Hospice Breakfast Nourishes Bodies And Souls

By Nancy K. Crevier

“People ask, ‘How do you do this?’ And I tell them, being a Hospice volunteer is not about sadness, not at all,” said Gail Honychurch, speaking before a mesmerized group at the 23rd Newtown Chapter of Regional Hospice and Home Care of Western Connecticut annual fundraiser and thank you breakfast, Wednesday, June 6, at Waterview in Monroe.

Ms Honychurch, of Southbury, and former Hawley School teacher and longtime Newtown resident, has been a Hospice volunteer for nearly three years. She shared with the breakfast guests her experiences as a volunteer.

“I had no idea, when I began volunteering, that I would become so engaged with the families. I had no idea,” she said, “how grateful the families would be.”

As a volunteer, she has visited Hospice patients at Danbury Hospital, and has spent time in their homes. Some of her duties are as simple as watching a television program with a patient. For other families, it is the relief she provides from caregiving that is most appreciated, she said, and the comfort she can offer during difficult times.

Connections to the patient come in various guises, Ms Honychurch has found. “I visited one patient, who was very quiet. In looking at the pictures in her den, I realized one of her grandsons had been in my second grade classroom at Hawley,” she said.

“Hospice volunteers are there for the families as much as for the patients. Many who think they can’t do this work, I disagree with,” Ms Honychurch said, adding that beyond patient and family care, volunteers are always needed to assist with office and paper work.

The best part of her Hospice volunteer work, though, is also one that can be heartbreaking, said Ms Honychurch. “I have gone through training to work in the Healing Hearts Program, a support for families who have lost children and for children who have lost parents,” she said.

She knows, from the loss of her own son, Adam, seven years ago in a car accident, that there is “no greater loss than losing your child.” Her empathy helps her to facilitate the program. “It is such a safe place for them to come and share. It helps them, I think, to at least get through the next couple of days,” she told a visibly moved audience. “I dedicate all that I do in Hospice, to Adam,” Ms Honychurch said.

Ms Honychurch was preceded by Regional Hospice and Home Care of Western Connecticut CEO and President Cynthia Roy Squitieri, who thanked all who had taken time that morning to attend the breakfast. She also praised legislators who have “supported and advocated on our behalf” to help pass a House Bill updating Hospice regulations, a process that is long overdue, she said. That bill, said Ms Squitieri, will soon be signed into law by Gov Malloy.

Ms Squitieri also expressed hope that the 12-bed facility slated for construction near Exit 2 of I-84 would be underway by spring 2013. The facility will provide rooms for Hospice patients and their families, she said. Currently, said Ms Squitieri, there are no in-patient beds for Hospice care in the local hospitals.

As diners finished up the egg soufflé entrée, took their final sips of coffee, and headed out the doors, just past 9 am, Marie Sturdevant, who co-chaired the event with Marg Studley, said that they were very pleased with the turnout.

“We filled a lot of tables, and we are so grateful to the area businesses and individuals who donated raffle prizes. They were very generous this year,” Ms Studley said.

The annual Hospice Breakfast is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Newtown Chapter.

For more photographs of this event, see the slide show at www.newtownbee.com.