The Rotary River
Posted
on Apr 21, 2015
This Week at Rotary April 22, 2015
Five Wishes or Aging With Dignity
Guests: Prospective member Sujai Pitale, attorney with Shon Cook Law
Sunshine Committee:
Happy 80th Birthday to Andy Hegedus
Upcoming Dates:
- May 5 Rotary Club Group Photo
· May 7 Rotary Women will be having a fund/friend-raiser benefitting the 1 in 21 program
o Hosted by Jennie Roach and Susie Rehrer and meeting at Susie’s at 7:00pm
o Rotarian wives are welcome, as are girlfriends, prospective women members, etc.
o Jennie will be showing and selling Premier Designs Jewelry
o RSVPs appreciated (Susie: 893-7126 or rehrers@yahoo.com)
Announcements:
· Thanks to those helping with highway cleanup under the apt direction of John Truxell who reported the work took about an hour and yielded 14 bags of trash!
· See the photos on our Facebook page of our trash crew: Bob Hague, Jeff Cockerill, Dale McKenzie, David Pastoor and Greg Means
· The balance in our cffmc fund is now $14,331
· Special Board meeting today to review the report of the audit committee. We passed their audit and they have also provided several excellent recommendations that the board will be looking at.
· Thanks to our audit committee: Peggy Anderson, Sharon Blankenship, Darrel Cardy, Mike Shreve and Donna VanGeison.
· Kudos to Donna as she wraps up another (and final) year as treasurer
· Darrel talked about our getting $1,500 in matching funds from our district for Meals on Wheels! Yeah!!!!
50/50: $43 raised for Rotary International and $43 was won by Kim Harsch who most generously donated her winnings back to the project. Thank you Kim!
Sgt. Dale collected Happy Dollars
· He put in the first dollar and a sigh of relief for the safe completion of another great WHS prom weekend.
· Scott gave a buck and also a sigh of relief for the safety of his officer and the good workings of side air bags when one of the city officers was intentionally broadsided in his cruiser by a suspect being pursued.
· Jerry put in a buck to promote the school operating millage that will be on the May 7 ballot. This does not impact homestead property taxes and it is picked up by non-homestead property owners. And for them this is a renewal at the same rate as before. The Whitehall District Schools very much need a YES vote on May 7!
· Beth just found out that her grandbaby due in September will be a grandSON!!! J
· Jennie was thrilled to see, first-hand, a grand slam play by the Tiger’s at their game on Sunday.
· David P is thrilled that his daughter is getting her bachelor degree after many, many years of pursuit.
· Brian McM is very proud of his son who will be doing a semester of study abroad in Shanghai
· Kim H was fined for her recent roll in a TV commercial for a furniture company
Sgt Dale had a tough time stumping us with his music trivia from the 2000’s
Five out of six tables got the answers right. Fortunately for the Sgt., he was able to get us in the
run off question so the pot was filled in the end J
Program: Kelly St. Martin, MSW and Clinical Outreach Specialist for Harbor Hospice presented our program
(See photo clip on our Facebook page)
It’s time to start talking turkey on the 3 D’s of advanced care planning:
Discuss Decide Document
She shared the work of the Advanced Care Planning Coalition made up of many different healthcare organizations like Harbor Hospice, VNS Hospice, Life Circles, Muskegon Health Project, MOW, Call 211 and others. They have a multi-pronged approach with patients, families and healthcare providers.
· To increase the number of adults in Muskegon County that have an advanced directive
· To increase patient and family satisfaction with end of life care and
· To increase health care provider competency and comfort in discussing end of life care with patients and families.
Kelly shared the success of Lacrosse, WI which has a 95% advanced directive completion rate; nationally the rate is more like 30% and desperately in need of remediation. A hand raised survey of our club members today showed about a 50% rate.
An important point is that the advanced directive document needs to be easily accessible…make sure your physician has a copy, take a copy with you if going to the hospital, keep a copy in your car in case of an accident. Make sure your family and caregivers know your wishes.
She referred us to the 5 Wishes document, created by the non-profit organization Aging with Dignity, available on the Internet for getting the discussion going.
Advanced directives/Living wills need to be signed by 2 non-family witnesses.
Michigan law also requires the patient advocate to sign a written agreement saying he/she accepts the responsibilities of this role.
Internet Search: Five Wishes or Aging with Dignity for more information.