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“You matter to the last moment of your life, and we will do all we can, not only to help you die peacefully, but to live until you die.”
Dame Cicely Saunders
Founder of Hospice in London, England
719-336-2100
administration@lamarhospice.org
A Community Where Every Day of Life Matters
Lamar Area Hospice has become a mainstay in southeast Colorado, providing valuable services to patients and their families for thirty years. What an accomplishment for a non-profit, independent, rural health care agency.
Of course, being rural has its challenges and geography is just one of them. Limited resources and support services resulting in staff burnout are very typical to rural healthcare. Moreover, the struggling economy complicates a long-standing problem for rural communities; which is very modest financial resources. However; tough times are not new to this organization or to our area. We are a strong and resilient citizenry. We have learned through difficult times to combine and support efforts within the community that increase the impact of everything we do. For every paid member of our staff we have a volunteer. We assess the degree to which each service impacts our organization and community and prioritize funding. We have learned to increase the value of every dollar. Over the years, difficult times have forced us to hone our skills, focus our energies and keep our eyes on our mission. Around here, we would argue that being rural is an amazing
asset. The close-knit nature of rural communities lends itself to neighborliness and charitable acts of kindness. It is not unusual for Hospice to go into a home where the utilities have been shut off because the family is financially exhausted from a terminal illness. In addition to the medical, emotional and spiritual support; we have bought groceries for families, put a telephone in the home, cleaned the house. We’ve given haircuts and permanents, taken the cat to the vet, built handicap ramps, provided transportation and spent the holidays with our families. We provide needed respite for our caregivers, which is unique to our Organization. This is what rural hospice looks like and it’s what makes us special. Whatever the drawbacks are, the services are enthusiastically provided and gratefully received. We are able to very specifically meet the needs of our patients and their families because we are part of a COMMUNITY! We partner with every church, charity and group in our area who simply want to help. It is a collective effort by so many in the community and allows Lamar Area Hospice to provide comfort and compassion when it is needed most.
Lamar Area Hospice ® 108 W Olive St. PO Box 843 Lamar, CO 81052
