News Report

Reprinted with permission from The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas
Sunday, March 18, 2001

The hospice team provides support for people in the final phases of an incurable disease.

by Tammy W. Tucker
(The Morning News — NWAonline.net )

SPRINGDALE — Whether they're braving floods across low-water bridges, sliding on ice or hiking up hills, the staff at Circle of Life Hospice in Springdale will do whatever it takes to keep terminally ill patients at home during the last months of their lives.

On March 6, Circle of Life celebrated its one-year anniversary with a potluck lunch and a balloon release in memory of the many family members served during the past year.

"It was only a few months ago that I understood what the hospice staff does for the families of a loved one with cancer," Means said, referring to his late mother who recently had the help of a hospice in Fort Smith. "I want to offer a personal thanks."

He also congratulated the Circle of Life social workers for their part in the successes during the past year because March is Social Workers Month.

Dr. Leslie Landrum, who joined the team in November as a full-time physician, gave Sharp a card expressing thanks for helping the hospice "grow and prosper."

"Truly we couldn't do it without the dedication of the staff, the volunteers, the families and the foundations," Sharp said. "This is a great, great organization, and I'm really proud to be part of it."

Circle of Life Hospice split from Northwest Medical Center in Springdale to become the first community-based nonprofit hospice in Northwest Arkansas. Although the hospice started with little money and a small staff, the number of patients continued to grow.

Since it first started, the hospice staff has increased to include nine registered nurses, about 50 volunteers and a full-time bereavement counselor, a medical director, home-health aides, social workers and counselors, other support personnel and a chaplain.

Since March 2000, Circle of Life has provided hospice care to 333 families in Benton, Washington and Madison counties. Its purpose is to provide support and care for people in the final phases of an incurable disease, so they may live as fully and comfortably as possible.

"It shows you what you can do with a lot of faith and hard work," Sharp said. "We truly have come a long way."

Circle of Life Hospice provides several services for its patients and their families including medication, counseling, spiritual care and support, life planning and financial assistance, short-term inpatient care, medical equipment and supplies, support groups and classes, 24-hour on-call nursing staff, educational visits and a bereavement library open to the public. This library contains books, videos, tapes and newsletters.

The hospice serves any person and family in Benton, Madison and Washington counties who is terminally ill, no longer undergoing curative treatment, has an identified caregiver willing to work with the hospice team and has a physician who has agreed to hospice care.

Circle of Life provides care to those who meet the admission requirements, regardless of their ability to pay. Funding for the hospice is provided by Medicare, Medicaid, insurance plans, memorials, grants and donations.

Several community organizations also provide encouragement and financial assistance to Circle of Life, including the CommunityCare Foundation, the Jones Center for Families, the Cancer Challenge, the Northwest Medical Center Auxiliary and the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation.

During the next year, the hospice team hopes to expand its services to open the first Palliative Care Clinic in the area with seed money from the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

A Palliative Care Clinic is for all people facing life-threatening illnesses. The hospice is currently looking for a house in Springdale that could serve as the clinic. The clinic will house the Circle of Life Comfort Center, where clients will be guided through noninvasive therapies, such as healing touch, creative visualization, aromatherapy, music therapy or water therapy.

The clinic also will provide the needed space for the Kids Bearing Our Grief program, which the hospice plans to develop. The long-term goal is to turn the clinic into the first residential Hospice House in Northwest Arkansas.

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