One of Ronald Stevens’ favorite pastimes was flying remote control airplanes, which he did often at the Airmasters RC Club in Sebastian and the Flying Eagles R/C Club in Fort Pierce where he was a member. But he had Parkinson’s, and when his symptoms became too debilitating to fly, he had to stop. By that point, he was on hospice with the VNA, and when his care team learned of his favorite hobby, they informed the VNA Director of Volunteer Programs & Hidden Treasures, Sara Bumgarner, who jumped into action.
She contacted the President of the Airmasters RC Club, Conway Bolt, and invited him to the VNA Hospice House where Ronald was staying for respite for a short time. Conway readily agreed, and on a sunny afternoon brought two of his model planes to VNA Hospice House and showed them to Ronald. “He talked to Ron about them for a long time and even ‘taxied’ one of them around the Hospice House parking lot,” said Sara. “He had a wonderful time and enjoyed the plane. Conway and Mr. Stevens also enjoyed lunch, compliments of Chef Jason at VNA Hospice House.”
And Ronald wasn’t the only person to thoroughly enjoy the afternoon. His wife, Beverly, was thrilled too. “They had a real meeting of the minds. It was really nice,” said Beverly.
The afternoon was made possible through Project Wish, which grants end-of-life wishes to patients and is fully funded by donations. Project Wish is just one of many VNA & Hospice Foundation-supported programs, which include the VNA Hospice House, bereavement services, music therapy, Camp Chrysalis (for children who have lost a loved one), and the VNA Mobile Health Clinic. All of these programs have one thing in common: to provide VNA patients with quality care regardless of their ability to pay.
Ronald, who was technically receiving hospice at home, was at the VNA Hospice House when he received his Project Wish because he opted to utilize Respite Care, a unique service offered to home hospice patients that allows them to stay at VNA’s beautiful Hospice House once a month for five days; it is entirely paid for by Medicare. The goal of Respite Care is to provide primary caregivers time to refuel, which they can do with peace of mind, considering VNA Hospice House offers round-the-clock care and is the perfect mixture of cozy and elegant, to boot. It includes 12 beautifully appointed private patient rooms, a sky-lit reflection room, and a professional in-house chef.
Ronald enjoyed himself so much at VNA’s Hospice House that he ended up receiving Respite Care for a total of five times – and he almost didn’t go! “I was a little bit concerned about him going somewhere the first time, and he was really nervous too, because having Parkinson’s – you just want to stay in your house. You have the comfort level there,” recalled Beverly. But her worries were all for naught. “It turned out to be really good because he could have anything he wanted to eat and as much as he wanted. They really doted on him, they treated him like a king. He loved it, and then every time after that he loved it.”
She also found it helpful for herself. “It was great. It helped give me a break.”
But even when Ronald was home, Beverly said he received excellent care from VNA Hospice, which included music therapy. “Ron took a while to warm up to people because here’s this big man – he’s a little intimidating – but people didn’t know that he was shy,” said Beverly. “But he really warmed up to the music therapist. And she actually got him to sing, which really amazed me because he’d only sing in church.”
Ronald’s hospice care, which included a nurse checking his vitals once a week and (hospice) aides bathing him a few days a week, was augmented by VNA Private Care. This meant that he was entitled to “extras,” such as baths every day (except on Sundays, a request by Ron and Beverly) and other helpful tasks. Not only was this wonderful for Ronald, but it was also a huge support to Beverly. “When Ron became bedridden and couldn’t get out of bed, they really helped. What they did for those three or four hours was wonderful. They would care of him, whatever he wanted. It gave me a chance to go out for things like grocery shopping and other errands,” said Beverly.
While VNA Hospice is paid for by Medicare, VNA Private Care is self-pay. But as a Veteran of the Korean War (who earned a Purple Heart), he benefited from a VA initiative Non-Institutional Care that paid for specific private care services, which VNA Private Care offered and helped arrange.
VNA Private Care went this extra mile to help arrange this additional VA care for Ronald because part of its mission to recognize the extra attention that Veterans merit. A key benefit of this program is it ensures Veterans can age safely in place at little to no cost to themselves.
The VNA’s commitment to ensuring optimal care for Veterans is also made possible through the generosity of our donors, who support programs like Project Wish that help provide these men and women who have given so much to our country the best end-of-life care possible.
“Navigating the VA and VNA Private Care connections, requirements and approvals would have been too overwhelming for me at that time,” noted Beverly. “Knowing VNA took care of this was such a blessing. They made it seamless, and I can’t thank them enough. I will be forever grateful to all people who were involved in Ron’s care. And he was too.”
