Kittson County Hospice holds annual meeting

By President    Patti Swanson, RN
Kittson County Hospice marked 2018 as its 35th year of providing high quality, free hospice care to the residents of Kittson County.
At the recent annual meeting, Roger Malm and Kathy Levenhagen were re-elected to serve another three-year term on the board. The following officers were re-elected:  President Patti Swanson, RN; Vice President Roger Malm, and Secretary/Treasurer Cindy Urbaniak, PHN.
The board of directors expressed their deepest gratitude to the following volunteers who make Kittson County Hospice possible:  Karen Isaacson for recording and acknowledging all memorials and donations; Janelle Hostrup and Roger Malm of the Brink Law Firm for our meeting notices, copies and secretarial services;  Kittson Healthcare for their cooperation, support, printing and office space; the Kittson County Enterprise for their continued support and publicity; Dahl, Hatton, Muir, and Reese, LTD, for their generous help and support with payroll and taxes; Janice Hunt for doing our annual audit; the willing volunteers who decorated our Community Hospice Christmas Trees in 2018: Dan and Diane Younggren and Don Schuller of Hallock; Kevin Balstad from Kennedy; Arlen and Janet Nordin from Lancaster, and Everett Englund from Karlstad; the many county organizations and individuals for their generous donations and support;  the families who gave memorial gifts; the many hospice volunteers who give so much of themselves; and to Teresa Clay for doing an outstanding job as our administrative coordinator. At the annual meeting, recognition was given to the patient care coordinators: Sandy Wilson, RN; Peggy Nordin, RN; Nicole Steien, RN; Char Langen, RN; and Tawnya Sorenson, RN; as well as our social workers Kathy Johnson and Leanne Truedson; Chaplain Kathy Levenhagen; massage therapist Danelle Miller; music therapists Galen Nordin and Faye Potrament; medical cirector Dr. James Surdy; volunteer administrator Patti Swanson, RN; and the dedicated lay volunteers who spent many hours with our patients this year as well as helping with special projects. Recognition was also given to the faithful members of our board of directors (Roger Malm, Cindy Urbaniak, Sandy Wilson, Kathy Johnson, Kathy Levenhagen and Patti Swanson) who contribute so much of their time, talent, and energy. Together, our outstanding team of dedicated individuals make possible the caring ministry of Kittson County Hospice.
The annual reports, treasurer’s and audit reports were approved. It was noted that 2018 donations were down over $4,000 from 2017. The 2019 projected budget was adjusted accordingly.
In addition to providing hospice and bereavement care to patients and families in 2018, Kittson County Hospice also provided a recognition event for its volunteers; attended county health fairs to provide information; provided an annual report to the Kittson County Commissioners; mailed out two newsletters; provided articles to local newspapers on National Hospice and Palliative Care Day; conducted their annual memorial service for hospice families as well as anyone from the general public; provided a free one-day medical conference for area clergy and medical professionals; and also conducted a class on pain management and end of life care for the nursing home and hospital staff of Kittson Healthcare.
It was also noted that more RNs are still needed, as well as lay volunteers from the Kennedy, Donaldson and Karlstad areas.
There are currently no lay volunteers from these three communities. Kittson County Hospice can always use more volunteers.
Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Administrative Coordinator Teresa Clay (843-3804; 843-2859; or terclay@hotmail .com) or Administrator Patti Swanson (843-2867; 843-5090; or pswanson@ ruralaccess.net).