Top 5 Blog Posts — Nov. 28, 2016

Did you miss last week's most-read Changing Aging blog posts? Ecumen's online visitors found these articles most interesting:

Grief and the Holidays: 15 Ways to Cope
“If your life has changed, then certainly your holidays will change,” said Chris Quistad, Ecumen’s Director of Spiritual Care. “Although there is no avoiding the holidays, there are ways to cope with both the grief that change brings and the stress that the holidays bring,” she added.

The Comfort of Touch in Hospice Care
Hospice is fundamentally about giving peace, support and comfort to people in the last stages of life.  Often there is pain that cannot be managed by medication — a deeper spiritual pain and anxiety. Alternative and holistic therapies can help in ways conventional medicine cannot. Massage therapy is one of the most effective ways to help hospice patients relax and find comfort in their last days and hours. 

Facing the Holidays with an Empty Chair: Ecumen Hospice Hosts Remembrance Service
The first holidays after the death of a loved one can be a looming and stressful time for loved ones. To help the family and friends of those who passed away in Ecumen Hospice this year cope with the upcoming holidays, Ecumen Hospice staff recently hosted a remembrance service.

Five Ecumen Sites Get National “Best Nursing Home” Rating from U.S. News & World Report
Five Ecumen owned and managed sites in Minnesota have received a “Best Nursing Home” rating by U.S. News & World Report magazine. 

The Mission of Hospice Vigil Volunteers: Comfort at the Very End of Life
As St. Paul resident Molly McCarthy was considering volunteer opportunities, she remembered a significant event in her own life – when her father was in hospice just before he died. So Molly signed up with Ecumen Hospice-Twin Cities to become a vigil volunteer.

You can read these articles and more at www.ecumen.org