commute from North Bend and the cost to stay in a hotel for two months — even at a dis- counted rate — was pro- COURTESY IMAGE hibitive. Wood ended up staying at the Children’s Miracle Net- work/Lions Patient Family Guest House on Patterson Street, near University Dis- trict. “It was really nice,” Wood said. “They provide just about everything a hotel provides. You could do your own laundry. You share the kitchen. It’s kind of a family.” Wood said he's glad to hear that the Heartfelt House will have room for even more families. The Heartfelt House antic- ipates serving up to 1,500 families a year, much more than the 300 a year the Pat- terson Street House could accommodate. Dave and Sarah Hoka- ma, of Corvallis, have been dedicated advocates for the Heartfelt House after their youngest daughter, Gracie, was born 13 weeks early at RiverBend in November 2015. Sarah stayed at the Pat- terson Street guest house during Gracie’s three months in the NICU. She said she wished she had been closer, so she could have spent more time at Gracie’s side. “It’s exciting to be part of this, to see the pieces come together, and to think of the future families who will ben- efit from this,” she said after a recent tour of the Heartfelt House construction. For more information on PeaceHealth and its pro- grams, visit peacehealth.org. For more information on Ronald McDonald House Charities, visit www.rmhc. org. Free native plants available for Siuslaw region waterfront properties Since 2000, the Siuslaw Watershed Council (SWC) has given away thousands of free native plants every year to riparian landowners throughout the Siuslaw and Coastal Lakes Watersheds to promote water quality, salmon habitat and health- ier streams. Any property owner who has a creek flowing through their property, or who lives along one of the area’s lakes, may be eligible to receive free native plants from the SWC to help support water quality and fish habitat. River and lakeside land- owners also may be eligible to receive free native plants from the council this year, free of charge. Native plants growing LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED Open 4 days a week! Here to serve your denture needs: Monday-Thursday 10am - 2 pm 524 Laurel St. 541-997-6054 along streams help reduce erosion, filter nutrients and keep the water cool for salmon, trout and other aquatic species. Native plants are adapted to specific site conditions; the SWC has some resourc- es available to help identi- fy which plants will thrive alongside backyard creeks or lakes. Staff can also help advise landowners on plant selection and placement. Call the SWC office to re- ceive a brochure with more information on each avail- able plant or visit www. siuslaw.org/native-plant- distribution. Then determine which plants will work best for your site conditions and let the SWC know which of these plants are on your wish list. SWC staff can also help advise landowners on plant selection and placement. Send us your requests early because supplies are limit- ed. Priority is given to re- quests placed prior to Dec. 15, although the SWC will accept requests after this date. The distribution date is Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. For more informa- tion, visit siuslaw.org, call 541-268-3044 or email nativeplants@siuslaw.org. This project is made pos- sible through a grant from the Coast Range Steward- ship Fund with the U.S. Forest Service and private individual donations. TheSiuslawNews.com DENTURE SERVICES INC. Dentures Partial Dentures Immediate Dentures Implant Dentures Relines & Repairs Same Day boosting home health and hospice referrals and improving endof-life care across the care continuum. Dr. Kerner attends all Hospice Advisory Board meetings, collabo- rating on ideas for providing hos- pice in rural, remote locations. He also helps with fundraisers — in fact, he’s in the process of compiling a memorial video for the Light Up A Life ceremony. For more information about Peace Health Peace Harbor Hos- pice or the annual Light Up a Life celebration, call 541-997-3418. BETTER HEARING. BETTER COMMUNICATION. BETTER RELATIONSHIPS. William Foster LD Sherry, Offi ce Manager “As a denture wearer myself, I can answer your questions and address your denture concerns.” ~ William Foster, LD Hearing Associates of Florence Bringing people together for over 20 years Financing: Citi Health Card 12 Month no Interest HEARING ASSOCIATES of Florence A Jazz Kings Christmas 2018 Florence's Only Doctors of Audiology Florence • • 1525 1901 12th Hwy St, 101 FLORENCE Ste 2 Monday & Thursday, 9am–5pm Lunch from 12:30–1:30pm The Brockett Family Closed on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday Scott C. Anderson, Au.D. Steven G. Anderson, Au.D. 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