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
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...
The Gift of Volunteering for Hospice
Author: Julia Hunt, Four Seasons Volunteer The Gift of Volunteering I recently heard that Jimmy Carter has chosen to go into hospice. When I heard this I said to myself, “What a gift it would be to be able to be his volunteer.” Of course, what is true for me is that...
What Is Parkinson’s Disease?
Author: Judy Edwards, BSSW, MCRP, Social Work Navigator Parkinson's Disease It is estimated that Parkinson’s affects nearly one million people in the United States and more than six million worldwide. Continue reading to learn about the symptoms of Parkinson’s and how...
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,...
Care Wherever You Call Home
Authors: Dr. Ruth Thomson, Four Seasons Chief Medical Officer When people think of hospice care, they often picture care in a hospice inpatient unit or hospice house, like Four Seasons’ Elizabeth House, where hospice patients receive 24-hour care provided by hospice...
Four Seasons Home Care Awarded Home Care Pulse Awards 5th Year in a Row
Four Seasons Home Care Receives 2023 Best of Home Care® – Top 100 Leader in Experience Award and More! Four Seasons Home Care is proud to announce that it received the distinguished 2023 Best of Home Care –Top 100 Leader in Experience Award from Home Care Pulse (HCP),...
Serious Illness & Hospice Care Blog
Hospice Care Helps You Be at Home for the Holidays
If you or a loved one needs Hospice Care, don't wait until after the Holidays. Having Hospice Care means support for the caregiver and comfort for the patient. It gives you and your loved one the chance to embrace these moments and live them with more comfort and...
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...
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...
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...
Four Seasons Named a 2022 Hospice Honors Recipient
Four Seasons Named a National 2022 Hospice Honors Recipient Four Seasons has been named a 2022 Hospice Honors recipient by HEALTHCAREfirst, a leading provider of billing and coding services, CAHPS surveys, and advanced analytics. Hospice Honors is a prestigious,...
When is it Time for Hospice Care? Many Say They Wish They’d Called Sooner
As the caretaker for a loved one with a terminal disease, it's often difficult to make the decision of when to arrange for Hospice Care. Many wait until the final days and then realize the care is such a great help, it could have helped them have less stress, more...
Home Care Blog
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Patient & Family Support Services Blog
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Four Seasons Mission Moments
Read stories from families we have been privileged to serve and from our treasured team members.
A Simple Fishing Trip
Sometimes casting a fishing pole in the water is the best gift a person can get and that was certainly true with this story. Years ago, a patient was referred to Four Seasons that was a good candidate to take part in a Clinical Research Trial on managing pain caused...
What does Dignity have to do with Clinical Research?
Years ago, we had a patient who had enrolled himself in an Opioid-Induced Constipation study. He had multiple amputations and suffered severe ongoing pain and discomfort on a daily basis. He was on a large amount of pain medications prescribed to him to try to...
The Patient that Taught Me to See
Being new to Four Seasons at the time, I was constantly in awe of every opportunity I was given to visit with our patients. This particular patient and visit were ones that changed my perception and opened my eyes. This patient was a well-traveled lady and retired...
Our People
Read stories about our leaders & staff (see our Volunteer Blog below as well).
Four Seasons Hires New CMO, Ruth Thomson, DO, MBA, HMDC, FACOI, FAAHPM
Four Seasons, the Care You Trust is pleased to announce our new Chief Medical Officer, Ruth Thomson, DO, MBA, HMDC, FACOI, FAAHPM. Dr. Thomson brings more than 20 years of hospice and palliative care experience to her role of Chief Medical Officer at Four Seasons. She...
A Day in the Life of a Social Worker by Kelly Caudle
Meeting people for the first time is always interesting. Inevitably, someone is going to ask, “What do you do for a living?”. I explain I am a Hospice social worker and immediately, the eyes widen, and you hear a slight gasp followed by “Wow…it takes a special person...
Volunteer Blog
Read stories about our volunteers, volunteer opportunities and more!
Patty Vega Home Store Volunteer Spotlight
Patty came to volunteer at Four Seasons after her husband was cared for at Elizabeth House in 2015. He fought a long battle with cancer and, as she recounts, “The services he received and the assistance I was given allowed me to be strong for him and make his last...
Volunteering Here is Special
I first learned about Four Seasons through my student advisor, Vanessa Capps. Four Seasons was a volunteering option available to me to complete my hours for the Work-Based Learning Program at Blue Ridge Community College. Before learning of this opportunity, I was...
Finding the Right Place: Volunteer Sandy Williams
It was 1986. I was working at my husband’s dental office raising two teenage daughters and was involved in many community activities when my mother was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. I was devastated. At first, our family managed to care for my mother. As an...
Serving & Educating Our Community
Fritz and Christine (Chris) Becker embody the definition of “salt of the earth.” With backgrounds in service organizations, Fritz and Chris bring a unique and valued perspective to their volunteer work at the Home Store. The Beckers are originally from New York. Fritz...
Finding My Life’s Passion
“Ms. Brenda,” as she’s known around the Foundation, is the definition of love and kindness. Born in Wisconsin, Brenda Shearer’s background is nothing short of impressive. She holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction in Reading Language Arts, has co-authored four...