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Interim Hospice opens new office
Interim HealthCare Hospice opened its office in Blacksburg on Friday. The Christian-based organization has offered services to county residents for much of the past 12 years. However, a local ministerial association made a pitch to Interim, asking the hospice care service to open an office locally. "The folks from the Blacksburg Ministerial Association asked us to establish an office in Blacksburg," said Interim HealthCare Hospice Director Nany Dereng. "They wanted a local emphasis and helped make it happen." Interim offers health care options for those fighting terminal illnesses and their families by providing nursing visits, pain and symptom management and crisis care. In addition, the organization gives bereavement counseling for 13 months following the loss of a loved one. "Hospice is not just for the last days of life, we can be there for the end stages and thereafter," Dereng said. "There is so much we can do." There also are five chaplains available for spiritual support, being there for everything from counseling to baptisms and weddings. "Our organization's first priority is to honor God," said Interim Chaplain and Transitions Manager Max Benshoof. "With death and life afterward a common fear, we try to share — not force — our Christian faith with them. "We want to show them God provides unconditional love." According to Dereng, the organization has aims to build relationships with the families of clients, sometimes leading to friendships spanning the course of years and decades. "A lot of the time these families we've helped will tell me they know me," Benshoof said. "Even though it's hard for me to remember all of them, that's what we want to do. We want to become like family to them." Including Cherokee County, Interim serves eight counties in the Upstate. For more information, call 839-1310 or 866-768-0831. |
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