2012 Staff Exchange at Suncoast Hospice

A special part of our partnership with Suncoast Hospice and Hospice Wits is our staff exchange.

Our staffers who have visited our hospices in United States and South Africa have had enriching experiences. They have immersed themselves in our care and cultures, shared knowledge and resources and developed wonderful friendships.

Suncoast Hospice will be honored to host four Hospice Wits staffers for two weeks this fall. They are Dr. Suzanne "Sue" Walter, Dorcus Ramakuela, Penelope Mathe and Beverley "Bev" Tembo. We look forward to welcoming you to our community in Pinellas County, Florida.

Our partnership committee is planning many activities for you. Here in Pinellas, you will tour our facilities, observe our staff in the field, see some beautiful sights and be our special guests at our events. You will also attend a national clinical conference and visit Walt Disney World in Orlando. And more is in the works.

This is going to be an amazing experience. We will see you very soon!

Ebony



Our committee enjoyed meeting you on Skype.



Susan Moloto, Soweto Hospice sister tells her story

Susan Moloto, a sister (nurse) with Soweto Hospice tells of the care given to the "poorest of the poor" in Soweto, South Africa.

Feel the music of JABULA!

Get ready to fill your spirit with joy at Suncoast Hospice's 2011 JABULA! gospel fest. It's happening Sept. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at McCabe United Methodist Church, St. Petersburg.

You'll hear the sounds of sensational local choirs all performing to support our sister hospice, Hospice Association of the Witwatersrand in Soweto, South Africa. It's free to get in, but we'll kindly accept your donations to our sister hospice.

This year's line-up includes Koinania Fellowship Choir, McCabe United Methodist Church, Elim Seventh Day Adventist, King of Peace MCC and Bayboro House.

Get there early for our teen volunteers' bake sale benefiting our sister hospice.

McCabe United Methodist Church is located at 2800 26th Ave. S., St. Petersburg. For more information about the event, call 727-523-3362.

We hope to see you there for this special evening. Thank you for your support!

-Ebony

First Annual Clearwater Central Catholic High School Hospice Teen Council Movie Night was a success!!

Clearwater Central Catholic High School's Hospice Teen Council held their first annual Hospice Movie night on Thursday March 3rd at 7pm.  The movie "Up" was shown, delicious snacks were for sale and everyone (my family included) enjoyed a movie under the stars.  A great big thank you to Rebecca May and Julie Murphy (as shown in picture) ...Suncoast Hospice Teen Council Co-presidents and Collen Kiernan, CCC teacher and teen council advisor. The Hospice Teen Council did a great job with the fundraiser and with creating awareness for our sister Hospice Wits. We can't wait for next year... :)

What now?

How quickly two and a half weeks have gone... It seems as though we were just talking about our trip, planning and then packing; and now we've been back for 2 days.

When we arrived, we were two teams; the four of us from Suncoast Hospice and the five management staff from Hospice Wits. Two weeks later, we were one team, united to ensure access to the best possible hospice care regardless of the country in which it is offered. We took these pictures shortly before we left for the airport to return to the US. There were smiles and laughter before and after they were taken. The Suncoast Hospice staff were also given Hospice Wits hats, so now we're all honorary staff of Hospice Wits, too!

The 2011 staff exchange trip was incredibly successful, every way you can measure success. We learned how to provide excellent hospice care with limited resources, how to creatively utilize all staff to ensure patient/family needs are met, how to take care of ourselves and others, and how to build and sustain teams. We also learned how much we are alike and how we can learn from each other's differences.

Our sister hospice feels a profound sense of hope knowing that we are 'here' and connected to them. There is much left to do. I hope you'll join in and support our sister hospice; which also helps to support and sustain Suncoast Hospice. Over the next few months you'll be hearing more about our three South African committees. I hope you'll consider joining us as we provide this mutual support. By utilizing Skype, our sister hospice colleagues will also be participating in our committees and assisting in planning.

Thank you for the many ways in which you helped the team that traveled to our sister hospice. We are grateful for your support.

Stacy