DODGE CITY, Kan. – There are only two certainties in life: Birth and death.
The aging process isn’t easy, and death isn’t only for the geriatric. Julie Pinkerton knows that as well as anyone in Ford County. She’s the executive director for Hospice of the Prairie and Prairie Home Health and has been with the two entities for 30 years.
“We just had a meeting, and we were talking about the similarity of birth and death and how, indeed, when we entered this world, we were surrounded by peace, love, dignity and respect and how much attention is given to that new mom as she is birthing her baby,” Pinkerton said. “We talked about how similar that is to what we do as people walk through the dying process.
“A lot of people ask us if that’s depressing and how we do it. As one of my coworkers said so eloquently, ‘The thing is the person is going to die whether we are there or whether we are not, so is it not better that we are there?’ I know that we are making that difference. While it can certainly be sad, it’s not depressing.”
Hospice is intended to not only help the terminally ill through the final stages of their lives but to also assist the families and other loved ones who are affected by the impending deaths. Still, there’s so much more to what Pinkerton, her staff and their volunteers have to offer, and that includes Prairie Home Health.
Both are beneficiaries of the Wrangler Tough Enough to Wear Pink fundraiser at Dodge City Roundup Rodeo, set for 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, July 31-Sunday, Aug. 4, at Roundup Arena; Dodge City Xtreme Bulls is set for 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, July 30. The money raised through the pink campaign will be used for the organizations’ patient needs fund.
“Roundup has been a very important part of our community for decades, and one of the neat things that Roundup has always focused on is community services,” Pinkerton said. ”Their support of Circle of Hope has been phenomenal, and Hospice of the Prairie and Prairie Home Health has been part of that for many years to pass the hat on all types of things.”
The opportunity for Prairie Home Health and Hospice of the Prairie came about with Circle of Hope being dissolved. Pinkerton and her staff of 25 individuals understand the importance of the money that will come from Roundup this August. They have more than 50 volunteers and serve about 150 hospice patients and 300 home-health patients each year.
“These dollars that go into that fund are used to support patients and their families for things like electric bills, groceries and many other things, like equipment in their homes that would not typically be provided by hospice,” she said. “We also use the funds to help family members who may not live locally to be able to return home to see their loved ones before their loved ones’ end of life.
“We might be able to find an airplane ticket, or it might be as simple as a family member of the patient that lives six hours away and simply doesn’t have enough money to buy gas or groceries to get here, nor do they have the money to have a place to stay when they get here just to be able so they could be with their loved one.”
Being able to utilize those funds in this way will help many families in a variety of ways.
“While saddened that Circle of Hope dissolved, we are truly honored to be chosen to receive the funds that are raised,” Pinkerton said. “Those funds will go directly to the patient needs funds and will be only used for the special circumstances that hospice and home-health patients face. I think it’s an important thing for the community to know. Those funds are not gong to our general account for the organization to function.
“It is very special.”
As families mature, they are thrown into many variations of circumstances. Some deal with childhood illness, while others are battling other challenges. Organizations like Prairie Home Health and Hospice of the Prairie were established many years ago to help families who have those needs.
Whether helping folks come to terms with the final days of a loved one’s life or helping the elderly age gracefully while still receiving the appropriate care, Pinkerton and her crew of dedicated workers are building memories while helping families. It’s their foundation, and it’s a fundamental approach to true giving.
“I think it’s a calling,” Pinkerton said.
She’s right.