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
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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
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