| Volunteer
Programs
Additional Keystone Hospice
Volunteer Profiles:
Fundraising
Auctioneer
Connie Mazzochetti
Conductor
Michael Johns and the Here’s to Life Orchestra
Reverend
Joseph Craddock & Sister Mary Early
Bedside
Harpist Marilyn Lemke
Nonagenarian
(and Former House Resident!) Mary Rose Nuse
"Multi-Purpose"
Volunteer Sue McElroy
Keystone's
First Couple: Art & Shirley Rowe
"Office
Angel" Margaret Henderson
Holiday
Food Drive at Lansdale Catholic High School
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Dr.
Frank Bernt
Director of the
Faith-Justice Learning Institute,
St. Joseph’s University
While the topic of death is frequently avoided in our society, students
at St. Joseph’s University are offered a course that specifically
addresses how people across cultures and throughout history have responded
to the challenge of dying. The course, entitled “Seeking a Better
Death: Hospice and Palliative Care” is taught by Dr. Frank Bernt.
Students learn the traditional medical model’s approach to death
and how this differs from the hospice model of palliative care, and are
encouraged to think about their own lives and deaths from a psychosocial-spiritual
perspective. As part of the course, the students spend 30 hours over the
course of the semester in a hospice to gain a very personal understanding
of the experience of the needs of dying persons as well as how to respond
and interact with people at this point in their lives.
In teaching the course, Dr. Bernt creates a comfortable and safe environment
for his students within which they can explore this difficult topic. He
invites members of the hospice interdisciplinary team to talk about their
roles, shows movies such as “Wit” that portray various types
of death, arranges for visits to a funeral home and cemetery, and has
students keep a journal in which they chronicle their personal journeys
into caring for people who are nearing the end of their lives and identify
significant learnings or questions they have as a result of their hospice
experiences.
Keystone Hospice has been one of the placements available for students
taking Dr. Bernt’s course, and our patients, families and staff
have truly benefited from their involvement. Students are generally assigned
to specific patients who they follow over the semester. The students keep
patients company while they eat, listen to their life stories, and provide
a gentle companionship that usually enriches them all. They visit patients
who are residents at Keystone House, in their own homes, or in assisted
living settings and gain insight into the needs and challenges for patients
and families in all types of settings. Some of these students are planning
to go into the health care field after college and their exposure to hospice
is an invaluable lesson that will impact them both personally and professionally.
We salute Dr. Bernt for his dedication to help his students gain a
comprehensive understanding of death and dying. And, as a hospice volunteer
for over 15 years, he demonstrates through his actions his personal commitment
to being a compassionate companion to
people at the end of their lives.
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