October 18, 2023 Breakfast Meeting Notes

 

We had one guest: Prospective member George Baranowski. He works for Farmer’s Insurance in Campton. Welcome George!

 

50/50 was won by George.

Card game: Danielle drew the 9 of clubs so we continue the game next week.

 

Tony is feeling much better but still testing positive for Covid. He thinks that he will be able to solicit his donors for the Penny sale in the next couple of days but he might need some help.

 

Rotary minute: Percy C Hodgson was the first to propose goals for presidential terms. The goal is written in English and translated into other languages, although not always literally.

 

Penny sale: Setup is tomorrow at the high school at 5:30 pm. If you cannot make the setup, attach the tear-off sheets to your items and drop them off at Noyes, Flowersmith or Circle Program tomorrow during the day.  You can also bring in an item at the last minute and we will figure out where to put it, though it is better to have it early.  Be sure to let Sharon know about any additional items as soon as possible so she can integrate them into the master list.

 

Tickets purchased on line: Give Butter has a record of these purchases. DO NOT FILL OUT A SEPARATE TICKET ON THE STREET FOR PEOPLE WHO PURCHASE VIA GIVE BUTTER. The day before the event, Nancy will hand-write the tickets for the online sales. Note that online purchases can be coded as street sales in the comments section. 

 

Announcements: Rotary Leadership Institute will meet 10/28; District Training and dinner will be Nov 11.  More info to come later.

 

Danielle introduced our speaker, Dr. Christie Saunders. She was an OB-GYN for many years but switched to hospice care after her father developed metastatic lung cancer. Last summer our club gave a donation to Pemi Baker Hospice and Home Health for her to attend a seminar at George Washington University and she summarized what she learned.

 

Her talk concerned heath, wellness and spirituality. She asked if anyone here has a spirit animal (hers is a male lion) or a petronus (see Harry Potter)…hers is a magpie. The program she attended last summer concerned how to intertwine spirituality into heath care. Today people tend to live longer than in years past, and as a result many are living with chronic disease, which is detrimental to their mental and spiritual health. Improving spiritual health has been shown to improve overall quality of life.

 

Health is a state of being free from illness or injury. Wellness is a holistic integration of physical, mental and spiritual well being that fuels our body, engages our mind and nurtures our soul. The ability to express our feelings to others, to enjoy nature, to eat and sleep well, to engage our minds and learn, is vital to our spiritual health. The goal of hospice is to help residents develop these things.

 

Spiritual care is NOT equivalent to religion, although religion can be part of spirituality. Everyone expresses spirituality differently. It can include meditation, finding joy in interacting with nature, with animals, or with other human beings. Our spirit helps us seek meaning and transcend the hard parts of life. Spirit also includes how we feel about ourselves. By helping hospice patients think about something other than themselves, we can help them to find transcendence and fulfillment in life.

 

The BioPsychoSocial Spiritual Model dates to 1980. We all have biological problems, psychological problems, social issues (financial burdens, worrying about caring for ourselves), and spiritual issues (dignity, meaning to life). Spirituality is linked with better health outcomes. The way individuals seek connection, peace, meaning, purpose, and transcendence, is what helps us be healthy. There is less deprived depression, suicide, and substance abuse amongst persons with a high level of  spirituality. One study found that even something as simple as being around trees can lower blood pressure and reduce stress, foster community pride and a heath community that is better for the welfare of all who inhabit it.

 

At Pemi Baker Hospice and Home Health, FICA cards are given to hospice staff with questions to ask patients on admission. New residents are asked if they if are part of a faith community, what inspires and influences them, and what their community connections are. Counselors then use this information to integrate into the plan for their care. For example, she gave the example of an elderly patient who liked to hike but had broken her hip. Counseling on spirituality helped her find activities that continued to make her feel like a part of her community (including some on-line volunteer work) so that she did not dwell on her own problems. Medicare even requires that a spiritual care provider must be part of your treatment team before they will pay for hospice must have a spiritual care provider. Note that other insurance will not always pay for this. 

 

Bring your social media next week. The speaker is Courtney, our social media consultant, and she will do a Zoom training session on how to better use your social media. 

 

 

Bill: please sign up for street sales. plymouthrotaryfoundation.org is our tool to approach the public. It lists what we do for the community so that people can see how good it is to support us. 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Lora Miller, secretary