[News Boquete] July Newsletter - Boquete Health and Hospice

View this email in your browser Contents – July Newsletter, 2022 Our Mission Statement Reminder  Calendar of Events Letter from the President BHH Organization Chart Volunteer Spotlight – Laurie Collier Halloween Blood Drive My First Blood Drive BHH Medical/Covid Policy Veterans Services Organization Boot Scoot Boogie New Location at TapOut Tuesday Market The Magic of Music  Chris's Corner 2022 UNSPA Winners – Panama Recognized Education Videos Medical Equipment The Tree of Life Donor Recognition BHH Policies Contact Us Our Mission Statement   Our mission is to inform and promote community health. To support people with health and wellness needs by providing information, equipment and volunteer services. To provide palliative (hospice) care for the terminally ill in order that they may experience death with dignity and limited pain. Calendar of Events August 3 – Council Meeting (via Zoom only) August 10 – General Meeting (via Zoom only) August 22, 24 & 26 – New Volunteer Training Class (Animales Event Center, Alto Boquete) August 24 – Being Prepared Workshop (via Zoom only) October 15 – Halloween Blood Drive (Animales Event Center, Alto Boquete) Letter from the President   Things are moving right along at Boquete Health and Hospice.  Our recent blood drive was a big success. We collected 55 pints of blood to add to our credit at the blood bank at Hospital Regional. This means there is an excellent supply of blood available for all Boquete residents. Since 2019 we have collected 347 pints! If you know of anyone who needs blood please have them contact us. Don't miss the next blood drive in October! Two of our patient care coordinators, Craig Gatrel and Denise Daniels, gave a well-received presentation about our services to 125 members of the Veterans Service Organization recently.  Our Equipment team loaned out 15 pieces of equipment in the last month. Also, if you or anyone is in need of a temporary oxygen concentrator for going to the hospital or down to David we have two of these for one-day-only loan. What we need now is volunteers to fill important positions within our organization. Our treasurer and volunteer coordinator, Lesley Hughes, has created a organizational chart for BHH which you can view in this newsletter. We need volunteers to fill some of the important positions in the organization.  Please take a moment to review this chart. If you have any skills that can contribute to one of our vacant positions we want you on our team. BHH is a great organization to volunteer your time. If you have any desire to be of service to the community, it is hard to think of a better vehicle than being a volunteer at Boquete Health and Hospice. On Wednesday, August 22, we will begin our three-day training for new members and still have several spaces available. Sign up now and become a part of this vital organization and help your community prosper! Finally, I want to give a personal thank you to Laurie Collier, who is stepping down as Vice President after six years as a very active volunteer at BHH. Laurie jumped right in when Babbie and I recruited her long ago and never stopped working. She became a driving force in the organization, holding many important positions over the years. Laurie was also instrumental, along with Ann Maxwell and others, in creating our blood donor program,  and continues to help with this important program, Thank you Laurie!. We will miss you. Everyone stay safe and be well. John Earle President BHH Organization Chart ~ We're Looking for Volunteers! Boquete Health and Hospice is looking for volunteers and there are many ways your unique talents can be utilized. As the open spots in the org chart below show, we need people for Marketing, the Newsletter Team, IT, Translation, Fund Raising, Community Outreach, Community Education,  as well as Patient Services, Equipment, and the Blood Team. If you're interested in becoming a BHH volunteer, our next New Volunteer Training Class is August 22, 24, and 26 at the Animales Event Center in Alto Boquete. We have seven spaces available. The policies of Boquete Health and Hospice require that all new volunteers submit an application, which can be found on our website at volunteer form and be vaccinated. After completing the application, please email a copy of your vaccination card to Dave Nichols at disasterdave@yahoo.com so it can be entered into the BHH database. Space is limited at the New Volunteer Training, so if you are interested, sign up early. Once your application and vaccination care are received, Lesley will contact you. If you are a member and interested in one of these roles, please contact Lesley Hughes immediately. We're working on job descriptions for each volunteer role, but for the present, the titles and brief summary give a hint of what the volunteer position entails. To fill a spot, the person needs to be a member of BHH. While we do have non-member volunteers who work behind the scenes, most volunteers interact with the public. We need your help to fill these roles:  Vice President – Oversees Education/Training, Volunteer Coordinator, Marketing, and Translation teams. Marketing – Oversees Newsletter, Events/Fundraising and Social Media teams. Community Outreach – Meets with local officials and community organizations to discuss and promote BHH and its services.  IT – Oversees website development and database development teams. Community Education – Oversees Being Prepared and CPR teams. Being Prepared – Coordinates updates to the manual and schedules and manages Being Prepared workshops. CPR – Coordinates training and CPR classes. Events/Fundraising – Creates and coordinates community events and fundraising. Graphics – (Not shown on chart; we'll remedy that later.) Create and design graphics for flyers and announcements.  Laurie Collier, a Very Special Volunteer Over the years Laurie has done incredible work for BHH. Laurie has served Boquete Health and Hospice as President, Vice President (twice), and Treasurer (twice). She helped start the blood drive program with Carmen Restrepo and Anne Maxwell, supported the Public Relations team, the CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) team, the Being Prepared team, and the Magic of Music team. She organized special events such as the cannabis talk and volunteers' luncheon, the Valentine's "Romance, and the Intimacy and Sex" presentation, and co-chaired the health fair for two years. In addition, she worked health support and hospice cases and held the Past President seat on the council for several terms.   Laurie expended tireless effort in creating and managing her pet project, the Blood Drive, since 2019. Prior to that, when someone needed blood, a call went out to the community for donors. The blood drives have dramatically improved healthcare for the Boquete community and saved a number of lives. We are happy to say that Laurie will continue to participate in the upcoming blood drives. The next blood drive is scheduled for Saturday, October 15, 2022.   BHH thanks you, Laurie, and acknowledges you for all your participation through the years. We will miss you. You are the best!  Join the Halloween Blood Drive ~ Help Your Community and Neighbors! Date/time: Saturday, October 15, 7am-12 pm Location: Animales Event Center (Ruby McKenzie Clinic) across from Super Centro Ivan's Requirements: Must be under 65 years old with no Covid since September 15. On average, a pint of blood saves three lives. The BHH program, which partners with Hospital Regional, is the only true blood bank in Panama. Please consider being a blood donor and if you can't donate blood, join our Matching Fund Drive. For every blood pint collected, you match donations with a dollar amount. You set the amount, with an upper limit if desired. Support this vital program by donating your time, talent, or funds! For more information go to boquetehealth.org/what-we-do or call/text: WhatsApp +507-6590-2000 or call 507-6781-9250, 8am-5pm, Monday through Friday, 9am-1pm, Saturday and Sunday.  Donate blood and save a life today! Sign up to give blood at the link below. Sign Up Now to Donate Blood! My First Blood Drive in Boquete! By Janice Norris   Having been to many a blood drive as Director of Quality at a regional blood center in the US, I was excited to see how a blood drive was run in Boquete. As a volunteer during the BHH blood drive on June 11, I got my chance.     The first thing I noticed was the organization and expertise of the blood bank staff involved from Hospital Regional. Everything flowed quickly and easily, with donors being processed immediately as they arrived. With ten staff members, the number of donors was not overwhelming to the staff, and therefore, processing was done quickly and efficiently.     Next, the staff was very cordial with the donors while maintaining the professionalism needed to process each donor. With physicians included in the staff, decisions were made quickly on who could and could not donate. I did not observe any donor having to have more than one stick to obtain the unit of blood. This attests to the expertise of those working with the donors. When the staff observed a reaction by a donor, they attended to the donor immediately. This allowed the donor to eventually get up and walk out on their own with a positive versus a negative outlook.   Overall, I believe the staffing was the key to the smoothness of this drive. In the US, the staffing for this type of drive would most likely have been half of what it was here in Boquete. With fewer staff, there is potential for donors having to wait long times, as well as not having the attention needed. Also, it takes longer to process the number of donors and the staff become tired and not as effective.     This blood drive, however, was one of the best efforts I have seen.   Great work, Boquete! BHH Medical/Covid Policy   The health of our clients, members, and the public is our top priority. Due to changing MINSA guidelines, the Boquete Health and Hospice Council has reviewed our policies regarding safety protocols, and will continue to require masks at all gatherings and that the meeting/class leader be vaccinated. This decision was made jointly with Dra. Shannon Tuer, the BHH Medical Director. This policy states that: At all meetings, events, and any setting where in-person contact between a BHH member and the public may occur, our member(s) or the person leading must be masked and vaccinated. At all meetings, EVERYONE must be masked and wearing the mask correctly. When picking up equipment at the locker, the person picking up must be vaccinated, show their vaccination card and be masked. All new members must be vaccinated and complete the three-day training. The full text of our policies can be found on our website:  BoqueteHealth.org/Information/BHH Policies. Your compliance with this policy is deeply appreciated. BHH Presentation for the Veterans Services Organization   Earlier this month, two of our Patient Care Coordinators, Denise Daniels and Craig Gatrel, attended the annual meeting for Veterans Services held at Sabor located at Valle Escondido.  They spoke to a packed audience and introduced Boquete Health and Hospice, explaining the services we provide for the Boquete community. BHH volunteer Sandra Cripe also presented an update on the Being Prepared Manual.    Veteran service officers from across Panama attended and presented useful information to the public on the Health Care Alliance and what it does for veterans and their families. Following the meeting several people approached Denise and Craig to get more information about BHH and inquire about volunteering. The Veterans Service office in Boquete is located between the Do It Center and Organica. If you are a US Veteran or you know someone who is, please note these important contacts: Rick Hayes – Rick is the Veterans Service Officer (VSO) for Boquete. Phone: +507 788-1521 (office) or +507 6542-9529 (WhatsApp) Email: vso.pvc.boquete@gmail.com Dr. Jordon Valdés – Dr. Jordon is the physician that serves both Boquete and David. He is in Boquete on Tuesday and Thursday (hours depend on his appointments). Phone: +507 6223-0408 (Assistant) Boot Scoop Boogie   We received this anonymous thank you recently: My chum injured his leg and needed an immobilizing boot. Boquete Hospice and Hospice helped me in the past with equipment rental for my mom, so I knew they could likely assist us with a boot too.  Our vehicle was in the shop and wasn't ready when it was supposed to be, so I had to reschedule the boot pickup at the hospice locker several times. All of the four volunteers that helped me were kind, friendly, patient, and responsive. Eventually, a successful boot scoop was accomplished.  We are extremely grateful for this amazing service to the community. What a huge help! Thank you so much, BHH. We appreciate all you do! Come See Us at Our New Location at the TapOut Tuesday Market!    We've moved to the theater, along with all the other service organizations in Boquete. Stop by and say hi to Barbara Lapid, the BHH rep at our table. She'd love to hear from you! The Magic of Music Members of the Magic of Music team spend countless hours digging into the scientific research surrounding the use of music for health and wellness purposes. Our sources of information include some of the most well-known and respected medical institutions, including Harvard Medical School, Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, National Institute of Health, and many other trusted sources. This month's music meme (above) is based on information published by Pfizer, which is noteworthy since the pharmaceutical company's own medical team, who authored the report, is validating that music can be effective treatment for the conditions listed. It is for these purposes that the Magic of Music team has small personal music players and a music-lending library containing over half a million songs. With these resources the team can build custom-tailored playlists that can help patients and their caretakers who contact Boquete Health and Hospice for assistance. You can find out more on the BHH website, or join the conversation with the Magic of Music Community Group on Facebook.  Contact us at WhatsApp +507-6781-9250 to borrow a music player. Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking through Life "In An Underslept State"   The National Sleep Foundation recommends an average of eight hours of sleep per night for adults, but sleep scientist Matthew Walker says that too many people are falling short of the mark. "Human beings are the only species that deliberately deprive themselves of sleep for no apparent gain," Walker says. "Many people walk through their lives in an underslept state, not realizing it." Walker is the director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He points out that lack of sleep—defined as six hours or fewer—can have serious consequences. Sleep deficiency is associated with problems in concentration, memory and the immune system, and may even shorten life span.   "Every disease that is killing us in developed nations has causal and significant links to a lack of sleep," he says. "So that classic maxim that you may [have] heard that you can sleep when you're dead, it's actually mortally unwise advice from a very serious standpoint."   Walker discusses the importance of sleep—and offers strategies for getting the recommended eight hours. Read the Article UN Public Service Awards Recognize 10 Innovations to Help World Recover Better from COVID-19   Winning initiatives help keep children safe, advance gender equality, and protect life below water Ten initiatives from Brazil, Canada, India, Ireland, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Ukraine have been recognized for their innovative public service delivery with the prestigious UN Public Service Awards at a virtual celebration organized by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs today. Read the Article Donate via PayPal Education Videos Education videos are up and running! They provide excellent info for caregivers and the general public in Spanish and English. Topics cover using equipment including crutches, wheelchairs, and walkers, as well as moving patients safely for patient and caregiver and general patient care. There are also informative videos on Alzheimer's and other types of dementia. To find these, go to the BHH website and choose your topic at boquetehealth.org/education. Videos Need Medical Equipment?   If you or someone you know has a need to borrow or return equipment, please contact our patient care coordinators (PCCs) at 6781-9250. All requests related to equipment must go through the PCCs. The PCCs will work with you or the caregiver to determine the appropriate equipment, availability, and loan period. Once the equipment need is identified, the PCCs coordinate with the equipment team to ensure the correct equipment is sanitized and ready to be checked out (picked up) at our locker located at Alto Dorado. A member of the equipment team will contact you or the caregiver directly to make arrangements to meet at our locker. Please note that our equipment team members only go to the locker for scheduled equipment checkouts and returns. No equipment team member is staffed at the locker and the locker is only open during specific times. Therefore, it is important to contact the PCCs first. When you are ready to return equipment, the process is the same. Simply call the PCCs at 6781-9250. If you are using a piece of equipment for the first time, be sure to visit our website and go to patient/caregiver videos under the education tab to learn more. Here you will find videos and information on using equipment and caring for patients in the home. Videos Tree of Life    Boquete Health and Hospice wants to publicly recognize our extremely dedicated and very generous donors. Your kindness keeps our Tree of Life growing and strong. A huge thank you to all of the contributors to the art auction and to all of the blood donors at our June blood drive! We also received so many generous contributions that we didn't have enough leaves on our Tree of Life to contain them all! The tree has grown so large that we have had to abandon the actual tree and move to a list, starting with this issue. What a wonderful situation to be in! Our donors are the life blood of our organization—without them we could not survive.  We gratefully acknowledge the following donors, who contributed $100 or more in May, June, or July:   Barry & Judy McNeil June Neptune Carmen Restrepo & Luis Botero Kat McKay Chris  McCall Laurie & Kelly Collier Craig Gatrel & John Ferguson Luanne Smiley Dave & Bridget Nichols Lucie Conner & James McCallum Dave Nichols Margaret Tosch Don & Janice Norris Marne Coggan Ellen Edmonson & Richard Crites Maxine Serano Erin & Dave Ross Nancy Worthington & Paul DiPaolo Gerri & Harvey Eckert OB Cooke Jane Hampton Penny Ripple Javier E Vijil Randy Deel Jim Wasson Robert Eyhorn John Allen Sheila Strunk John Earle Susan & Price Peterson John Ferguson & Craig Gatrel Wilke Pena We also received several anonymous donations.  Donate The policies of the organization are posted on our website and are updated as needed at boquetehospice.org/bhh-policies. Read  Contact Us Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm  Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 1pm Hospice/Health: (507) 6781-9250          Blood Donor Program: WhatsApp (+507) 6590-2000 or call (507) 6781-9250 Email: info@boquetehealth.org Website: boquetehealth.org Facebook: facebook.com/boqueteheartshandsandhelp Instagram: instagram.com/boquete_health_hospice/ All patient information shared with any Boquete Health and Hospice volunteer is kept in the strictest confidence. Freely send this to anyone or use any part. Our mailing address is: info@boquetehealth.org

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