You may remember the Girl Scout song: Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold. Friends of Hospice Southwest Washington is truly a golden friend to our agency. Formed in 1984, this all-volunteer nonprofit raises funds for hospice and palliative care agencies in Southwest Washington so they can help patients and families in need. Since 2016, Friends of Hospice has donated nearly $206,459 to our agency.
During 2020, their hardworking members held a variety of fundraising events to support different agency needs including the broken bowl project. Their gifts paid for hospice inpatient care and respite care for patients without insurance. When the pandemic hit, the group donated $25,000 to our COVID assistance fund. These funds were used to buy PPE (masks, gowns, face shields, gloves, etc.) for our nurses and other clinical staff. PPE helps keep our staff safe and healthy so they can continue working in the community caring for patients wherever they live. This is especially important during COVID when families can’t be with their loved ones. The funds were also used to buy powered air purifying respirators called PAPRs for staff use in our hospice care centers. A PAPR includes a battery-operated fan, supply hose, filter and hood that provides high-level protection against contaminated air. Thank you to our golden friends for the many ways they help us care for our patients, families and staff.
