Chapman enjoys ‘helping them along’

Dena Chapman of Creston once served as volunteer coordinator for Care Initiatives Hospice, a certified, not-for-profit hospice care provider that, based in Greenfield, covers all of southwest Iowa, from interstate 35 to the Nebraska border and roughly from Interstate 80 to the Missouri border. Now, Chapman is a social worker for the organization.

March has been National Social Work Month, and in April, National Volunteer Month is observed. Both are crucial aspects to hospice, which, by definition, is for those who have been given six months or less to live by their physician.

“I started with the company almost eight years ago and when I did, I was the volunteer coordinator for about a year and a half,” Chapman explained. “A position in social work came up and I have a background in social work, so I really wanted the opportunity to have more interactions with the patients and families. I wanted to be able to be able to interact with them and help them meet their end of life goals.”

That personal, one-on-one aspect of patients and their families is what Chapman says keeps bringing her back to work each day.

“In hospice, we’re providing palliative care rather than curative care. What they’re going to do is they’re not going to try and cure what’s going on, we’re going to provide comfort and support,” Chapman said. “When we get the referral, sometimes I assist with gathering information on the referral and assist with that information, then I also can meet with the families on what we do and what we’re there to provide them with.”

No one patient is the same and she’s been able to help patients in remarkable ways because of the approach she takes to her job.

“[The gratifying part] is knowing I’ve helped them along in this part of their journey of life or helping to make end of life goals happen for them,” Chapman said. “I’ve had people who have wanted to go to a gun range and I was able to make that happen for them. I had one who wanted to go on a boat ride, so I set up a boat ride. Those are a couple of examples and sometimes it’s reconnection with family — sometimes it’s estranged family — and it’s really rewarding.”

Chapman stresses to those who are considering hospice care for a loved one that they do have a choice in their hospice care provider and that they should find the one that best fits their needs.

“Not every hospice is the same and there are more than one out there,” Chapman said. “Another thing is that now they’re wanting to get hospice involved earlier rather than later in the process, when they’re first diagnosed with that six month or less [prognosis]. We want to get hospice in there to give family and patients extra support and comfort that they can have for the longest amount of time so we can focus on the quality of life rather than the quantity.”

Todd Daily is the current Volunteer Coordinator for Care Initiatives. For those willing to serve as volunteers with Care Initiatives, he can be reached at 641-743-2264. In Greenfield, Care Initiatives is located on the southeast corner of the square, at 122 Public Square.

“Volunteers with Care Initiatives Hospice play a vital role in providing comfort and support for our patients and the caregivers,” Daily said. “Volunteers can sit at the bedside and visit, provide light housekeeping duties and learn a lot of interesting stories from the people they will meet. We are always looking for more volunteers who will be trained and prepared to provide comfort and support.”