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Boquete Health and Hospice June Newsletter


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Table of Contents
  • World Blood Donor Day
  • Being Prepared for Life & Death Workshop
  • Letter from the President
  • Thanks to Dr Rod
  • Covid Be Safe Plea
  • Behind the Scenes Volunteers
  • Respiratory Team
  • Music for Relaxation & Stress-Relief
  • Call for Art
  • Chris's Corner - Exercises to Reduce Falls
  • Tree of Life
  • BHH Policies
  • Mission Statment
 
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World Blood Donor Day - June 12, 2021
We are so grateful that we collected 55 pints of blood - each pint can help save 3 lives, so 165 people in our community will benefit.
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The Municipio de Boquete brought a van of 12 donors to the blood drive….all young, first time donors.  Our goal will be to increase the number of young, Panamanian donors as we educate them on the need for blood and the value of helping others.

THANKS Go To:
  • Our valuable Blood Donors.  We collected 55 pints of blood!
  • The Blood Bank staff from Hospital Regional who efficiently registered, tested, interviewed and then withdrew the blood – all following the MINSA guidelines.
  • Our BHH Volunteers and nurses who worked the event – Char L., Linda R., Mary Y., Cat V., Noemi M., Laurie C., Carmen R., and Luis B.
  • Our Corporate Donors and Supporters – Piero with Milky Way Creamery, and Melissa Chong, our landlord for our storage units at the Alto Dorado stores.
  • Our Matching Fund Donors – who pledged $ for each pint collected.  With their generosity, BHH received $1,300 to continue our work for the Boquete Community. See the Tree of Life below.
Watch for news on the upcoming BLOOD DONOR DAY in BOQUETE on October 9. Please consider supporting it by donating blood or being a Matching Fund donor. 
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Many thanks to all the volunteers who helped with the blood drive.
 
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Many thanks to regional hospital blood bank staff.
 
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Being Prepared 
Workshop
Take the FEAR out of an unexpected health crisis!
Join this valuable discussion  
Wed., July 21st   
11:00 - 12:30pm
Animales Event Center - Ruby McKenzie Clinic

NOW is the time to: 
  1. Provide peace of mind for yourself and your loved ones.
  2. Navigate the paperwork that will put you in legal compliance with Panama.
  3. Think about the difficult questions on your end-of-life care.
  4. Get your affairs in order

Bring your hard copy of the Being Prepared Guide, and your questions.
(Guides are available at our BHH Tap Out Tuesday market table, at Mailboxes, Etc., or at the event for a $10 donation.)
For reservations email:

prepared@boquetehealth.org

Following Minsa’s guidelines: masks, social distancing, hand and foot sanitizing, and temperature check.

 
Sign Up for Being Prepared
 
Presidents Letter
Thank you to Dr. Rod Gottula
The Boquete Health and Hospice General Meeting for June 9 was held via zoom, and Dr. Rod Gottula gave a great presentation about Medical Cannabis.  While not as many attended as I had hoped, those that did learned a lot.  Thank you, Dr. Rod.
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Covid - Be Safe Plea
To those who have gotten both of their Pfizer shots – double congratulations.  To those who have gotten their first AstraZenica vaccine, congratulations, and to those who have not, I am sure you have your reasons.
Please remember that even having received your vaccination(s) you are still not 100% protected from getting the virus.  65 people working at Hospital Regional (44 of which had been fully vaccinated) became sick with Covid-19.  The vaccine worked in that none of the employees became sick enough to be admitted to the hospital

Please, stop and think about yourself, your family, friends, neighbors, and the stranger you meet on the street.  In the last month, the trend of the number of new cases in Panama has risen and Chiriqui has been responsible for approximately 30% of them.

If you haven’t been vaccinated, please consider doing so.  If you have, please remember you can still get the virus and/or pass it on to others.
 
“Behind the Scenes Volunteers” Thank you!
Those who volunteer with BHH are truly amazing.  If you remember last December’s newsletter, the list went on and on. Or look at the roots and trunk of ourTree of Life.
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I want to put the spotlight on our creative director – Chris McCall.  Chris works behind the scenes to make our websites, newsletters, and flyers really special.  All it takes is for someone to say, “Hey Chris, how about __________” and it happens.  He will create new pages, work on forms to collect information, create artwork for flyers and website, he has created fund raising events, he makes sure the technological issues are handled so the hybrid meetings can take place, communicates with our members, and so much more.
BHH is exceptionally lucky to have him as one of our star volunteers.  Thank you, Chris.
 
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Many people here in Chiriqui have this respirator.

On June 14th, 2021, Philips Respironics announced that they voluntarily recalled a number of their non-invasive ventilation devices and mechanical ventilators. Full details about the recall are here.

To keep you better informed, we have set up a resource page providing you with updated information and next steps regarding any affected devices. Visit our resource page here.
 
We appreciate your patience and cooperation as we continue to work diligently to ensure your safety and provide you with vital information concerning this recall.
Learn More
 
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Respiratory Team Update

One of our volunteers (Luis Botero) has solved one of the respiratory teams’ biggest headaches – how to fix oxygen concentrators when they break.  Luis found a company in Panama City that will fix them as well as a smaller company in David. 
This will enable us to have more working concentrators available for the community.  Another Luis (Luis Acre) is providing transportation to get the broken concentrators to Panama City and the repaired ones returned to Boquete.  Within the next couple of months, hopefully all  will be working and available.

Thank you, Luis B. and Luis A.,
 
July’s Meetings
The BHH Council meeting will be held on July 7 at 10:00 a.m. via zoom.
The BHH General Meeting will be held on July 14 at 1:00 p.m.  It will be announced closer to the date whether the meeting will be in-person or a hybrid.    
 
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Music for Relaxation and Stress-Relief
Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental illnesses worldwide. Anxiety affects up to 28.8% of the population in Western countries, and its incidence appears to be increasing.
 When it comes to lowering anxiety, the stakes couldn't be higher. Stress either exacerbates or increases the risk of health issues like heart disease, obesity, depression, gastrointestinal problems, asthma, chronic pain, depression, burnout, addictions, and others.  More troubling still, a recent paper out of Harvard and Stanford found health issues from job stress alone cause more deaths than diabetes, Alzheimer's, or influenza. High levels of stress are costly in monetary terms, too. Researchers found that stress-related health problems could be responsible for between 5 to 8 percent of annual healthcare costs in the U.S. which amounts to about $180 billion each year in healthcare expenses. Research shows that most of the time on a single occasion, music has a direct effect in reduction of stress and anxiety.  Music has also been shown to beneficially affect stress-related physiological, as well as cognitive, and emotional processes. Thus, the use of listening to music as an economic, non-invasive, and highly accepted intervention tool has received special interest recently in the management of stress and stress-related health issues.   Check out the new article “Music for Relaxation and Stress Relief” by the Magic of Music Team for more details, recommendations, suggestions, and playlists that you can utilize to relax your way into better health!
Music List and Article
 
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....Click Here to Donate
 
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This section will contain an interesting article that we found on the web with a teaser so you can see if you want to click through.  Many places want you to sign up for their mailing list; however, we only choose links that let you bypass the sign up. Later, if you like the site, you can choose to sign up, but not necessary to read the article.
Simple exercises to reduce fall risk in seniors
More than 1 in 4 older adults falls each year, often resulting in serious injuries that cause loss of independence and mobility.
Regularly doing fall prevention exercises reduces fall risk by specifically strengthening key muscles and joints to improve balance.
We found a helpful free video from two physical therapists that teaches how to do 10 simple fall prevention exercises.
No equipment is needed, so they can easily be done at home.  Check out these 10 simple exercises for your older adults or even for you! 
Go to full article
 
About the Tree of Life
The tree was created to honor our donors and volunteers.  The roots are volunteers, the trunk is the council, the leaves are people who have donated $100 or more.  The two color leaves are people who have donated for two years.  The flowers are business sponsors who donate $100 or more every year.  The Lilies are new.  They are memorials to people who have passed.  Family or friends have donated $200 or more to honor them. 
Add your leaf or flower or Lily.  Click the button to make our tree grow.
Thank you.
Donate
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Click Here to Enlarge Tree
Many Thanks to Our New and Repeat Donors
Laurie & Kelly Collier
Susan & Price Peterson
Linda & Douglas Avery
Sandra Ullstrup
John Ferguson & Craig Gatrel
Peter Sterling & Sally Zigmond
Jacqui Davis
Dave & Erin Ross
Trish & Brian Christofferson
Leigh Gray
John & Babbie Earle
Larry & Kat Clayton
Carlotte Lintz
Merl & Barbara Will-Wallace
La Casa del Medico
 
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Over the past year there have been questions about WHY Boquete Health and Hospice was doing things in a certain way.  The policies of the organization have now been posted on our website.  There is a link at the bottom of the home page or you can go to the “More” page to read them or download a PDF version.  The policies will be updated as needed.  
View BHH Policies
 
Our Mission

Our mission is to provide palliative care for the terminally ill in order that they may experience death with dignity and limited pain; to inform and promote community health; and, to support people with health and wellness needs by providing information, equipment and volunteer services.
 
To Make a Donation
 BHHF functions with donations provided by the community. If you are interested in supporting the work we do, please make a donation.

To make a financial contribution by check or cash contact Merl Will-Wallace,our treasurer,at dharma49@icloud.com to arrange a time and place to pick up your donation.

You can also click here  to make an online Paypal donation.

For more information visit our website: http://www.boquetehealth.org

We also have a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/boqueteheartshandsandhelp/?ref=bookmarks  Please Like our page and share the contents with your family and friends.


 
Confidentiality
All patient information shared with any Boquete Health and Hospice volunteer is kept in the strictest confidence.

To Contact Us

 
Hospice/Health:  (507) 6781-9250
8am to 5pm Monday to Friday,  9am to 1pm Saturday and Sunday    Please!


Blood Donor Program: 
WhatApp (507)-6590-2000 or call (507)-6781-9250 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday,  9am to 1pm Saturday and Sunday, Please.

Email:  info@boquetehealth.org
 
Freely send this to anyone, use any part.

Our mailing address is:
info@boquetehealth.org
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