This holiday season, team members in our Paducah market are warming the bodies and hearts of our patients.
“It all started in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Susan Morse, volunteer coordinator at Mercy Health – Lourdes Hospital, explains. “Many families were unable to visit loved ones in nursing homes. We saw a need because, as hospice volunteers and staff, we could go into nursing homes, with proper protections, and take the residents items. It started off with small Christmas trees and fleece blankets.”
But it didn’t end there. This year, Susan shares that the hospice team knew they could do more!
“We started planning very early this time. Each of us got material with batting. We also asked for volunteers, specifically people in the community and staff who could sew the materials together and quilt them.”
It’s been truly a community-wide effort involving our hospice team, volunteers and the Paducah Quilt Guild, a very experienced group of quilters. All together this group has hand-made nearly 80 quilts to help deliver and help spread some holiday cheer!
“So many people in nursing homes don’t have family to visit them,” Susan says. “Our volunteers are instrumental in providing that family to them, by visiting them several times a week.”
The holiday season is also a time to ask for support from the communities we serve in the form of volunteers.
“You do not need to be medically trained,” Susan adds. “We offer all the training you need to serve families and patients in need.”
Do you live in the Paducah, Ky. area and are interested in volunteering with us? If so, you can reach out to Susan at 270-415-3640.
This holiday season, we are celebrating by spreading the good news! Read more feel-good stories, like this one, that feature our team members, patients and the wonderful communities we are blessed to serve.
Also, learn more about the hospice and palliative care services we offer at Mercy Health.
