As you may have heard in the news, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has been identified in the USA and around the world. There have been cases of COVID-19 in our county, and this development triggers heightened infection control practices and protocols as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Please know that maintaining the health, wellness and safety of your loved one is our number one priority.

We ask your help and per CDC measures to be proactive in the following:

1. Ask your family members or friends to avoid visiting you for the time being. We know this is difficult, but the virus has been shown to have dire consequences for older adults and those with underlying health conditions.
2. Discuss with family and friends about other ways you can communicate with your loved ones, whether by phone, video or social media.
3. If there are individuals, such as an immediate family member, who need to come see you, remember, you’re in charge.
4. Follow everyday preventive actions such as:
• Washing your hands or using alcohol-based hand sanitizers
• Covering your cough and sneezes
• Ask other individuals (including staff) to avoid touching you with handshakes, hugs or kisses. Ask them to wash their hands. Do not be shy! It’s okay to remind people.
5. If you begin to experience coughing, sneezing or a fever, tell a staff member immediately.

Please know that the news about the spread of this new disease is concerning for us all. In addition to limiting visitation to prevent the illness, we are also focused on infection control best practices with our staff. Staff have been trained on the symptoms of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), CDC recommended infection prevention techniques, and have clear protocols for staff to stay home and not come to work if they are ill or symptomatic.

We continue to monitor information and guidance from the Texas Health and Human Services and the CDC and are working with state and local public health and emergency preparedness officials to prevent the illness and strengthen our preparation for a possible outbreak. We apologize in advance for an inconvenience this may cause, but believe it is in the best interest of our patients. We will continue to keep you informed. Please also visit

www.homehospicewtx.com and our facebook account for regular updates and do not hesitate to contact our office with any questions or concerns you may have.

Sincerely,
Home Hospice of Odessa/Midland, LLC and Home Nursing

1) How long have you been a part of the Home Hospice/Nursing family?
In May, I will celebrate 20 years as an employee of Home Hospice. On May 17, 2000, I was a “baby” social worker, just a week out from graduation!

2) What role do you have in enriching the lives of our patients/families?
Currently, I facilitate grief support groups and workshops out of all of our offices. I also provide individual grief counseling as needed in any of our locations. When needed, I provide prn social work for our current patients and their families. After so many years working for Home Hospice, and working full-time, to part-time, and everything in-between, I am incredibly thankful to continue to be part of such a wonderful company.
What I wish more people knew about my role is that Home Hospice provides grief counseling to anyone in the Permian Basin, not just our patient’s family members.

3) If you are having a bad day, what do you do to make it better?
Take a nap!! Naps are refreshing and give me a whole new outlook on the day.

4) What is a food you’d NEVER eat again?
I love pizza. I would eat pizza almost everyday (with some Rosa’s thrown in there, too!).
But pineapple on my pizza??? NOPE. Tried that once and will not eat that again.

5) Describe your perfect vacation.
Oh, this one’s easy. We actually took the perfect vacation several years ago. We took our “only” 4 kids at the time and spent a week at DisneyWorld. We had literally saved our pennies for many years to take this trip. It sounds corny, but it was truly magical.
We have fabulous memories from that trip. With 6 kids now, we are once again saving our pennies to someday take them all!

6) What is the first thing you think of when you get up in the morning?
I thank God for granting me another day on this Earth. After working in hospice care for so long, I am truly thankful for the time I have here with my family and friends.

7) What song best describes your life?
Pour Me a Vacation by the Great Divide.

8) If your pet could talk, what 3 questions would you want the answers to?
With my rescue dogs and cats, I would ask them what their life was like before we adopted them. Their answers would undoubtedly be sad, but I think it would be very interesting to hear their back-stories. With my chihuahua Bambi, I would ask her why she barks at us ALL.THE.TIME. One of the kids will leave the room, and upon re-entering the room, Bambi will bark at them like she has never seen them before in her life. It is hilarious, and sometimes incredibly annoying. But, we love that sweet girl.

9) Would you rather have a PAUSE button or REWIND?
At this point, I would definitely choose a PAUSE button. Our oldest child is a junior in high school, so his days at home are definitely numbered. I cannot imagine our home without him here every day. But, we are excited to see what the future holds for him and all of our children.

10) What is your secret to a good life?
Faith. I cannot imagine my life without the faith my parents taught me, the faith I accepted into my heart, and the faith I now teach my children.

MOVING THROUGH GRIEF
“Why does my heart go on beating?
Why do these eyes of mine cry?
Don’t they know it”s the end of the world?
It ended when you said goodbye.”

The words of this old country song spoke of the feelings one person had after a lost romance. They could just as easily have been written by a wife, husband, mother, father, or anyone who is grieving the loss of a loved one.

After facilitating grief support groups over the years, I have come to the realization that the only sure way through grief is to do the hard work of grief. This “grief work” involves feeling the feelings of grief when they occur and learning to express these feelings in healthy ways.

Those who are willing to do the hard work of grief are the ones who move through to a “new normal” life. This new normal is not like the old life, but more like the place where a new beginning is possible. However, some people are less willing to do the work of grief. These people try to manage the feelings, rather than feel and express them. They do this by avoiding, denying, medicating, working, traveling, spending, moving. The list of possibilities for avoiding feelings is endless.

Those who try to avoid the feelings are often the ones who get stuck in grief. Grief that is not expressed builds up inside a person, like steam inside a kettle. Unless felt and expressed, they will boil over in many different, unpleasant and even hurtful ways.

So the only way through a season of grief is to do the hard work of grief. Here are some suggestions to help in your grief process.

1. Identify what you are feeling.

It sounds simple, but it can be difficult. It helps to know that we are created with the capacity to feel four (4) basic feelings. These are mad, sad, glad and scared. Any thing else is really just a degree of one of the four.. Furious is really just mad. Heartbroken is sad. Livid? Infuriated? = Mad.

Before you can begin to feel and express the feeling, you need to recognize it. Keep it in these four categories. Remember, we are always feeling something. Also, remember, feelings  are always changing,

2. Express your feelings in a way that works for you.

If you best express your feelings verbally, find a grief friend who will meet with you regularly. This person should be a person who you can trust. They should be a good listener and nonjudgmental. Find a support group. Your local hospice agency is a good resource for groups.

Some express their feelings through writing. If so, try journaling. Set up a fixed time for journaling and try to stay focused on what you’re feeling and then describe the feelings, Sometimes old pictures or special memories can help. At the end of the fixed time, put away the journal until the next time and go on to the next thing you need to do for the day.

Some find it helpful to write out their feelings in prayer journaling. The scripture is filled with examples of people crying out to God in prayer. The Psalms have many examples of this.

Others express their feelings through art. The point is to use a method of expression that works for you. Be purposeful about setting a time and sticking to it. Stay focused on identifying the feelings and expressing the feelings. The healing process of grief comes through feeling and expressing the feelings in healthy ways.

Grief can feel very dark and hopeless at times. Like the song, it can seem like your sun has stopped shining. God wants us to grieve our loss, but “not as those who have no hope” I Thessalonians 4:13. Doing the work of grief offers a way through the darkness to a new beginning…a new normal.

Grace and Peace to you on your journey. Skip Hedgpeth, Chaplain

1. “When I decided to come to the support group, I had tried everything to make the pain of my son’s suicide go away. I would not discuss it because it was shameful for one to “kill” themselves. Where did I go wrong? Did I do or not do something wrong to cause this sinful thing not done in Christian families? One even suggested my son did not go to Heaven because suicides did not go to heaven. I had prayed before because he was bipolar for a total healing. Even thinking God was punishing me by taking my baby (51 years old) from me. We were very close. My other sons and my husband would not go to counseling with me because they considered it a weakness.

My husband passed away one year later. Knowing I could not do this alone and not feeling my church would understand, I had to do something besides cry. My first meeting was tough. I had to get past this. I knew my son was sick, not physically, but mentally and in a way I didn’t know how to help because I didn’t understand the nature of the disease. Not yet healed from the loss of my son, I lost my husband, a wonderful Christian Bible teacher and music minister of 41 years. He had Alzheimer’s for about 12 years. This pain was not as harsh because he had been slipping away so long. After going to the meetings faithfully and talking about the loss and listening to and bonding with another couple who had just lost a son, reading literature Betsy gave us, I slowly began to heal. I don’t blame myself or anyone else and I know God has control of everything. I believe my son is safely in the arms of Jesus. I have become a member of another wonderful Christian fellowship. Thank you everyone at Hospice for your ministry to me. ”

Barbara (Bobbye) Martin, Odessa

2. “There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in,” penned Leonard Cohen. The night I lay next to my darling of 55 years with our seven children and a Hospice nurse encircling our bed, as he slipped into eternity, a huge crack opened in our world. He had made us a strong, tough, love-filled family. It was all we could do not to be swallowed up in the darkness of grief and sorrow.

He wasn’t perfect but he was a giant among mankind. His dignity, humility, faith, generosity, wisdom, and love blessed many as he filled cracks in their lives.

Our faith never wavered but the fear of life without him, and the darkness from the gaping crack was overwhelming.

Hospice was the light that filled the crack in our lives. The love, the patience, the kindness, the understanding, the listening hearts warmed our souls with more than can be described. It wasn’t just a few weeks or months but continued Hospice attention for years. Their door and their hearts are always open as they continue to fill our crack. One dear compassionate soul is Betsy Brininstool, who is more than a Hospice counselor. She is a marvelous listening angel, now a dear friend. Her love and patience have more than filled our crack. I give thanks unto God every day for the kindness and caring given by Hospice.

Hospice is an entity of angels who bless lives with caring love and light filling mighty cracks. ”

Janie Harrison, Big Spring

3. “When I first attended my first session with Betsy, I was skeptical. I was thinking in my head “what can she really tell me that will help me?” Oh was I wrong. Betsy knows what to say and how to say it without you getting lost in “Counselor terms”. I honestly would not know where my life would be if I didn’t start seeing Betsy as soon and as consistent as I did. I attended private sessions and I did a session of Life after Loss grief group and I did a scrapbooking class (which I loved!). Betsy does extremely well at her job and I couldn’t thank her enough. Highly, highly recommended. Thank you.”

Alyssia Cardwell, Midland