NOVEMBER 2024
Thanksgiving blessings to you!
We are so grateful for your support and there is no better time to express our appreciation for all we have than during the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s equally important to recognize there are many among us who do not have food, shelter, health, family and friends for comfort during the holidays.
Mount Carmel’s work to help the less fortunate among us may be our biggest blessing of all. We thank you for helping make our work possible and offer this simple prayer to all of you on this holiday:
“We thank you, God our Father, for the shelter and comfort of our homes; for the love and companionship of our family and friends; for our health, and our many gifts and abilities; and for all the blessings which we take for granted. Hear our prayer for all who are less fortunate than we are and bless those who work to help them. For Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.”
— Rev. Adrian Porter, SJ, “A Prayer of Thanksgiving”
Holiday favorites featured in this healthy recipe
Enjoy your brussels sprouts and cranberries in a brand-new way this Thanksgiving. From the von Zychlin Healthy Living Center kitchen, this Harvest Farro Salad is simple and easy to make. It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser on your Thanksgiving table.
November is Hospice and Palliative Care Month
Hospice is all about bringing the highest level of quality into the life you have left. Dr. Philip Santa-Emma, who leads Mount Carmel’s Hospice & Palliative Medicine team, has worked at the forefront of hospice care since the mid-1990s.
“I chose Mount Carmel almost solely because of its mission,” says Dr. Santa-Emma. “And, in my opinion, there is no purer expression of that mission than compassionate care at the end of life. My career began in family practice, but the more work I did in hospice and palliative care, the more I realized that is where I belong.”
“Hospice was an idea that grew out of the medical system in the 1970s. When patients got to a point where we could not cure them, we started finding ways to make the quality of their lives better in the time they had left,” he says. “It doesn’t necessarily mean death is imminent. We’re all familiar with former President Jimmy Carter, who has been in hospice care for more than 18 months, and is still with us.”
Hospice and palliative care have evolved into a interdisciplinary team approach that is personalized to each patient’s wishes. Physicians, advanced practice providers, social workers, chaplain, pharmacists, volunteers, registered nurses, aids and dieticians are all available to help care for patients and their families. In addition, Mount Carmel’s team can provide medical equipment that the patient wants or needs. It’s not typically on-site, round-the-clock care, but the team is available 24/7 as needed and, if a crisis occurs, patients can be admitted to the hospital through hospice.
“It’s very individual and very personal. Decisions are shared. Providers give options and then patients and their families make informed choices,” says Dr. Santa-Emma. “Hospice care can be healing for families, even in the face of losing a loved one. In our work, we see a lot of reconciliation and times when families grow and bond more closely. Accepting mortality is hard. We help ease that transition and make those days the best they can be.”
Every dollar donated to Mount Carmel Foundation for Hospice goes directly to the program. Your generosity helps Dr. Santa-Emma and his team provide care and comfort to patients with life-limiting illness.
Holiday wish lists aren’t just for kids anymore
Some of Mount Carmel’s most in-demand programs have posted wish lists on Amazon. If you would like to help support their efforts to care for people who most need help in our communities, please click on the name of the program and it will take you directly to the associated wish list.
Mount Carmel Street Medicine
Mount Carmel’s Street Medicine program provides no cost urgent medical care to uninsured and underinsured individuals. Services are offered through our mobile clinic and on the streets. Half of the individuals we serve are living in homelessness and need basic supplies to support survival and comfort.
Mount Carmel Social Care
Mount Carmel’s Social Care programs serve community members experiencing street homelessness who wish to enter shelter or housing, and members of our community living with Substance Misuse Disorder. Our team meets with patients onsite in our hospitals, via home visits and those living on the land to address the unique social care needs of each individual.
Mount Carmel von Zychlin Healthy Living Center
Mount Carmel's von Zychlin Healthy Living Center is a community wellness center that provides FREE health and wellness education, empowering individuals to embrace long-term health behavior changes in a safe, inclusive space. Programming includes cooking and nutrition, exercise, stress management, sleep hygiene and healthy relationships.
Our volunteers are amazing. Join us!
Mount Carmel volunteers brighten the days of our patients and are so valued by our colleagues and medical staff.
In January, Mount Carmel Health System is expanding its volunteer program to include opportunities at Mount Carmel College of Nursing. Whether it’s greeting students on special welcome days, assisting with events and activities, stocking the skills lab, or helping in the library, there will be great ways to get involved at the College.
Applications to participate in this new opportunity are now being accepted. All volunteers are required to complete a TB test, provide immunization records or complete immunization testing, and provide documentation of a flu vaccination during flu season. Medical and religious exemption forms are approved on a case-by-case basis.
The majority of volunteer shifts are four hours long and fall between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Apply here to volunteer at Mount Carmel.
Volunteering for Hospice requires additional regulatory compliance, so applications for this area are separate from others at the health system. No medical training is required and hospice volunteers do not provide medical services. Their work focuses on companionship, including activities like reading to a patient, watching a movie or simply talking about experiences and reminiscing. Learn more about volunteering for hospice here.
Dr. Jack O’Handley Memorial 5K draws 175 runners and walkers
On November 2, 2024, runners and walkers from throughout central Ohio participated in the Dr. Jack O’Handley Memorial 5K Run. The race net proceeds, $6,328, will support the Mount Carmel Street Medicine program through which Dr. Jack O’Handley cared for truly needy individuals for 25 years. Thank you to each and every person who contributed to the success of this race to honor his legacy.