November 17, 1999
Hospice recognizes volunteers
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
The room was filled with hugs and laughter; an overwhelming atmosphere of love pervaded. The wide smiles and animated conversation betrayed no sign of the gloom and doom normally associated with terminal illness and death in our culture.
Instead, joy and a sense of accomplishment was the theme as nearly 200 volunteers, past and current board members and Hospice staff gathered at the Munson Hospice Annual Volunteer Recognition Evening and 20th Reunion Celebration of Volunteers dinner last Thursday evening at the Waterfront Conference Center. They came together because what was seen two decades ago as a wild idea - supporting terminally ill patients and their families and helping people die at home - was now a way of life in the Grand Traverse region.
"The Hospice was a real, true grass roots effort," recalled Pete Strom, one of the founding members and past board chair. "We had to convince the doctors we were legitimate and the public that we weren't some fly-by-night organization."
"When I look back over the past 20 years with Hospice, I gained much more than I gave and it has been one of my proudest achievements."
During the evening, Mary Raymer, current chair of the Munson Hospice Board, received the Pete Strom Award, an annual award recognizing outstanding commitment and service to the program. In addition, Bill Murgan was honored as Volunteer of the Year for his past nine years as a volunteer serving nearly 40 families.
Murgan who became involved in hospice five years after his younger brother died of cancer. Although his brother, David Murray, wasn't served by hospice, he found he had an affinity for people at that stage of life. Over the years of his volunteering, he has provided respite care, comfort, a listening ear and support to dozens of families.
"For people to let a stranger in at that time, especially someone who looks like me, is such an honor," Murgan said. "The best part of this award is that my 31 year old son told me he was proud of me. That's as good as it gets."
Celebrating a 20th anniversary was not even a distant thought during the many early morning or late evening meetings founders held throughout 1978. That loyal cadre formed the Grand Traverse Area Hospice Advisory Committee, which kept meeting because members had a vision, a vision of love and support for families during the last days of a member's life.
The idea for the hospice was initiated by Tom Stoll of the Grace Episcopal Church, where there was a parishioner whose terminally ill wife wanted to die at home. This was a revolutionary idea at the time, when patients were routinely misled about their condition and left in the hospital with little possibility of family support or ability to make decisions.
"Hospice was about informed consent, that people had the right to know," said Raymer. "It was not just born of necessity but of our beliefs in the value of alleviation of suffering, honesty and a commitment to staying by people's side and walking with them on their journey."
The advisory committee incorporated the Grand Traverse Area Hospice in 1979 as a joint venture between Munson and the former Osteopathic Hospital. The organization forged ahead by training volunteers and enrolling patients and their families. The first class of 15 volunteers began serving patients that year and by April of 1982, the 100th patient was admitted to the program.
"Our vision was to make the road less lonely for the terminally ill person and their family," said Raymer, current board chair of the Munson Hospice and longtime volunteer. "The volunteers who do this represent a community of caring, not just a nurse or a social worker or a friend. We all come together to provide the support to let them live as they see fit to live."
Since those early days in 1979, the hospice concept has become mainstream in northern Michigan, as well as around the country. Since that time, the Munson Hospice has served more than 2,800 patients, with a current list of 60. More than 100 volunteers currently serve these patients, both directly and indirectly.