Jamie Upton recently joined Hospice of the Red River Valley as a nurse practitioner. In his role, Upton will collaborate with the medical director to provide medical care to hospice patients through face-to-face visits and symptom management. Additionally, he will provide guidance to nursing staff. Upton was previously employed by Sanford Health and is a graduate of North Dakota State University.
Month: April 2016
May Lunch and Learn Announced: Social Security Disability 101
Hospice of the Red River Valley invites health care professionals to its May Lunch and Learn on Tuesday, May 17, 2016, from noon-1 p.m.
Topic, Presenter & Date
The next Lunch and Learn will take place on Tuesday, May 17, 2016, from noon-1 p.m. Sherry Gruenhagen, Paralegal and Social Security Certified Disability Representative, from Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota will present on the topic of Social Security Disability 101.
In this session, participants will learn how to identify the similarities and differences between Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Attendees will also gain a general understanding of how Social Security defines a disability.
Continuing Education
Hospice of the Red River Valley is an approved provider of continuing education for social workers in North Dakota. This program will be awarded 1 contact hour.
Locations
For your convenience, Lunch and Learns will be held in five Hospice of the Red River Valley Office locations:
- Fargo – 1701 38th Street SW, Fargo, N.D.
- Detroit Lakes* – 1111 Highway 10, Detroit Lakes, Minn.
- Grand Forks* – 2860 10th Avenue N., Ste. 400, Grand Forks, N.D.
- Lisbon* – 415 Main Street, Lisbon, N.D.
- Valley City* – 1240 W. Main Street, Valley City, N.D.
*The Detroit Lakes, Grand Forks, Lisbon and Valley City office locations will be connected via videoconference to the Fargo office, where the live presentation will take place.
Registration
This event is free and open to all health care professionals, but pre-registration is required because space is limited. Participants may bring their own lunches; coffee and water will be provided. RSVP to Missy: melissa.haut@hrrv.org or (701) 356-1563 one week prior to the Lunch and Learn, and indicate which location you will be attending.
Lunch and Learns in 2016 will be held every other month starting in January on the third Tuesday of the month from noon to 1 p.m. Specific topics and descriptions will be shared closer to each date.
NDSU Pharmacy Student’s Volunteer Experience with Hospice Appears in National Publication
A home visit to a hospice patient changed everything for Chelsea Behnke. It wasn’t what she expected. The NDSU third-year pharmacy student from Burnsville, Minnesota, had arranged for a speaker from Hospice of the Red River Valley at an event for the Student College of Clinical Pharmacy and American Pharmacist Association-Academy of Students of Pharmacy. One of the people attending was a member of the editorial advisory board for Student Pharmacist magazine, who suggested Behnke write about her volunteer experiences.
In winter 2014, Behnke made a visit to a hospice patient to deliver his medication. While she expected the encounter to be somber, it was not. What transpired during the visit led Behnke to become a hospice volunteer. When serving another hospice patient, she would spend time reading to the patient whose eyesight was failing. After visiting over a period of months, Behnke observed physical changes that she reported to hospice staff—an observation that led the medical team to update medication, making a positive difference for the patient.
“Every encounter with a hospice patient, including volunteer visits, is crucial to create an accurate view of the overall patient,” said Behnke. “I am pleased that my background as a student pharmacist empowered me to recognize changes in the patient’s symptoms.”
Behnke’s story of volunteerism, “Giving Time and Love to Those in Need,” is featured in Student Pharmacist, a national publication of the American Pharmacists Association.
“Volunteering has been an integral part of my life,” said Behnke. “I quickly realized that pharmacy students have busy schedules, but we cannot forget about the bigger picture. We can all afford to give one hour a week to those who are in need our community. I continually am amazed by the impact volunteering has on both myself and the recipient.”
Pharmacy students bring unique skills to the settings in which they volunteer. Behnke notes that although students might not have always funds to donate to organizations, they can donate something equally as valuable—their time. She sums up her spirit of volunteerism succinctly. “If I can create a smile on a face and heart each day, I have succeeded. This is why I volunteer with Hospice of the Red River Valley.”
Click here to read the full article.
Midco Donates $1,000 to Hospice of the Red River Valley
This week Justin Forde, director of public affairs for Midco, presented Stephanie Pritchard, a bereavement specialist at Hospice of the Red River Valley, with a $1,000 check. This donation will be used by our bereavement specialists to help those in need of grief support. Thank you, Midco, for your generosity!
