Loved ones remembered at ‘Season of Lights’
Ninety-three people were remembered at the 21st annual Season of Lights ceremony Dec. 6, held at the main campus of Lakewood Health System (LHS) in Staples.
The event, sponsored by LHS Foundation and Lakewood’s Hospice and Palliative Care departments, honored Lakewood’s hospice/palliative patients who passed away last year. During the course of the program, music, prayer and readings were offered; and ornaments with the names of the deceased were hung on a Christmas tree.
In attendance were family members and friends of the deceased, as well as some of the Lakewood medical staff who cared for them.
Dr. Julie Benson, the Hospice and Palliative Care Medical Director at LHS, gave the message, which encouraged people to allow themselves to grieve. She noted that after losing a loved one, it is important to surround yourself with people who love and support you. Don’t isolate yourself, she added.
“We don’t get over grief...we learn a new normal,” Dr. Benson said. She went on to say that people grieve because they love; and what a gift it is to have loved.
Although the ceremony has always been near and dear to her heart, Dr. Benson said that this year it took on greater significance, having lost her own father this past spring. Because of that, she feels she is able to be a better doctor.
As part of her message, Dr. Benson shared a poem by Henry Scott-Holland that she had read at her father’s funeral. Entitled, “All is Well,” it begins, “Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room.”
After the message, LHS Chaplain Daryl Jacobson read the names of those patients being honored. As each name was read, family members and friends were invited to hang their loved one’s ornament on the tree. For those who had served in the military, a salute was offered by army veteran Charles Poulton.
When the last ornament was hung, a closing prayer was offered by the chaplain, followed by the singing of “Silent Night” led by Lakewood Home Care RN, Heidi Brings.
Monetary donations raised during this year’s Season of Lights ceremony are going toward the new hospice/respite suites which will be located at Lakewood Pines in Staples.
According to Foundation Director Heidi Chapman, two suites will be created at Lakewood Pines for this service. At this time, one suite is in the process of being renovated, thanks to dollars raised during the LHS employee giving campaign.
Renovation on the second suite will begin after additional funds are raised. The Foundation is hoping to have both of the suites, as well as a patio for family gatherings, completed by the fall of 2017.
This new service will provide much needed, short-term, respite/hospice care services for the community, Chapman noted.
To make an online donation toward the respite/hospice suites, visit www.Lakewoodhealthsystem.com and click on the ‘Foundation’ tab. Donations can also be sent to Lakewood Health System Foundation, 49725 Cty 83, Staples, MN 56479.
