Pine Tree Hospice In the News
A New Website is Unveiled!
Eastern Gazette
January 1, 2024
Pine Tree Hospice unveils a NEW WEBSITE!!
Pine Tree Hospice strives to be barrier-free to people in need of our services. The new website, www.pinetreehospice.org, was designed to be simple, clean, and clear with the goal of making it easy for people to learn about what we offer and to reach out to us for more information. The website breaks down our services based on who is in need; an individual, a caregiver, or someone grieving. Friends, family, or professionals can also navigate with the person they are supporting in mind.
While our mission is providing non-medical support, education, and resources to those with life-limiting conditions, caregivers, and those grieving, the website has to reach community members that enable us to meet our mission. This includes potential volunteers and donors. Pine Tree Hospice’s Executive Director Kristen Wortman says “this work would not be possible without volunteers or the individuals, businesses, and grantors that financially support this non-profit. It was important to include space on our website for those groups to see how they can contribute and learn how they are a part of the impact.”
The website was also designed with volunteers in mind – easy access through a volunteer portal provides a protected area for reporting and sharing information while not bogging down the public facing side.
In 2021, Pine Tree Hospice, with a grant from the Plummer Memorial Foundation, hired a facilitator and asked Board members, volunteers, and staff to meet and outline what the needs and wants of the organization were at the time, and going forward. The group spent time preparing a strategic plan with significant goals to be implemented over four years. In just two years, Pine Tree Hospice carried out several objectives that were outlined in the strategic plan, and one of the most pressing was a new website.
While a part of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training, offered by the Red Empress Foundation, the opportunity to apply for a grant was introduced. Pine Tree Hospice was awarded a grant to support the building and maintenance of a new website that would be more accessible.
As Pine Tree Hospice enters its 39th year, we are celebrating our new website and all our partners have made it possible! This accomplishment allows us to move onto other strategic projects so that Pine Tree Hospice remains strong, able to further its mission, and help area families and individuals in need.
If you want to learn more about our services, are interested in becoming a volunteer or would like to support our work please visit our website at www.pinetreehospice.org, call us at 207-802-8078, or email info@pinetreehospice.org.
The Community is Offered Free Wishes and Living Wills Workshops
Piscataquis Observer
Pine Tree Hospice Workshops on Wishes and Wills
Contributed •May 28, 2024
Learn about wishes and living wills at free workshops in Guilford and Greenville in June, hosted by Pine Tree Hospice and open to anyone in the community.
Pine Tree Hospice’s volunteers are holding workshops to teach the community about advance directives, and explain the differences between living wills and other types of wills. So many people don’t have these documents, and often end up in the hospital without their wishes being known. It is so important to discuss your wishes with your family, as well as healthcare professionals, and we will teach you how to start this conversation.
End-of-life discussions are hard. Pine Tree Hospice wants to help change that and wants to help you get comfortable talking about death and dying. These workshops are open to anyone in the community – for future reference, for starting a discussion, or just for general information. To make it easier, we will introduce you to the 5 Wishes document, and show you how to fill it out. It is an easy, step-by-step process that will help you think about how you want to be treated at end-of-life, when you are in the hospital, what kind of medical treatment you want, and how decisions will be made if you are no longer able to make them for yourself.
Pine Tree Hospice provides free non-medical support, education, and resources to those with life-limiting conditions, caregivers, and grieving individuals through a trained volunteer network. We serve communities in Piscataquis, and parts of Somerset and Penobscot counties. Anyone can ask for services for themselves, or for a friend or family member.
In Greenville, join us June 8 from 9 a.m. to noon at the People’s United Methodist Church on Pritham Avenue for this free workshop.
In Guilford, June 12 from 12:30–3:30 p.m. at Community Fitness on High Street.
Sign up soon so that we have materials for you. For more information, call Pine Tree Hospice at 207-802-8078 or email info@pinetreehospice.org.
Pine Tree Hospice celebrates 38th anniversary!
Contributed •November 14, 2023
GUILFORD — Pine Tree Hospice’s 38th anniversary celebration took place on Nov. 9 at the Craft Café in Guilford. There was a large crowd for the festivities including staff Kristen Wortman, executive director; Sherri Jackins, office coordinator; Pam Pultz, marketing coordinator; Cheryl Crabtree, client and family services coordinator; and Laurie Muzzy, volunteer coordinator.
Other attendees were nearly 20 volunteers that serve as direct care volunteers, members of the board, office volunteers, and volunteers that serve on committees; board members of the Plummer Foundation; and Maria Wooten and Shelley Blockler from Maine Highlands Federal Credit Union. Greenville’s Purpleville was represented as well.
The guest speaker was Jaeme Duggan, director of Piscataquis County Emergency Management Agency. Dugan talked about Pine Tree Hospice’s tireless service to the isolated elderly and frail in our communities. She reiterated that without Pine Tree Hospice, so many people would not have transportation or groceries, and would be isolated without help for sometimes weeks at a time.
Janet Sawyer, president of the board of directors began the celebration with Pine Tree Hospice’s mission statement, “Pine Tree Hospice provides free non-medical support, education, and resources to those with life-limiting conditions, caregivers, and grieving individuals through a trained volunteer network.”
She reminded us all of the importance of community partnerships in our community. These partnerships benefit not just our organization, but the community as a whole.
Wortman shared these words at the opening, “How can you impart what it means to give someone hope, to relieve a family’s stress, to gift someone quality of life, to tell them yes we can help — no strings attached, no waiting list, no 5-page application?
We get to do incredible work in an area of such need. We serve individuals that have not left their own home in months due to lack of transportation, we serve caregivers that can’t plan a minute in advance let alone fill out a MAXIMUS application, we serve heartbroken people that have experienced the greatest loss of their life and are isolated because no one knows what to say.
We are doing this in a time of significant challenges faced by those we serve. In 15 years of working with older adults I have never seen such a lack of resources, length of waiting lists for services, or exhaustion throughout systems.
I am proud of the work we do because it is human and simple. We meet people where they are at, honor that, and walk alongside them.
In our direct care program, we served 136 percent more clients than two years ago. In-home volunteers logged 1,860.5 hours equals 5.1 per day, 1,255 contacts with clients equals 3.4 per day.
Outreach is a critical piece of our current strategic plan – in order to serve we must always tell people what we do, who we serve, and how we can benefit them. Efforts this past year to increase outreach realized an increase of 136 percent more clients than just two years ago.”
Pine Tree Hospice offers help to people and families without putting them on long waiting lists, without barriers, and we do it with trained volunteers who only want to help the people who so desperately need it. This is all done for free, with no payments from Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance.
Each year pins are awarded to volunteers and 2023 honorees are Sue Burgess and Alice Bunn, five years; Dr. Deb Drew, 15 years; Priscilla Higgins and Dodie Curtis, 25 years.
Pine Tree Hospice volunteers love doing what they do, and the longevity in their service is a testament to the work they do — clients and are both benefited by their relationship with Pine Tree Hospice.
The Commitment to Mission Award went to Sherry Corbin. Corbin has been a volunteer for 19 years, and as a direct care volunteer, an indirect volunteer, a committee and board member, and she designed, built and maintained the Pine Tree Hospice website for years. She truly personifies commitment to the mission. Corbin has donated 2,900 hours of her time and talent over those 19 years!
It wouldn’t be a celebration without a cake, and there was cake!
MISSION AWARD — Sherry Corbin, second from right, was presented with Pine Tree Hospice’s Commitment to Mission Award for the 19 years and 2,900 hours she has given. From left are Pine Tree Hospice Client and Family Services Coordinator Cheryl Crabtree, Marketing Coordinator Pam Pultz, Office Coordinator Sherri Jackins, Corbin, and Executive Director Kristen Wortman.
Pine Tree Hospice 17th Annual Golf Tournament!
Pine Tree Hospice’s 17th Annual Golf Tournament, at Foxcroft Golf Course in Dover-Foxcroft was a success! The weather was perfect, there was a fantastic crowd, and plenty of laughter. Great prizes, too!
Thank you to our sponsors, and to everyone for being part of our 17th annual event!
Watch here for the date for the 2025 Golf Tournament - our 18th!
Along with donations, silent auctions, and raffles, these fundraisers are successful because of local business support. Business sponsorships make our fundraisers viable!