Annual Remembrance Ceremony Held
For over twenty years, during the spring, Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice of the Florida Keys (VNA/Hospice) pays tribute to their Monroe County hospice patients who passed in the prior year. This year they paid tribute to one hundred and ninety four Monroe County residents.
As part of the healing process, VNA/Hospice of the Florida Keys social workers and volunteers host Remembrance Ceremonies for family and friends. “It is an event that honors the memory of our patients. The ceremony is a time when the caregivers, families, and volunteers come together as one to remember the precious lives of their loved ones,” stated Martha Otto-Fitzdam, MSW, ACSW, VNA/Hospice clinical social worker and volunteer coordinator for the Middle and Upper Keys.
Recently the Tavernier regional office of VNA/Hospice hosted this ceremony in honor of their Middle and Upper Keys hospice patients. Over 50 family members and friends attended the ceremony held at Francis Tracy Garden Center in Tavernier. “Our dedicated volunteers’ play an integral part in our hospice programs,” said Marje Roberts, VNA/Hospice social worker. “They are very involved in the planning process, as well as in the presentation of this meaningful ceremony.”
Some of the educational and community support programs provided by VNA/Hospice include bereavement counseling, support groups, and information available on community resources. To find out more about the programs and how VNA/Hospice can be of assistance to you, your family, or friends, contact the organizations chief operating officer, Kathleen Ryzoc, MSW, at the Tavernier regional office at 305-852-7887 or the Key West corporate office at 305-294-8812 or visit the web site at www.vnahospicekeys.org. To volunteer for the organization contact Martha Otto-Fitzdam, ACSW at 305-852-7887 or Jill Diamond, LCSW at 305-294-8812.