Boquete Health & Hospice May Newsletter

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Improving the Quality of Life, CPR & Being Prepared, 10 Ways to Feel Happier, Scholarship Program and More

 

Contents – May Newsletter, 2024   Our Mission Statement Calendar of Events President's Letter March General Meeting – Michael Polacek "Improving the Quality of Life" Scholarship Program First BHH Blood Drive of 2024 Matching Fund CPR Training Being Prepared in Boquete Workshop In Appreciation of Andrew Blaze Working Together to Achieve a Goal 10 Ways to Feel Happier According to Science Tree of Life Council Business Contact Us Our Mission Statement Our mission is to inform and promote community health. To support people with health and wellness needs by providing information, equipment, and volunteer services. To provide palliative (hospice) care for the terminally ill in order that they may experience death with dignity and limited pain. To create a culture of respect and appreciation within our organization and a rewarding experience for our volunteers.   Volunteer  Calendar of Events May 8– General Meeting, 10am (Animales Event Center, Alto Boquete) – Michael Polacek presents:  Improving Quality of Life: How Experiential Trauma and Toxic Stress Impact Mind and Body May 8 – CPR Workshop, 11:30am following General Meeting (Animales Event Center, Alto Boquete) – preregistration required - Click Here May 15 -  Being Prepared in Boquete Workshop (Animales Event Center, Alto Boquete) – preregistration required Click Here May 22 - Volunteer Orientation President's Letter   Dear friends of Boquete Health & Hospice, This last month has been one of successes and challenges. The successes have been in the form of developing new relationships with other organizations in the Boquete area that can help us with carrying out our mission. One organization is the Asociacion Boquetenos Luz de Esperanza. It was organized about 6 years ago to assist Cancer patients in the Boquete area. We met with several members of the group to explain to them the services that we might be able to provide to the cancer patients they have been in contact with. They also provided us with information about what services they provide, so that BHH could refer our patients to them if indicated. Second, we continue our dialog with the physicians and staff from the two public clinics in town. Social security and MINSA. The goal here is to increase the communication between our organizations so that they utilize BHH for services that their patients may need, but that they are not able to provide. We are hoping this collaborative relationship can carry on into the future. In regards to challenges, we’ve had some individuals in key leadership positions that have cut back on their involvement. This has left some holes in the organization that need to be filled. I recognize that the majority of our volunteers “retired to Panama”, and therefore don’t want to get bogged down with duties, we at the same time need to continue providing quality care for the community. There’s no such thing as “good enough” in hospice care. With gratitude, Rod Gottula, MD     Improving Quality of Life: How Experiential Trauma and Toxic Stress Impact Mind and Body   May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and we are pleased to present as our speaker Michael Polacek, DNP, RN-RET, PM Stress is an everyday reality. It can be both helpful and harmful. We can learn to intentionally control our stress responses and improve our quality of life. We do this by recognizing the ways in which our body and mind react to toxic stress and traumatic events. This presentation will explore aspects of human reaction to stress and trauma. It will also offer strategies for minimizing harm by improving your resilience and mental health fitness.Please join us for what will no doubt be a fascinating and timely talk.  Michael is certified as a psychiatric/mental health nurse and has presented at state, national, and international conferences on community development and policy development in suicide prevention and trauma informed science. Recently, he presented at the Sonsiel parallel event for the 68th annual UN Committee on the Status of Women. Michael has served on the boards of directors of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention/Oregon Chapter, the National and State American Psychiatric Nurses Association, and the Mid-Valley Suicide Prevention Coalition’s Steering Committee. We extend a special invitation to anyone interested in joining our Mental Health Team, but all are welcome!  Please join us for what will no doubt be a fascinating and timely talk.  This event is free and no preregistration is required. See you then! Scholarship Program Bev Tyler, Dr. Rod Gottula, Deisy Escarreola, Valerie Harmon   Deisy Escarreola is one of two recipients of our new Boquete Health and Hospice Award given to students studying in the medical field to help cover some of their university expenses. For the 2024 academic year, BHH is awarding $500 each to two students. One of the requirements is that each recipient volunteer 16 hours of community service each semester with BHH. This is a new program this year in conjunction with Club Rotario de Boquete’s Scholarship Program.  Deisy is in her third year studying nursing at UNACHI in David with one more year of classes and then one year of internship. She became so excited about working with Boquete Health and Hospice that she immediately joined Valerie Harmon, the Hospice and Home Care Team Leader, visiting patients, some more than once, and attended the class on Hospice and Home Care.  Boquete Health and Hospice is proud to support a Boqueteña young person dedicated to serving her community. We are pleased to be able to help Deisy attain her dream of helping people through nursing. First BHH Blood Drive of 2024  We are now a little more than a month away from our next blood drive, which we are excited to announce will take place on June 14 AND June 15 at a NEW VENUE-- the UNACHI Extension, the Boquete campus of the Autonomous University of Chiriquí (UNACHI). This is located opposite the Texaco station in Alto Boquete. There is a turnaround at the intersection, making it easy to access from the north.  We have changed the location in order to make it easier for young UNACHI students to donate blood. As you may know, Panama imposes an upper age limit of 64 on blood donors (you may not donate after your 65th birthday). The country also prohibits anyone who has traveled abroad within six months from donating blood. These restrictions make it difficult to recruit sufficient donors from the population of mostly older expats in the Boquete District, many of whom are frequent travelers. By moving to the university for our blood drives, and reorienting our recruitment strategies, we hope to inspire many younger Panamanians to become blood donors. Of course, we still want to encourage expats to donate if they are eligible! The UNACHI campus is only two kilometers from Amigos de Animales.  We will be accepting blood donations the EVENING of Friday, June 14th (3-7 pm) and the MORNING of Saturday, June 15th (7 am to noon). Please mark your calendars and if you are not eligible to donate, we hope you will encourage someone to give in your place and join the matching fund.  Blood is urgently needed in Panama. BHH is attempting to develop a culture of blood donation which has been absent in the country. Please speak to your younger friends and express your hope that they will answer the call to donate. We need their support! Please click the link below to pre-register (this will give you a set appointment time). We DO accept walk-ins but there may be a wait.  Donate Blood   Join Matching Fund Join the Matching Fund   Book Now for May 8th Class Learn to save a life and help a family member, friend, or neighbor in an emergency by attending BHH CPR training. This is a popular class, so sign up early! Still some spots available for the May 8th CPR training! Sign up today! It will be held at the Animales Event Center in Alto Boquete and will start at 11:30am following our general meeting. The classes last about an hour. During the training, our amazing instructors teach participants hands-on CPR chest compressions (no mouth-to-mouth) and the Heimlich maneuver for airway obstruction. This is a non-certified course. Preregistration is required and class size is limited to 16 for each class, so please register for training by  clicking the button below.  Although this event is free, donations to support our work are gratefully accepted.  Sign Up Now for CPR     SIgn Up for Being Prepared     In Appreciation!  Andrew Blaze made Cybersecurity fun & we learned the Basics   A special thank you to Andrew Baze for his presentation on “Cybersecurity basics: securing yourself”.   He presented amazing statistics to help us understand the magnitude of cybersecurity, the importance of protecting our data and offered 6 ways we can protect ourselves: Always install updates / patches Leave your antivirus on Use "whole disk encryption" (e.g. BitLocker) Back up whatever you care about Change all default passwords Freeze your credit cards It is amazing that Andrew was able to make an uninteresting subject like cybersecurity interesting and fun.         Working Together to Achieve a Goal   Thanks to all the participants and volunteers.  The Poker Run was a Big Success! The Tasty Trek Poker Run for Boquete Health and Hospice, held on April 11, 2024 was a tremendous success. It raised a total of $1,500.00 for the repairs of our oxygen concentrators. The lucky winner with the best poker hand received a gift certificate for a two-night stay for 2 at the beautiful Show Pony Resort in Las Lajas. Thank you Show Pony. A poker run usually involves riding motorcycles, but we adapted it to those in our community who did it on foot, via car, or horseback! The event took place at some of Boquete’s finest eateries, such as Big Daddy’s, Otto’s, Dobo in Selina, Vamos Brewing, El Shawarma, The Gelateria, and Mike’s Global Grill. While some of these are well-known, our goal was also to expose our community to some unfamiliar places too!  Proceeds from The Tasty Trek Poker Run further our mission of providing essential healthcare and equipment in our region. This event also featured a silent auction that attendees had the opportunity to bid on. Many thanks to community members and businesses here in our area who donated these items. Boquete Health and Hospice extends its deepest gratitude to all participating venues and donors. We are also grateful to the community at large for your continued support.     From Smiling to Sleeping: 10 Ways to Feel Happier, According to Science   More than a feel-good state of mind, happiness is described by the U.N. as a “fundamental human goal.” It comes with myriad benefits, including improving our health and even helping us live longer. Happier people are also more likely to make decisions quickly and contribute to society by voting and volunteering.  And while happiness can be a loaded subject, with many contributing factors that often aren’t in our control, science shows that there are plenty of surprisingly straightforward things that can help us feel satisfied.  Of course, happiness is not something that happens overnight; it’s a process that’s consciously cultivated with intention and purpose. But if you’re looking to embark on that journey, consider starting with some of these 10 science-backed tips. Read the Article       Tree of Life Boquete Health & Hospice gratefully recognizes the names of our extremely dedicated and very generous donors on our website. Their kindness keeps our Tree of Life growing and strong. A huge thank you to all of our contributors! Support BHH with a Donation   BHH is supported 100% by donations. We greatly appreciate all contributions and use them in a variety of ways to help our community. There are several ways to donate: Make a donation via our website with Visa and MasterCard, or by clicking the button below. Make a direct deposit or an electronic transfer to our bank account:                 Bank name: Banco General                Account name: Boquete Hospice and Health Foundation                Account number: 04-48-96-075844-7                Account type: Savings  Donate checks or cash directly (all checks must be made payable to Boquete Hospice and Health Foundation): at a monthly Council or general meeting, blood drive, BHH workshop or event, at our Tuesday Market tables, or when picking up or returning equipment at one of our storage facilities. Thank you for your support!   Donate Now   Council Business     To bring a topic to the attention of the Council for consideration, please discuss it with your Team Lead, who will ask the Council Secretary to add it to the next monthly Council agenda. Council Members President – Dr. Rod Gottula VP, Community Engagement – Open VP, Operations – Kat McKay Secretary – Lorraine Handler Treasurer – Bill Hinrichsen Patient Care Coordinator – Bev Tyler Patient Care Coordinator – Liz Baze Patient Care Coordinator – Bill & Cheryl Crabbe Past President – John Earle Council minutes are now on the BHH website at BHH minutes. All future minutes will also be posted there.    The policies of the organization are posted on our website and are updated as needed at BHH policies.   We Respect Patient Confidentiality. All patient information shared with any Boquete Health and Hospice volunteer is kept in the strictest confidence. When names are used in testimonials or other marketing materials, we have obtained permission from those mentioned.    Contact Us Monday - Friday: 9am - 3pm  Saturday: 9am - 1pm Sunday: Closed Hospice/Health: +507 6781-9250 Blood Donor Program: WhatsApp  +507 6590-2000 or call +507 6781-9250 Email: info@boquetehealth.org Website: boquetehealth.org Check us out and like us at: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube!    Newsletter team: Chris McCall and Jeanie Miller – Editors, Lorraine Handler -Support, and Carol Jones – Proofreader. Thanks to everyone who contributed their time and talent to this issue! Subscribe here to receive our monthly newsletter and send submissions to BHH newsletter.   Boquete Health and Hospice info@boquetehealth.org Panama   You received this email because you signed up on our website.