For almost forty years the Southeast Texas Hospice has served the terminally ill and their families in Orange and Jefferson counties. Mary McKenna with Southeast Texas Hospice said that when they started people did not die in their homes.
At that time in 1979, persons with terminal illnesses were left in a hospital or nursing home until they died. “We had a mission in our heart to make it happen to allow people to die at home in the comfort of their home,” McKenna informed.
All the client’s symptoms including pain are controlled by the hospice worker. McKenna stated the hospice’s premise is to get into the home and help the dying person and their family to be as comfortable as possible in their dying days.
McKenna is proud to say in its four decades the Southeast Texas Hospice has served close to four thousand patients with their loved ones and families. Many of those friends and families nearly forty years later still come to the annual Memorial Service Remembrance which is this week.
The Memorial Service Remembrance will be at the Parish Hall of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Rev. Jeff Bell with the hospice said the service is an opportunity for the family and friends that have been served over the years to reminisce with the hospice employees. “It is a time to encourage them to sing, to bring some of their pictures, and memorabilia to just join together, it’s just a big family,” Bell advised.
The Southeast Texas Hospice conducts the annual service for the families, but it is important for the staff. Patricia Coppage with the hospice indicated the service provides some form of closure for the staff with the patients they have served especially in the previous year. “We really look forward to it, it’s a great time to set aside to remember those that are important to us that have passed on and also to have fellowship with the hospice staff,” Coppage concluded.
The Memorial Service Remembrance will be held Thursday, July 26, at the St. Mary’s Parish Hall at 912 Cherry in Orange. The service will be from 2 PM to 4 PM.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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