Rick Vculek and his certified therapy dog, Latte, pose with some of the Easter care packages made for patients of Main Street Hospice.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
At a difficult time for local hospice patients, it was time for some Easter magic.
Main Street Hospice’s team of volunteers spends much of the year giving their time so patients at the end of their lives are comfortable. But with Easter approaching, the focus was on giving a little bit more.
That meant melt-in-your-mouth chocolates and baskets filled with goodies, fluffy soft blankets and festive spring terrariums to celebrate the season.
“From a volunteer recruiter standpoint, I always look forward to spring,” said Cheryl Mioduski, volunteer coordinator for the Franklin-based hospice. “We are through the busy holidays and the weather is warming up and people are looking for something to do … something that feels meaningful, purposeful.”
Volunteers are a critical part of Main Street Hospice’s work. Medicare regulations require hospices to show evidence of a volunteer program, in which volunteer hours equal 5% of all clinical hours spent with patients. But Main Street volunteers routinely provide four times the minimum hours required of hospice volunteer programs.
Those volunteers are the true heart of hospice, Mioduski said.
“We do what we do and get paid in smiles and hugs. And, Main Street Hospice is better because of the strength of our volunteer program. Our hospice volunteers provide a value-added care,” she said.
Two of the more active volunteers are Clarice Duits and her significant other, Rick Vculek. When they moved to Franklin in late 2022, they looked for volunteer opportunities and found Main Street Hospice.
They brought Latte, a fluffy white miniature English teddy bear goldendoodle, home with them. Duits had Latte certified through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, and in early 2023, Vculek and Latte started volunteering with Main Street Hospice to provide comfort to patients.
Duits also wanted to do something for patients, and during Easter last year, decided to make care packages for people. She did the same thing again for Christmas, and once again, she and Vculek decided to again do bunny-themed baskets.
They filled 60 gift packages with plain M&Ms, Hershey kisses and rabbit-themed decorations. Each one was tied with a “Happy Easter” ribbon and wrapped in cellophane.
“It was truly my pleasure to make these holiday gifts. This year, my mother would have turned 94 on March 28. Easter is on March 31; so this project seems fitting to honor her memory,” Duits said. “Mother loved holidays and pink, and Easter and pink just go together.”
The Easter packages have been just one way Main Street Hospice volunteers have brought comfort this season. Sherry Wilkerson is a volunteer from Circles of Love, an organization that uses their fabric-arts skills to provide blankets and other supplies to people in need. She and her group donated boxes full of blankets and shawls in early March for hospice patients.
Another volunteer, Venus Faulkner, made glass jar terrariums for patients filled with Easter eggs, flowers, bunnies and chicks.
All of the efforts underscore how vital people are in making Main Street Hospice’s mission a reality.
“As a hospice, we really do rely on the local community to support us in our efforts of providing comfort care, practical supports, and volunteer assistance,” Mioduski said.
