Pledge/Prayer: Pres. Bob Chase
Song: Andy
Brents Card Game Winner: Gean Heiney in a 3-way card-off
Sergeants Report: Paul Moore
Welcome guests
Raffle Winners: Sam, Matt V, Peter M
Happy Bucks: Lee David was happy for hosting 2 GSE students saying it was going very well.
Announcements:
Peter: New club directories are being produced so please check you listing for accuracy
Marty: Planning has begun for our annual Wine Tasting & Silent Auction. The date is Fri, Nov. 21 from 6-9pm. Bob Antoniac and Marty are co-chairs of the event. The importance of the club to get involved and help as a member of the committee or selling tickets and getting auction items cannot be overstated. Please think WINE TASTING and lets make this years event better than ever!
Bill O: On Sept. 27 at the Old Lyme Congregational Church from 10am-12 the Interact kids will be volunteering their time to serve food to those in need. This is a wonderful community service program we can all be proud of - the kids do a great job! Lets come out and support them.
Charlie Polka: Charlie is heading up the clubs participation in the townwide Park Cleanup Community Action program which takes place Oct. 4 at Founders Park. So far about 20 Rotarians have signed up.
Program:
Keith introduced our speakers, Laura Kroll and Faith Grist of the Conn. VNA. They are Hospice Volunteer Coordinators based with their office in Norwich. There are about 30 Hospice programs in the state and each are different serving different parts of the state. The Conn. VNA is part of Masonicare in Wallingford and covers eastern Conn.
The first Hospice in the United States started in Branford, Conn. and has grown tremendously. Hospice is a program of care for those with terminal illness with less than 3 months to live. The focus is on the entire person and famility to provide quality of life and support. Most are community based with no physical facility. Care is provided in most cases at home. Physical, emotional, psychological support, pain management and more are cornerstones of Hospice. There is also a paliative care program for pre-Hospice patients. Hospice is not just for cancer patients. They offer bereavement services for the survivors to help cope with the loss of a loved one. The followup can be for up to a year if necessary.
Funding is through insurance such as Medicare but they also accept donations - they are a 501(C3) non-profit organization. They employ a team concept drawing on different disciplines in the medical field. Hospice is always open to accepting volunteers and if you wish to become one, there is a class offered. A total of 5 classes twice a week will provide the training necessary.
You can contact the Connecticut VNA Home Healthcare and Hospice by calling: 860-859-4133 or emailing Laura or Faith at: lkroll@connecticutvna.org and fgrist@connecticutvna.org. Their web address is: www.masonicare.org.
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