Four Seasons Blog

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Serious Illness & Hospice Care | Home Care | Support Services | Our People | Volunteers |  Grief Services  | Mission Moments | Foundation


Most Recent Blog Articles

Hospice Myths & Questions Answered

Hospice Myths & Questions Answered

Is Hospice a Place? Hospice is not a place, but rather an approach to care designed to enhance life and can be provided wherever you call home. This could be a private residence, assisted living community, or nursing center. Does involving Hospice Care mean we are...

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Flip the Script for Children’s Grief Awareness Month

Flip the Script for Children’s Grief Awareness Month

Written by Amy Entwistle, Four Seasons Adult, Child, & Adolescent Grief Coordinator November is Children’s Grief Awareness Month! In recognition of Children’s Grief Awareness Month, this year, Compass, Four Seasons Child & Adolescent Grief Services, has...

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Dr. Michael Barnett Joins Four Seasons

Dr. Michael Barnett Joins Four Seasons

Four Seasons is proud and honored to welcome Dr. Michael Barnett, MD, MS, FACP, FAAP, FAAHPM to our Pediatric Hospice & Palliative Care team. “Having worked in pediatric palliative care for over a decade, I’ve seen firsthand the challenges (and joys) of caring for...

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Four Seasons Named Top 10 Best Place to Work

Four Seasons Named Top 10 Best Place to Work

Four Seasons is proud to announce being awarded a Modern Health Care top 10 Best Place to Work nationally in the provider/insurer category. Four Seasons announced in May that it had been named a 2023 Best Place to Work a second time, earning top 50 nationally in 2021...

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Sewing Volunteers

Sewing Volunteers

Author: Jennifer Fox, Volunteer Coordinator Four Seasons sewing volunteers provide many different services to patients and clients. They make comfort items such as neck pillows, butterfly pillows, busy aprons for dementia patients, and relief packs containing rice...

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What is Camp Compass?

What is Camp Compass?

Camp Compass is Four Seasons’ grief camp for those ages 5-15 anticipating or experiencing the death of a loved one. This year, Camp Compass was held at Hickory Nut Gap Farm in Fairview, North Carolina. Among the attendees, campers had experienced the death of parents,...

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Tuck-In Call Volunteers

Tuck-In Call Volunteers

Every Thursday morning, volunteers arrive at Four Seasons’ Franklin, Asheville, and Flat Rock offices prepared to make dozens of calls to hospice patients receiving in-home care. They are part of a dedicated “tuck-in call” team, and many of them have been giving their...

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Serious Illness & Hospice Care Blog

Putting People First

Putting People First

Putting people first means that your healthcare wishes and desires direct the path of your care and that’s exactly what Four Seasons does. Our Four Seasons Hospice Team works with you and your existing providers to ensure that what matters most to you is prioritized...

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Four Seasons Introduces Mobile Care Unit

Four Seasons Introduces Mobile Care Unit

Four Seasons Introduces Mobile Palliative Care Unit Four Seasons introduces its new mobile medical clinic. The mobile clinic and SIM mannequin will enhance training for our staff throughout Western North Carolina. The mobile unit will also allow Four Seasons to...

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5 Reasons to Call Hospice Sooner

5 Reasons to Call Hospice Sooner

It's a myth that Hospice is only for the final days of life. In fact, it’s recommended that as soon as you are eligible for hospice, you call us, so that the time you have left is on your terms and so that we can ensure that your wishes are carried out. To qualify for...

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Four Seasons Announces Pediatric Care Program

Four Seasons Announces Pediatric Care Program

Four Seasons is pleased to announce its new Pediatric Palliative & Hospice Care Program, Riversong. Although palliative and hospice care are often provided to aging persons, there are cases where pediatric patients are in need of these types of care. Four Seasons...

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How I Became a Hospice Volunteer

How I Became a Hospice Volunteer

Author: Dave Stewart, Hospice Volunteer How I Became a Hospice Volunteer I have been a Hospice volunteer since 2018. Before 2018, I had heard that Hospice was an organization that helped terminally ill patients, but that was about it. My sister developed a brain...

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Home Care Blog

Home Safety for Your Aging Loved One

Home Safety for Your Aging Loved One

At Four Seasons, we care about your loved one’s safety in their home. In this article, you’ll find ways to improve the safety conditions in their home as well as additional resources. Remove Throw and Area Rugs Rugs of any kind can be a tripping hazard for your loved...

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How Does Passive Remote Monitoring Help My Loved One?

How Does Passive Remote Monitoring Help My Loved One?

Is your loved one at risk of falling in their home? Are you concerned that if unable to call for help, your loved one might be in distress without anyone knowing? Four Seasons Home Care can help with Passive Remote Monitoring. Passive Remote Monitoring, powered by...

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Home Care Announces Virtual Monitoring

Home Care Announces Virtual Monitoring

Four Seasons Home Care is pleased to announce that it will begin offering Passive Remote Monitoring for its clients. Passive Remote Activity Monitoring, powered by Zemplee, is the use of digital technology to collect daily activity data within a client’s home and...

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Patient & Family Support Services Blog

What is Camp Compass?

What is Camp Compass?

Camp Compass is Four Seasons’ grief camp for those ages 5-15 anticipating or experiencing the death of a loved one. This year, Camp Compass was held at Hickory Nut Gap Farm in Fairview, North Carolina. Among the attendees, campers had experienced the death of parents,...

read more
5 Reasons to Call Hospice Sooner

5 Reasons to Call Hospice Sooner

It's a myth that Hospice is only for the final days of life. In fact, it’s recommended that as soon as you are eligible for hospice, you call us, so that the time you have left is on your terms and so that we can ensure that your wishes are carried out. To qualify for...

read more
Males as Caregivers

Males as Caregivers

Author: Judy Edwards, BSSW, MCRP, Social Work Care Navigator According to AARP, two out of five unpaid caregivers in the United States are men (Jean Accius, PhD, AARP Public Policy Institute (2017). Although not traditionally recognized for performing caregiving...

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How Care Navigation Helps

How Care Navigation Helps

What do you do when your aging loved one lives in a different area from the person(s) who would be their primary caregiver and wants to stay there as they age? How do you make sure they are safe and receiving the care they need? Lisa Cole found herself in this exact...

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Social Workers are Essential

Social Workers are Essential

Author: Judy Edwards, BSSW, MCRP, Social Work Navigator Social Workers support communities and people in need including those experiencing poverty, discrimination, abuse, addiction, physical illness, loss, disability, mental illness, aging, and much more. In short,...

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National Hospice and Palliative Care Month

National Hospice and Palliative Care Month

Four Seasons is grateful to be a leading provider of Palliative and Hospice Care in thirteen counties in Western North Carolina. During November, which is recognized as National Palliative and Hospice Care Month, we are dedicated to increasing awareness and providing...

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Ritual as a Means of Processing Grief

Ritual as a Means of Processing Grief

It was the same spot where he sat the day before. On that day, with his mother and brothers, he watched his father’s casket slowly sink into the ground. I watched intently as the pain of grief took control of his countenance and moved him to his knees from where he...

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So, What about the 5 Stages of Grief?

So, What about the 5 Stages of Grief?

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross is considered to be one of the pioneers of the hospice movement. Still a relatively new approach to end-of-life care, the hospice movement began in the US in the early 1970s. The first established hospice opened in 1974 in Branford, Connecticut....

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The Power of Music Therapy

The Power of Music Therapy

When COVID-19 rolled into Western North Carolina, questions about how best to care for our community took on a different tone. Hospice families welcome us not only into their homes, but also into emotionally and medically difficult times in their lives. I will never...

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Four Seasons Mission Moments

Read stories from families we have been privileged to serve and from our treasured team members.

Four Seasons Foundation 2022 Annual Impact Report

Four Seasons Foundation 2022 Annual Impact Report

Four Seasons Foundation is tremendously grateful for the opportunity to share with you this Annual Impact Report that not only acknowledges our amazing donors like you but also shares how you enable us to provide excellent serious illness and end-of-life care. Thank...

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The Power of Music Therapy

The Power of Music Therapy

When COVID-19 rolled into Western North Carolina, questions about how best to care for our community took on a different tone. Hospice families welcome us not only into their homes, but also into emotionally and medically difficult times in their lives. I will never...

read more
We Provide Trusted Collaboration

We Provide Trusted Collaboration

Four Seasons is committed to providing Trusted Collaboration because we believe that we can best serve our patients by working closely together. The following story told by a Four Seasons team member shows how our staff works together to adapt and care for our...

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Wally Ruck’s Gift to Lois’ Linens

Wally Ruck’s Gift to Lois’ Linens

Lois’ Linens was established in 2017 in memory of Lois Vera Cruz. When Lois entered Four Seasons hospice care, Four Seasons arranged for a hospital bed to be delivered to her home. Without twin-sized sheets to cover the bed, the family had to purchase them...

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Learning to Stand Again

Learning to Stand Again

After losing his wife, Robin, Bill Tankersley struggled to stand again. Through volunteering at Four Seasons, Bill slowly found his purpose again. Read about how volunteering and supporting the people who cared so dearly for his wife helps Bill to push through even...

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Blessed by Care, Wisdom, & Ongoing Support

Blessed by Care, Wisdom, & Ongoing Support

As shared by David Riddle, Spouse of Hospice Patient My wife, Peggy Riddle, entered hospice care in October 2019 and entered heaven on February 8, 2020. Throughout that time, our family was repeatedly blessed by the care, wisdom, and ongoing support from Peggy’s care...

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Our People

Read stories about our leaders & staff (see our Volunteer Blog below as well).

Dr. Michael Barnett Joins Four Seasons

Dr. Michael Barnett Joins Four Seasons

Four Seasons is proud and honored to welcome Dr. Michael Barnett, MD, MS, FACP, FAAP, FAAHPM to our Pediatric Hospice & Palliative Care team. “Having worked in pediatric palliative care for over a decade, I’ve seen firsthand the challenges (and joys) of caring for...

read more
Four Seasons Named Top 10 Best Place to Work

Four Seasons Named Top 10 Best Place to Work

Four Seasons is proud to announce being awarded a Modern Health Care top 10 Best Place to Work nationally in the provider/insurer category. Four Seasons announced in May that it had been named a 2023 Best Place to Work a second time, earning top 50 nationally in 2021...

read more
Four Seasons Named a Best Place to Work 2023

Four Seasons Named a Best Place to Work 2023

Four Seasons has been once again selected by Modern Healthcare as one of the 2023 Best Places to Work in Healthcare. With over 43 years of experience, Four Seasons is an award-winning, nationally recognized non-profit organization providing Care Navigation, Home Care,...

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Celebrating Dr. Janet Bull’s Retirement

Celebrating Dr. Janet Bull’s Retirement

Dr. Janet Bull's Story Since January 2000, Dr. Janet Bull has faithfully served patients at Four Seasons, both directly and indirectly, and has grown the services of Four Seasons to better serve our community. We are so grateful for Dr. Bull's work at Four Seasons for...

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Jill Benson Awarded Pay It Forward Scholarship

Jill Benson Awarded Pay It Forward Scholarship

Four Seasons, the Care You Trust is pleased to award the Julie Thompson Pay It Forward Scholarship in honor of Edna and Norman Guice to Jill Benson. Given annually, this scholarship is for an employee to further his or her education at Blue Ridge Community College...

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Volunteer Blog

Read stories about our volunteers, volunteer opportunities and more!

Sewing Volunteers

Sewing Volunteers

Author: Jennifer Fox, Volunteer Coordinator Four Seasons sewing volunteers provide many different services to patients and clients. They make comfort items such as neck pillows, butterfly pillows, busy aprons for dementia patients, and relief packs containing rice...

read more
Tuck-In Call Volunteers

Tuck-In Call Volunteers

Every Thursday morning, volunteers arrive at Four Seasons’ Franklin, Asheville, and Flat Rock offices prepared to make dozens of calls to hospice patients receiving in-home care. They are part of a dedicated “tuck-in call” team, and many of them have been giving their...

read more
Volunteer Spotlight: Julia Hunt

Volunteer Spotlight: Julia Hunt

Author: Chloe Jackson, West Volunteer Coordinator Pictured below: Julia Hunt (right) and her friend Nearly 30 years ago, Julia Hunt’s stepfather was admitted to a hospice in Kentucky. At the time, Julia was involved in other volunteer work, but her stepdad and...

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Volunteer Opportunities Abound!

Volunteer Opportunities Abound!

Author: Chloe Jackson-Pierce, West Region Volunteer Coordinator As the Volunteer Coordinator for the West region, I’m regularly touched by the compassion and commitment volunteers bring to their work. Since I joined the team at Four Seasons, I’ve seen volunteers go...

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How I Became a Hospice Volunteer

How I Became a Hospice Volunteer

Author: Dave Stewart, Hospice Volunteer How I Became a Hospice Volunteer I have been a Hospice volunteer since 2018. Before 2018, I had heard that Hospice was an organization that helped terminally ill patients, but that was about it. My sister developed a brain...

read more
The Power of Unconditional Giving

The Power of Unconditional Giving

Author: Elise Boren, Hospice Volunteer The Power of Unconditional Giving You're missing out on a huge opportunity for just a little of your time! I would like to share my experience with the immense power of giving. I have been involved with hospice care on one level...

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