Effort saves families money, keeps patients out of hospital
Adam Bramburger
Beaver Staff
A portion of the funds donated to Royal Canadian Legion Branch 137’s Poppy Fund last fall will help keep palliative patients out of the hospital.
Last week, the local branch gave $1,875 to Hospice Lennox and Addington to buy a bed and a replacement mattress for its hospital bed lending program.
According to Hospice executive director Kim Sunstrum, in the six years the organization has had the program, they’ve provided beds to 53 people and saved them over $73,000 in rental and delivery fees.
“In many cases, it’s families we know there would be no way they would have been able to purchase of rent a bed,” Sunstrum said. “We work with the South East Local Health Integration Network (SE LHIN) to make sure we are putting the beds in homes with the greatest need.”
Besides the financial savings for individuals heading toward end-of-life and their families, there’s also convenience and peace of mind in palliating at home as well a reduced risk on caregivers and homecare workers involved in turning and positioning.
By allowing people to be cared for in their own homes, the program also eases pressures on hospital services.
“Sometimes all they need to get from hospital to home is having that bed in place.”
Sunstrum says most people will use the beds for three to six weeks, though some have rebounded and continued in the program for as long as two years. The Legion’s gift will purchase an eighth bed for the program. Previously, the Rotary Club of Napanee, the Community Foundation for Lennox and Addington, the SE LHIN, and an anonymous donor have contributed beds. Replacement mattresses are required every three years.
Even with a greatly expanded program, Sunstrum said there is often a waiting list for the service.
She added Hospice has been fortunate to partner with Napanee’s Align Home Health Care to facilitate the service. The company picks up, cleans, and delivers the beds at no cost to Hospice or to the people it serves.
Branch 137 president Kathy Gardner said she was pleased to hear the impact the beds are having.
“When I realized what this was doing for your program, I knew it was a good thing to support,” she said.
The Poppy Fund raised nearly $26,000 last year. A portion of that money goes directly to the Legion’s zone command to directly support veterans and their families. Some funds go to local programs like Napanee’s Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps and Seniors Outreach Services, while others go to the Legion’s Provincial Command Charitable Foundation for major health-care donations. Poppy chair Peggy Sunstrum said the Napanee branch is hoping to announce two such donations in the coming weeks.