Valentine’s Day is upon us. For some it is a day of dread and for others it is a day of wonderful, giggly bliss. Valentine hearts and roses are red, but retailers see green that comes with celebrating this holiday. It’s not surprising that the number one candy sales are for chocolate. About 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged each year. We as consumers spend an average of $102.50 on gifts. In general, men spend twice as much as women do in celebration of Valentine’s Day.

But what is love? It is the intense affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties. Have you ever had that kind of love for anyone? Or been loved by someone like a spouse, your parents, sibling, or a friend? We all want to be loved unconditionally with no strings attached. It means acceptance and contentment in our relationships with others. Read More »

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Taking care of a hospice patient is not forced or burdensome. It is a privilege and an honor. We are given a special invitation to share in this very special time of their life. WE are the lucky ones.

The following blog is written by a beautiful, spiritual woman from the inside out. She is passionate about compassion and everyone who knows her, knows it.

Beverly Robinson - Assistant Administrator

What an honor!

I have worked for Solaris for almost 14 years and in just about every capacity-nursing, medical records, billing, QA, referrals, compliance, and assistant administrator. I think about all of the stories we could tell from over the years, but mainly I think about what an honor to take care of someone at the end of their life and what a difference it can make in not only the patient’s life but in our own. Read More »

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I have two daughters, 8 and 10 years old, who are playing basketball for the first time this year. Basketball was by far my favorite sport in high school so I was naturally excited to see my girls learn the game, and more importantly, to step into my destiny as their coach (not really). I attended both their first practices and was pleased as they seemed to be picking it up well. Then, game day arrived. My 10 year old was up first and I watched with mind-numbing frustration as her team was annihilated 55-6. There were obviously many things my daughter and her team had to learn.

As painful as it was to watch, I realized that within that crushing defeat was the secret to greatness. Most people, if they are honest, really want to be great at something. If people were given the choice to be great at one thing, almost everyone would choose something. A great singer, athlete, business man, doctor, artist, or a thousand other things. But why do most people never achieve greatness? I believe it’s because the secret to being great at anything requires the courage to be horrible at first.

Read More »

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It is still a common misconception that being admitted to hospice will shorten a person’s life.  To many, being referred to hospice carries the emotional response of a death sentence and the idea that modern medicine is done with them.  What if I told you that some patients live longer on hospice than they otherwise would have?  Well, that’s exactly what one study strongly suggests.

An analysis of end-of-life data on 4500 adults showed that patients who received hospice care lived 29 days longer, on average, than patients who did not (J Pain Symtpom Management 2007:33:238-246).  The benefit was most pronounced for congestive heart failure and cancers of the lung, pancreas, and colon. Read More »

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