Haywood Hospice and Palliative Care hosts memory tree for holiday season

From Haywood Regional Medical Center:

Memory Tree Hosted at the Homestead and Haywood Hospice

(Clyde, N.C.) — The Homestead and Haywood Hospice and Palliative Care announce that they are hosting a Memory Tree for the holiday season. Coworkers, family members and friends who have lost a loved one are welcome to bring a special ornament to add to the tree in memory of or in honor of someone special. They may also come in and write a special message or sign an ornament on the tree.

The Memory Tree is on display in the lobby of the Homestead at 127 Sunset Ridge Road in Clyde (off Hospital Drive) and staff are present at all times to receive contributions to the Memory Tree. The tree is the inspiration and creation of Homestead employee, Theresa Nelson, CNA, who devotes her energies at the holidays to one project per year – and this year, the Memory Tree is very near and dear to her heart. She has worked as a CNA since 2004. She started out in Home Health and now at the Homestead since it opened.

“I have never had a job like this one – it is very rewarding to help people. It is a given that we must be born and we all must die – so my job is to make that journey the best it can be,” said Nelson.

Haywood Regional Medical Center Hospice & Palliative Care offers six inpatient hospice beds and is the first facility of its kind west of Asheville. Each staff member at The Homestead is hand-picked for their competence and caring. Once chosen, these staff members are specially trained and become experts in end-of-life care.

The concept for this facility began in 2004. In the span of time from concept to completion, every detail ensures that the experience is as close to being at home as it gets. Patients/families will feel a sense of well-being in this place. During their stay, they may also take advantage of the amenities available including Individually controlled room temperature & ceiling fans, porch access from every room with beautiful views, sleeper chairs for an overnight stay, heat lamps in patient bathrooms, oxygen outlets to facilitate freedom of movement throughout the building, soothing lighting, family laundry for making patient clothing smell like home, kitchen access to prepare favorite comfort foods, public and private sitting rooms, complimentary hot drinks and visits by family pets who meet visitation guidelines

In keeping with the Homestead theme, each room is named for an heirloom quilt pattern. In the mountain heritage, quilts were lovingly made in the coming together of women in the community. So in essence, to be wrapped in a handmade quilt is to be wrapped in the warmth and love of the community. There is, perhaps, no better analogy than the fact that The Homestead was entirely funded by charitable gifts and the support of the community.

The mission statement is, “Making a Difference, One Life at a Time”. Homestead employees consider the mission statement to also be a commitment and the staff is thankful to be entrusted with their patient’s end of life care. For more information, call (828) 452-5039.

Haywood Regional Medical Center, a Duke LifePoint Hospital, is located in Haywood County and offers a comprehensive array of services, including orthopedics, spine services, cardiology, general surgery, women’s care, emergency medicine, behavioral health, and includes 12 multi-specialty physician clinics. The campus, located in Clyde, is also home to the 54,000 square foot Haywood Regional Health and Fitness Center, the 44,000 square foot Haywood Regional Outpatient Care Center (includes the outpatient surgery center, laboratory, imaging center including women’s imaging and physician practices) and nearby, The Homestead, an inpatient hospice facility. Haywood Regional Medical Center also operates two urgent care centers in the county, in Waynesville and Canton.