ABOVE VIDEO: VITAS donated 379,180 hours of their time to enhance the care of hospice patients in 2013. The company also provided $10.2 million in genuine charity care to hospice patients nationwide.
VITAS Not Only Cares For Patients, But Also For the Community’s Quality of Life
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Ninety-year-old John Forbes spent his final weeks doing what he loved most – creating art.
Ninety-year-old John Forbes spent his final weeks doing what he loved most – creating art. Forbes, above with his wife Susan, diagnosed with end-stage cardiac disease earlier this year, was able to remain in the comfort of his own home thanks to VITAS Hospice. (Image for Space Coast Medicine & Active Living)
Forbes, diagnosed with end-stage cardiac disease earlier this year, was able to remain in the comfort of his own home thanks to VITAS Hospice. In gratitude, Forbes drew the VITAS team.
“I did a big picture of the team, all 14 of them, including the doctors and nurses, standing side by side in bikinis at the beach,” said Forbes. “They got a kick out of that.”
Giving an individual the opportunity to spend his last days on this earth in comfort and with dignity is the greatest gift, one which VITAS hands out daily.
“Thanks to VITAS, John was able to focus on his art and spend his final days happier and more relaxed than I had seen him in a long time,” said Forbes’ wife, Susan.
“So many terminally ill people don’t feel they have worth and are depressed. John’s experience proved you can live a happy life until the end.”
ACTIVE INITIATIVES THAT SUPPORTS ORGANIZATION
As the nation’s leading provider of end-of-life care, VITAS takes pride in providing the high caliber of care that enable patients like Forbes to truly live life.
The Doctors Goodwill Foundation, in collaboration with Space Coast Medicine & Active Living magazine, will present the Doctors’ Goodwill Foundation Ambassador Awards Gala on Saturday, Nov. 8, at the Melbourne Hilton Rialto.
“It is so rewarding to see the positive impact of our work on all the lives we touch,” said Betsy Babbitt, Forbes’ primary nurse and a member of the interdisciplinary team that brought hospice to the Forbes home.
VITAS not only cares for patients, but also for the community, supporting organizations like the Doctors’ Goodwill Foundation and sponsoring a variety of special events that add to the quality of life of the entire community.
The 4,011 volunteers of VITAS donated 379,180 hours of their time to enhance the care of hospice patients in 2013. The company also provided $10.2 million in genuine charity care to hospice patients nationwide.
VITAS Innovative Hospice Care®, a pioneer and leader in the hospice movement since 1978, is the nation’s largest provider of end-of-life care. VITAS is derived from the Latin word for “lives” and symbolizes the VITAS mission: to preserve the quality of life for those who have a limited time to live. (Image for Space Coast Medicine & Active Living)
Locally, VITAS of Brevard has a very active initiative that supports organizations such as Space Coast Honor Flight, the District 8 VFW Commanders’ Senior picnic, the National Veterans Homeless Support’s Stand Down program, the Veterans’ Memorial at Wickham Park, the Veterans’ Expo at Patrick Air Force Base and the Amvet Veterans’ Award, among others. Additionally, VITAS is a premier sponsor for Making Strides against Breast Cancer, the annual walk that raises funds for breast cancer research for the American Cancer Society.
The local hospice also supports the Alzheimer’s Association, ALS Association, Space Coast Cancer Center foundation, Cancer Care Center Foundation and NAACP, North, Central and South branches, as well as Brevard County Triad.
SPACE COAST MEDICINE WEEK SET FOR NOV. 1– 8
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Doctors’ Goodwill Foundation has raised more than $1.7 million in support of charity thanks to the assistance of VITAS and many generous and giving special people and organizations.
Those people, and their spirit of philanthropy, will be recognized and honored on Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Doctors’ Goodwill Foundation Ambassador Awards, which will be part of the nine-event “Space Coast Medicine Week,” produced annually by Brevard Productions, the event and production sister company of Space Coast Medicine & Active Living magazine and Space Coast Daily.
The Doctors’ Goodwill Foundation Ambassador Awards will be held at the Hilton Melbourne Rialto Place beginning at 6 p.m. with a meet and greet, followed by the dinner and awards program at 7 p.m.
DGF AMBASSADORS TO BE HONORED INCLUDE:
Rosanne Cain, BSN; Barbara Carter; Tim Cerullo, CEO, Wuesthoff; Dr. Arvind Dhople; Dr. Rachel Fornes; Nina Gadodia; Michael Haridopolos; Dr. Heidar Heshmati; Dr. Irfan Imami; Edwin Loftin, R.N., V.P. Parrish Medical Center; Astronaut Jon MacBride; Dr. Patricia Manning; Judge Alli Majeed; Dr. Ashok Shah; Mike Shah; Naren Shah; Mr. and Mrs. William Terry; Susan Tindall; Dr. David Weldon; Bruce Wolters and Vitas Hospice.
Parrish Medical Center with CEO George Mikitarian, will also be recognized and honored with a Doctors Goodwill Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award for their many years of support of the Doctors Goodwill Foundation charitable endeavors.
“The entire Doctors Goodwill Foundation board and community feels heartfelt gratitude to the people who contribute their time, resources and compassion to the charitable endeavors that we undertake,” said Dr. Kanti Bhalani, the Founder of the Doctors’ Goodwill Foundation.
“The Doctors’ Goodwill Foundation can only do what it does, thanks to the love and support that it’s friends provide. We feel it is important to recognize people who give of themselves and that is why we created the Doctors Goodwill Foundation Ambassador Awards.”
COMPELLING MULTIMEDIA TRIBUTE VIDEOS & STORIES
Stay tuned to SpaceCoastDaily.com and Space Coast Medicine & Active Living magazine for extensive multimedia coverage of each and every honoree, as we present their compelling charitable works through stories and special tribute films by Maverick Multimedia, Inc.
Don’t miss the Oct/Nov 2014 special edition of Space Coast Medicine & Active Living magazine for complete multimedia coverage of the Doctors’ Goodwill Foundation Ambassador Awards – and all the events of “Space Coast Medicine Week.”
For dinner reservations to the Doctors’ Goodwill Foundation Ambassador Awards call 321-749-1282. For sponsor or exhibitor information, call 321-323-4460 or 321- 615- 8111, or e-mail MaverickMultiMedia@gmail.com
