Darke County Republican Women...
Hospice... Providing Compassionate, Dignified Care to Dying  
May  5, 2012 

GREENVILLE – The Darke County Republican Women’s Club (DCRWC) held its regular monthly meeting recently at the Chestnut Village Center of the Brethren Home Retirement Community. Featured speaker was Bev Hughes. Hughes is Community Educator for State of the Heart Hospice. 

An introduction to the current programs of the 30-year-old non-profit agency was presented. The agency began as a Greenville volunteer organization under the direction of Joy Marshall ─ with whom many of the DCRWC membership are acquainted.  Now, the agency brings hospice care to 12 counties, six each along the Ohio-Indiana border. These are served from three offices: Greenville, Coldwater, and Portland, Ind. 

“The hospice philosophy,” said Hughes, “is providing compassionate and dignified comfort care to dying patients and supportive education to families and the patients’ caregivers.”  The agency serves patients with life-limiting conditions such as COPD, Renal Failure, ALS, Alzheimer’s, and Cancer.  Hughes explained the free Medicare benefit, the option of insurance or private pay, “…but we never refuse to serve a patient due to inability to pay.” 

State of the Heart Hospice offers bereavement and grief care to the entire community, free-of-charge.  The annual summer grief camp for children, Camp BEARable, begins July 13th this year.  Hughes displayed a quilt of children’s art that campers create each year.  She also distributed numerous brochures for further reading. 

Hughes also explained that Hospice maintains a Speaker’s Bureau to provide services to all churches, civic groups, sororities, and etc. free of charge. 

DCRWC will hold its next regularly scheduled meeting May 14 in the Chestnut Village Center of the Brethren Home Retirement Community.  The program will feature a representative from the Darke County Domestic Violence Center. Attendees are asked to bring a donation for the shelter. Suggested items are: twin bedding, paper products, medium trash cans, large kitchen trash can, medium trash bags, large trash bags, Tide with bleach, Ivory dish soap, clothing (for ages 7, 8, 9 and 10), and two laundry baskets. 

Dinner is available by prior reservation, at a cost of $7.50 per person. Anyone wishing to join the group at 6:30 p.m. for dinner, prior to the evening’s meeting and program, may place reservations by calling or emailing Wavelene Denniston before noon on May 10. Reservations placed are expected to be paid. Wavelene’s phone is (937) 547-6477 or she may be emailed at: DCRWReservations@darkegop.org. Those wishing not to dine may arrive before 7 p.m. for the program. 

The club is currently on a membership drive and welcomes new members interested in the Darke County community and promoting Republican leadership. Additional information may be obtained by phoning President Sally Zeiter at (937) 423-2391 or she may be emailed at: DCRWPresident@darkegop.org.