The following article is from our Summer 2021 newsletter, Chautauqua Hospice & Palliative Care Companion. The newsletter will be mailed this week, and posted on the website in the very near future.
MUSIC THERAPY PROGRAM OFFERS PROJECT
One of CHPC’s newest team members, Music Therapist Gretchen Golibersuch, has brought more than music to her role. Gretchen, who used to work for Seasons Hospice in Phoenix, AZ, brought with her a special means of remembrance to the families of Chautauqua Hospice & Palliative Care: fingerprint pendants.
The simple pendants are composed of a necklace with an inked fingerprint pendant. They make wonderful keepsakes for the families of loved ones under the care of CHPC.
Mary Jo Bradish, CHPC’s Director of Volunteer Services, had many great things to say about the program. “These pendants, made with such love, will leave family members with wonderful thoughts and memories of their loved ones to hold onto for years.”
The opportunity to create a pendant is free and only takes around five minutes. Since Gretchen started the fingerprint pendant program about six months ago, over 30 patients have made pendants for their family and friends. In Gretchen’s opinion, “The pendants are a fun and simple way for our patients to leave a small, concrete, legacy that family members can then cherish as they remember their loved one.”
How does Gretchen connect her love of music to fingerprint pendants? She explains that making the pendants can be a very emotional process for our patients. She often uses music to help support them during and after the
pendant is created.
The idea of the pendants was captured by one of our patients who, upon giving the pendant to one of their children, said “Now you’ll always have a part of me.”
You can support our Fingerprint Pendants program for just $10 during Give Big CHQ on June 10th by using THIS LINK.
