How a Companys Donations Make Hospice Care Possible For Patients in Need

THANKS TO PATRONS, THIS HOSPICE PROVIDER DOESN’T TURN PEOPLE AWAY FOR FINANCIAL REASONS.

Quality in-home health care shouldn’t be hard to find. At least that’s the view of Covenant Care, a not-for-profit home health and hospice provider.

Thanks to corporate donors like Wind Creek Hospitality, Covenant Care is able to operate a robust charity program that serves local communities in Alabama and Florida. No matter a patient’s background, Covenant Care treats them with the same level of care and attention as any other patient.

That was the case when, in 2019, the organization was given a lead about a woman in her 30s named Allycia who was terminally ill with breast cancer. Angela Bottesini, a senior director at Covenant Care, went to Allycia’s house to meet with her and was touched by the single mom’s optimism, love and strength.

“The glow and the glory and the pride that she had in her life absolutely connected you to her,” Bottesini said. “She knew she was dying, but she didn’t give up.”

Between chemotherapy, surgeries and raising her three children, Allycia had been far too sick to work for several years, Bottesini said. Luckily, thanks to Covenant Care’s charity care program, her inability to pay didn’t preclude her from receiving top-tier care. At first, Allycia received in-home care, but, as she became sicker, she was moved to inpatient hospice care. The entire cost was covered by Covenant Care’s charitable initiatives.

“Because of incredible donors like Wind Creek, we know we have the wherewithal and the means to care for these patients,” Bottesini said. “From our nurses’ perspective and our physicians’ perspective, we don’t even look at funding.”

Covenant Care strived to go the extra mile to help Allycia and her family, as it does with all patients, by offering personalized care and assistance.

“We set her inpatient room up to keep the three children there with her,” Bottesini said. “We brought their school clothes there. We had volunteers able to take them to school and pick them up and bring them back to Mama, because they had never been separated.”

After Allycia’s death, Covenant Care was able to provide support with its bereavement counselors and children’s counselors to help her children come to terms with what happened and move forward.

“Because of all the funds — and particularly the funds from Wind Creek — we were able to change the life of this beautiful young woman who cared for her three children,” Bottesini said. “On top of that, we were able to change the lives of the three children left.”

Allycia’s story is just one of many instances in which Covenant Care was able to impact the lives of people in need for the better. Covenant Care Senior Director of Development Christie Parker shared another touching example of a charity care patient. This time, the patient was just 8 years old.

After years of going from doctor to doctor, the young girl, Addison, was bedridden and in pain. The family had originally been providing all of her in-home care themselves, as they didn’t have insurance and couldn’t afford help

When the family reached out to Covenant Care, the team was able to put her into its in-home hospice care program. That allowed Addison to get the care she needed while staying with her family in the comfort of her own home.

“She stayed at home the entire time and had support not only from the nurses and the doctor, but also had a social worker to provide emotional support to the family, as well as our children’s support team, who provided assistance for the children in the home that were dealing with losing their sibling,” Parker said.

Allycia and Addison demonstrate how important it can be to patients and their families to be able to get the help that they need. Even when the ending is sad — both Allycia and Addison died during their time with Covenant Care — the ability to die with dignity and surrounded by loved ones is an act of grace that Covenant Care takes pride in.

“Our mission is to improve the quality of every life we touch,” Parker said. “Without partnering with Wind Creek, I really don’t know what we would do. It’s these partnerships that make it possible for every single patient to have care, so we are very, very grateful for that.”

To learn more about Wind Creek Hospitality, visit windcreekhospitality.com.

Jessica Levy