Page 18 - South Florida Hospital News Nov 2021

VIT AS ® Healthcaree Provides Personalized Caare to South Florida
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The VITAS Dif f
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ference defines the way our hospice care teams support our patients,

their families, an dd our communitiess.
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W ritten by Betty Bel, Vice President of Hospice Operations for VIT A
ASS in South Florida
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v v E er y day from W est P alm B each to the Keys and all S outh
F lorida commmunities in betw een, dedicated employ ees fr om
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VIT A eaalthcar e deliv er compr ehensive hospice car e in a way
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h lli es of patients and
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h that makes tthe VIT A D iff ence i in the l liv f i d
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their familiees.
W ith commmitment, compassion, and a caan-do attitude, they liv e
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out the founndational VIT AS v alues b y puutting our patients and
their familiees first and doing whatev er it ttakes to help them
embrace quaality of life near the end of lifefe.
Through inddividual contributions and collective expertise, our
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yees ensure that patients’ wishes forr comfor ,
employep y p t, dignityy,,
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yy,
closure, and peace near the end of life aree respected and honored.
What does the VITTAAAS Diffference look like
in South Florida?
• In February in Home estead, members of the VITTAAS team covering
Miami-Dade and Mo onroe counties gathered at the family home
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of WWII veteran Joséé Pacheco for a recognition ceremony that
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included the presentaation of a certificate of appreciation, veteran
pin, and volunteer-crrafted afghan during a touching bedside
salute. Says Nancy Auuster, RN, the VITTAAS admissions nurse who
oversaw the ceremonyy: “His family kept saying that no one ever
honored him the wayy we did...”
• Throughout the challlenging summer of 2021, Broward County
Bereavement Manageer Mircea “M itchh””Husar launched a “Heroes’
Habits for Overcoming Stress” phone support group to help
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his hospice colleaguess shar e ideas for easing and o v er coming
wor kplace str ess—phhysical, mental, emotional, and spiritual—
r elated to CO VID-19 As a gr oup , w e focus on our str engths and
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9. “
successes, on what wo ks for each of us, ” says M itch.
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• While undergoing traaining thr ough the VIT AS Association

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for Clinical P astoral Education in spring 2021, thr ee B o r war d
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County chaplains andd one ber eav ement manager par ticipated
in a national pr e- andd post-class sur v ey to assess sppiritual car e
training ’ s impact on eemotional intelligence.

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• uring MD ay ’ s celebraation of Asian American and Pacific I slander

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AS palliativ
H eritage M onth, D . r r eeya D esh, a VIT A e car e
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physician in P alm B each County , joined other VITAS clinicians
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to offer insights, adviice, and perspectiv e on pr o vidding sensitiv e
end-of-life car e to pattients whose r eligious traditioons, cultural
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ar
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,
v alues, and appr oachees to illness and death often v y fr om
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US practices.
18 November 2021 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News