August 24, 2025 • 33 mins
This week on the El Paso Public Forum!
Segment 1:
Amber Banda interviews Robert Hart, Executive Director for the non-profit Living Hope Counseling Service. Living Hope Counseling Service is a faith based counseling service that has been serving the community for over 18 years. Amber and Robert talk about the benefits of including faith in their counseling services, what types of services they provide, how Robert got into his line of work as someone who specilaized in sexual trauma for both victims and perpetrators, and more. He also talks about new type of therapy that him and his wife Kia specialize in called ETT.
.
For more information visit livinghopeccs.org or call 915-772-2237
_________________________________________________________________________________
Segment 2:
Amber Banda talks with Dr. James Voiland, CEO and Chief Clinical Officer, and Natalie Eckberg, Vice President of Philanthropy & Community Engagement for Hospice of El Paso.
.
Hospice of El Paso is El Paso's oldest and largest and most trusted end-of-life care provider. Learn about why hospice is so much more than you think. It's about end-of-life on the person's terms, and very much about the family as well. Dr. James Voiland talks about their services offered including palliative care, respite care, their pediatric program, their veterans program, bereavment support and grief support groups. No one is turned away for care.
.
Natalie talks with Amber about volunteer opportunities and their upcoming Boots 'N Bling gala Oct 24th at Hotel Paso del Norte. There will be games, prizes, raffles, auction, food, music, and more, all with an elegant and fun country twist. They are looking for sponsors and various types of donations. Natalie also talks about where the funds go once raised.
.
For tcikets, sponsorships, service inquiries and more, visit hospiceelpaso.org or find them on IG or FB.
Segment 1:
Amber Banda interviews Robert Hart, Executive Director for the non-profit Living Hope Counseling Service. Living Hope Counseling Service is a faith based counseling service that has been serving the community for over 18 years. Amber and Robert talk about the benefits of including faith in their counseling services, what types of services they provide, how Robert got into his line of work as someone who specilaized in sexual trauma for both victims and perpetrators, and more. He also talks about new type of therapy that him and his wife Kia specialize in called ETT.
.
For more information visit livinghopeccs.org or call 915-772-2237
_________________________________________________________________________________
Segment 2:
Amber Banda talks with Dr. James Voiland, CEO and Chief Clinical Officer, and Natalie Eckberg, Vice President of Philanthropy & Community Engagement for Hospice of El Paso.
.
Hospice of El Paso is El Paso's oldest and largest and most trusted end-of-life care provider. Learn about why hospice is so much more than you think. It's about end-of-life on the person's terms, and very much about the family as well. Dr. James Voiland talks about their services offered including palliative care, respite care, their pediatric program, their veterans program, bereavment support and grief support groups. No one is turned away for care.
.
Natalie talks with Amber about volunteer opportunities and their upcoming Boots 'N Bling gala Oct 24th at Hotel Paso del Norte. There will be games, prizes, raffles, auction, food, music, and more, all with an elegant and fun country twist. They are looking for sponsors and various types of donations. Natalie also talks about where the funds go once raised.
.
For tcikets, sponsorships, service inquiries and more, visit hospiceelpaso.org or find them on IG or FB.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly half hour
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso for over twenty years,
featuring local news and interviews of interest to our listeners
in West Texas and southern New Mexico. All views and
opinions expressed on this program are those of the host
and guest, and not necessarily those of iHeartRadio Management and
now El Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I'm your host,
Amber Banda, and today we have Robert Hart. He is
the executive director for Living Hope Counseling Service, a nonprofit
in al Paso, Texas.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Robert, thank you for being here with me today.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
Thanks Amber, I am super happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
I can tell I can see that big smile on
your face. So, Robert, this Living Hope Counseling Service. One
of my biker brothers from Gardens of the Children brought
this to my attention and he speaks very highly of
you and the services. Now this is a faith.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Based the way he speaks very highly of the biker group.
Your entis oh.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Good, I would hope so yes awesome.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Shout out to Doc or you know him as Dates
that's right. This is a faith based counseling service. So
can you tell us how Living Hope Counseling Services, since
it is faith based, is different from other counseling services.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Absolutely, we are a mental health service provider, so all
of our clinicians have at least a graduate degree or
they are in school obtaining either their Masters or their
PhD in a mental health field. But what separates us
is that we don't just look at and deal with
the mental, emotional, behavioral issues. We also address the spiritual issues.
(01:35):
So we're a Christian organization, so we come at things
from a Christian perspective, and all of our counselors are
Christian counselors. But we not only again address the emotional
and mental and behavioral issues, but also the spiritual needs
that people bring to the table from a Christian perspective.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Definitely, and there's definitely certain cups that you have to
feel in order to have a better quality of life.
That includes financial, it includes relationships, it includes mental, physical,
and spiritual is a big one. If I'm being honest,
It's one of the ones that I struggle with the most.
So I'm very happy that you're here to answer some questions,
and you know, if people feel like this is something
(02:14):
that they do want to learn more about, we're going
to give the contact information here pretty soon. So Living
Hope Counseling Service, What kind of services do you provide
to the community.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
We focus on providing individual, couple, family, mental and behavioral
counseling therapy services. So we meet with people to discuss
verbally the challenges and issues that they have going on
in their life. And those issues range anything from relationship issues,
(02:44):
trauma issues, depression, anxiety, just all of the whole range
of mental and emotional and behavioral.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Health issues and is it all ages? It is okay?
Speaker 4 (02:56):
At this time, I'd just like to acknowledge there are
a lot of great services throughout Alpaso that specialized in
working with children under the age of ten. So I
don't typically say that we're an organization that specializes in
working with kids. We do have counselors that are focused
(03:17):
on working with children, but that's not our specialty as
an organization. I would say our specialty as an organization
is working with trauma and or couples.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
And what kind of services you provide as far as
you know some uh, some offices are specialized for. I
think it's called EMD. I've done it before, Yes, Amdr EMDR. Yes,
do you offer different practices.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
We have several clinicians who are trained in that, and
there's another specialty service that my wife and I provide
called Emotional transformation therapy or ETT. It's less well known,
but I can tell you that as somebody who's also
been trained in EMDR, I find it much more effective.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
What is can you can explain that all?
Speaker 4 (04:00):
It's Emotional transformation therapy uses visual stimulation, specifically light and
color to engage different parts of your brain. It's really
more of a it's more of a neurological stimulation type
of a treatment doesn't require any type of device to
be connected to you, but using lights and colors, it
(04:26):
helps target specific regions of your brain to bring rapid
resolution to certain types of trauma.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
That's interesting because when I did the AMDR, I held
in my hands would look like two worries.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Stones and the vibrated.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Yet.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Yeah, when you focus on a certain memory and it
goes from basic correct, but you also offer that so
I mean correct. That's awesome that you know you're offering
these different types of services and again. The Living Hop
Consoling Service has been around for since two thousand and seven,
over eighteen years serving the community. And you Roburn, you're
actually specialized in work related to sexual trauma. You treat
(05:03):
both victims and perps, you know, separately. Of course, yes,
can you do you feel comfortable communicating why you decided
to get into that line specifically?
Speaker 4 (05:14):
Absolutely, the there's a short answer and a long answer
and the ten minutes now so well, the strictly professional
answer is a whole series of steps. Open doors occurred
where I was able to specialize in working with trauma
(05:35):
and perpetrators of sexual abuse, and I wasn't anticipating doing
that initially. Initially, the thing that drew me into counseling
was marriage and family because I got married in August
of nineteen ninety two, and immediately my wife and I
started experiencing challenges in our marriage. And so when we
(05:56):
got help, we both experience such profound gratitude for that
that that drew me into the field. Now, the spiritual
side of that is not to sound too churchy or whatever,
but there there was a very strong conviction spiritually that
this is the thing that the Lord was compelling both
(06:19):
my wife and I to do so, which is very
significant in the whole journey as to how we got
here to El Paso, because this whole journey started for
us in Austin, Texas. Okay, And it's not often that
people go from Austin, Texas to El Paso, Texas. It's
often the other way, right, Usually they start in Olpasso
and move to Austin. So, but we love the ol
(06:39):
Paso community. We love I imagine that we're going to be
here until we are put in the ground here hopefully
nine times soon.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
Right, how long have you all been in Alaso.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
We've been in al Paso now for fifteen.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Years, okay, Okay, so this.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Is definitely our home definitely, Oh yeah, after fifteen.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
I mean our Passo is very welcoming, you know anyway,
people that visit, I people with a lot of country
artists that come in and they just love.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
I'll pass on home.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Sure the community is and more so maybe I don't
know if you've noticed this, but I'll pass so. I
know Austin has a big Hispanic community, but I'll pass so.
I think even more so, there is kind of this
mental health stigma with Hispanics do you see that that.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
You've moved here.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
Yeah, absolutely for sure. And this is why I definitely
see it as such an honor when someone from a
Hispanic family comes to see me, because then suddenly I've
got twenty or thirty other of their family members that
they trust to us, and it's like, boy, that's a
big deal. You've now allowed me or us access to
(07:45):
your family. That's a very significant thing.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
And so well, that's true because again that I never
thought i'd light bulb right now. Hispanics and religion also
go ahead and hand, so that probably hurts them to
seek mental services even more.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
So, absolutely, and that is very important. I mean there's
I want to say, eighty five to ninety percent of
the folks here and I'll passo identify with Christian faith
on some capacity, whether Catholicism or Protestant forms. So it's
very prevalent in the region for sure, which is really
ironic then that we are one of the only Christian
(08:21):
counseling providers here in tewnt so such a huge base
and that's where I think again, I think we stand
out from other clinicians because nobody else is specializing in that.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
That's true. That's true.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
And if you're just tuning in, we have Robert Hart,
executive director for Living Hope Counseling Service, a nonprofit in
I'll Passo that's been serving the community for over eighteen years.
Faith based counseling services. Now, personal question, I'm just curious
having this be faith based counseling services. Is there anything
(08:54):
that you're maybe not allowed to do that in more
traditional counseling services they can or not? Is that is
that an issue at all?
Speaker 4 (09:03):
Well, I'm not exactly sure of what your question there
is if you wanted to ask that a different way,
but I can tell you that a lot of times
when people hear Christian counseling or faith based counseling, they
kind of have ideas of what that means, like that
they must be a Christian or that we're going to
be trying to evangelize or convert them into Christianity as
a part of the mental health services. And we definitely
(09:24):
do not do that. We don't require folks to be Christian.
You don't have to believe anything similar to what I
believe personally or any of our counselors. And at the
same time, there's a large number of folks who want
the security of knowing, Hey, are we doing something that
lines up with my Christian values or belief system. And
(09:44):
that's where we can reassure folks for sure we absolutely
line up with a Christian biblical worldview.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Well, I'm glad you address that, because I know that's
going to be one questions listeners have. And let me
rephrase the question a little bit. So I'm Jewish, so
I'm kind of you know, I don't know what might
be allowed or not allowed with the Christian faith. But
you know, I watched this show. A lot of listeners
will know. It's called mom Talk. They're Mormon wives, and
I know they do something called ketemine therapy, which I
(10:11):
don't know how they get the loop around, you know,
for that, but I guess that's what I mean. Is
there anything, any type of therapy procedures or anything that
might not be for lack of a better term, allowed
with faith based counseling versus regular therapy or has that
not been an issue?
Speaker 4 (10:26):
It's really hasn't been an issue because as professionals, and
we're located in Olpaso, which is Texas and Texas overseas
mental health work none of us are physicians, so we
don't prescribe or do any type of medication as part
of our therapy. We're not anti medication, right, And some
(10:47):
people would say THHC is a medication, and some people
just like ketymine clearly a medication. Some of the psychedelics
are now being tried in terms of mental health, like
mushrooms and things like that, and we don't administer or
engage in that kind of therapy or treatment at Living Hope,
but we're also not anti any of those things. Yes,
(11:09):
so does that.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Sort of question since that makes perfect sense? Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
So, you know, people want to spiritually better themselves, whether
it's going to counseling, and when I looked at the website,
there was also some other ways that people could enhance
their spirituality or you know, use faith based therapies for
you know, if that properly describes it outside of therapy,
such as joining a church, going to websites, celebrating recovery.
(11:39):
Can you speak more.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
To that, Well, yeah, we're we are a part of
what I like to refer to in the medical community
is the continuum of care. Okay, continuum of care means
on one end, you've got very low need or low
contact interventions that can also help, and that's going to
(12:01):
be things like your friends, your support, your family, people
that you know and care about who don't have training
or any type of specialty education. And then on the
other end of the extreme, you've got a need for
basically twenty four hour seven care like in a hospital.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
Well, and then there's everything in between. And so we're
we're not at the very bottom of the scale, but
we're clearly not at the top of that scale either.
We're somewhere right in the middle. So then there's basically
the other Christian services in town that we encourage people
to go to. I mean just being a part of
a community of people who share values and beliefs. Typically
(12:40):
you're going to find that in church, but you're also
going to find it in other places like CrossFit, You're
going to find it in you know, running groups. Yes
he did on a big scale, right, So, and then
there Celebrate recovery groups for people who may be struggling
with addictions. There's AA groups in town. Most of those
(13:02):
have a faith based component in it. Because step number
one says, we recognize that we are powerless and we
needed something outside of ourselves to help us overcome this addiction.
So and you typically find those resources in a lot
of the churches around town.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
So now I know to you this seems obvious. And
just to speak more to the listeners the benefits for
people looking for something bigger than themselves, were looking for
that hope, for that faith. Can you speak to the
listener about the benefits of this faith based counseling, Like
just having that hope is what I see religion. As
you know, correct, you don't have to rely on yourself.
(13:42):
There's something out there that you can can can pray
to and can you speak to that? Well?
Speaker 4 (13:46):
Sure, And obviously the name of our organization, Living Hope
Right does hopefully lend some ideas to the hopeful nature
that we believe. A faith commit unity and a personal
faith based belief system internally provides a person when they're
(14:07):
in places where they feel alone, scared, anxious, depressed, and
really hopeless. A faith tends to provide a sense of
there's more than what's going on right here, right now,
and when we can get in touch with that, that
(14:30):
often gives us the necessary motivation and inspiration to do more,
and there analyze the hope, and as Christians, we believe
that comes through Christ and through a relationship with Christ.
And at the same time, like I said, as a
mental health organization, we're not there. We're there to help
(14:53):
people and give them access to that information and that
knowledge and that experience. But it's not forced on people.
So it's not like a you know, let's come and
lay hands on you. Yeah, pray, And although we absolutely
pray with our clients when requested, and we absolutely lay
hands on them if they ask for it, we don't.
(15:15):
But none of that stuff is forced.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Right, Right, that makes sense, And I do believe in
the power of prayer no matter what religion you are.
That just something about it. There's even a little bit
of science to it, which you.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
Know, there's research out there on prayer for sure.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Definitely.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
So Robert, I want to ask you, is there anything
else that you would like to tell the listening audience.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
Well, probably the main thing I would just say to
folks is like even today, just on my way coming
into the station, I was having to deal with a
client who's really struggling with life and death issues. Right,
They're feeling so hopeless and overwhelmed, like they feel like
they're in a hole that they just cannot get out of.
(15:55):
If you're in that place, the best thing I can
do is encourage you to reach out and let someone know,
because often when we're feeling in those dark places, we
keep it to ourselves and we don't let other people know.
A big part of help is just reaching out and
letting other people know, Hey, I'm really struggling, because you
(16:19):
find when you let other people know that, hey, you're struggling,
I'm struggling too. I didn't know. I thought I was
the only one. As connected as we are in this world,
through social media, we've become more disconnected than ever. And
so the best thing I want to encourage people to
do is don't you don't have to stay alone in
(16:41):
your pain or your fear. Let other people know what's
going on. And if you don't have people in your life,
that's where we encourage you. Give us a call, see
what we can do to help out at Living Hope.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
And of course if you don't mind me plugging this
nine to eight is the crisis hot. Absolutely there is,
you know, an extreme emergency, but you can contact them
Living Hope CCS dot org. You can go there for
more information, there is the phone number there at living
HOOPECCS dot organ as always on power to two point
(17:15):
one ninety six point three K Country and Sunday ninety
nine point nine. Look for us on Instagram and Facebook
and that information will be there, and if you're listening
to this on the iHeart app, that information will also
be there available in the podcast description. So Robert again, thank.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
You so much for being here with us today, my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Welcome back to the Alpaso Public Forum. I am Amberbanda,
your host, and today we have Thelma Ramos. She is
the director of Marketing and Fundraising for Hospice of Alpaso
the five oh one C three. Thelma, thank you for
being here with me today.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
Thank you for having me Amber, Thank you.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
So Hospice of Alpaso. Now my mom works for hospice,
but this one is different. This is an actual nonprofit.
So what makes this a nonprofit?
Speaker 5 (18:05):
So we are the only hospice provider in Olive El
Paso that will accept patients who are either uninsured or
under insured Okay, and we will take we will cover
the costs for them if they are unable to cover
them for themselves.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
So with that being said, if someone did have the
money to pay for the for hospice or you know,
adequate insurance, do you also accept those patients.
Speaker 5 (18:28):
We absolutely accept those patients as well.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Okay, perfect, So for those people that are not aware
of hospice, and honestly, I probably wouldn't be really understanding
of what.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
It is has and had it not been for my mom.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
What is hospice and when should people start to look
for it for that need?
Speaker 5 (18:43):
Sure, So, hospice is an option given to people who
have been given about six months, no longer than six
months with their illness. They can come to us and
we can provide care, be it medical care, but also
provide a socio emotional help and well being. We have chaplains,
(19:04):
we have social workers as well as our medical staff
on hand, and yeah, we just try to make the
person the patient as comfortable as they can be during
the last six months or the six months that they're given.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
So these patients are terminal. And again just because I'm so,
you know, my mom talks to me about work. But
is this hospice only for elderly patients?
Speaker 5 (19:28):
No, So we are the only hospice in all Pastor
that does provide care to pediatric patients as well. We
call that our Butterfly program, and that's only for patients
under the age of eighteen. We don't only provide hospice program,
we also have a palliative care program and that goes
to really control the comfort levels of our patients. They
(19:51):
don't necessarily have to be terminal per se. They can
just be either suffering anxiety, they can be looking for
outside treatment, but also in a lot of pain, and
we're able to manage that for them as well. So
we offer either hospice or palliative care services.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Oh wow, and I know palliative care again, just what
my mom said that it is kind of hard to find.
It's not really very common, So that's excellent. Plus, like
you said, you know, if they have no insurance or
under insurance, right, you can help with the cost of that.
So with hospice and palliative care. You know, again, if
someone has a terminal diagnosis, they're given six months or
(20:29):
less to live, that's one of the criteria for hospice care.
What do you see the benefits of it? Because I
think that people when they get that diagnosis, they may
not think I don't know, I don't want hospice like
will handle it our own.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
What do you see are the benefits of hospice care.
Speaker 5 (20:44):
Our staff is so knowledgeable, this is what they do
day to day that any questions that might pop up
while you're going through that situation, they will have answers for.
They will provide not only the patient with services, but
they're also providing a sense of respite and stress relief
(21:05):
for the family, who's usually the primary caregiver, especially in
our close knit community, right, So it's definitely an extra
resource that the family can rely on. I mean they
can call us. We have somebody on call twenty four
to seven, So if they have a question about the patients,
be it like I said, mental condition or physical condition,
(21:26):
in the middle of the night, somebody will be on
call to answer that. So it's always most families are
approaching this without knowing what the circumstance is going to
look like, what questions to ask, and where they're twenty
four to seven to answer any questions and even be
there physically if we're requested to be there.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Yeah, So people that maybe don't realize the benefits of it.
There's kind of like stages to someone someone's passing away,
and you know, for someone like a nurse that's providing
this hospice care, they can explain those stages to the family,
this is what's.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
Happening in this phase, this is what's happening there.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
And again, my mom that has provided hospice to elderly patients,
they've told her, you know, Bernadette, you're like a part
of the family now and I don't know how we
could do this without you. So again, anyone out there
that has been unfortunately given this diagnosis for themselves or
someone that they love, hospice care really does help. And
again Hospice of Al Paso is there to help you
(22:23):
if you are uninsured, under insured. So how would someone
go about applying for these services so they can the we.
Speaker 5 (22:31):
It's usually referred by their immediate you know, their primary caregiver,
their primary doctor. You need a referral car absolutely, yes,
but we are at nine one, five, five, three, two, five,
six ninety nine. If they have any questions that they
want to ask us directly, but yes, definitely get your
doctor's referral, ask them about hospice all Passo and what
(22:55):
kinds of options that we offer for them.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Okay, So that's right, so that you're going to need
referral from a doctrine. Again, if you didn't catch that
phone number. I will be posting contact information on ninety
six point three k Hey Country Instagram and Facebook Sunday
ninety nine point nine and par one o two on
our Instagram and Facebook. All the contact information will be
there for Hospice of All pass. So so again, ah,
they hit me hard with the ages, you know, because
(23:18):
again my mom, I think alderty. But you also have
the butter What did you call the butterfly.
Speaker 5 (23:22):
It called the Butterfly program, and we currently have eighteen
pediatric patients in the Butterfly program. So you would think
that you know one or two or zero, but it's
really our community really needs it. Those patients really need it,
and we're the only ones that provide it in our county.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
That is so hard.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
I had a friend that that's what she did, and
I think she was for Hospital pass and now she
does it on her own nonprofit. But with that being said,
people hear children and they hear hospice and they're like,
you know, they feel a little bit helpless. But you
were telling me that you actually do take volunteers. Yes,
So the volunteers can help with what kind of opportunit.
Speaker 5 (24:00):
We have so many opportunities with regards to our butterfly program.
We grant butterfly wishes and we are so lucky to
have so many partners across the community that donate. We
just had somebody donate a theater. Premier Cinemas and Flick
Sprew House both donated use of the theater. Again, these
babies are immuno compromise. They can't watch a movie just
(24:21):
like any other kids the rest of the crowd. You know,
they have to be very careful. So these two partners
were so generous in giving us use of a whole
theater at no cost to us, so that two of
our babies could enjoy watching a movie with their family.
That's all they wanted. So these are the types of
wishes that we grant and a lot of times will
(24:43):
need volunteers to help us grant those wishes, right, be
it donating a basket or be it actually being there
to help us facilitate the event for the butterfly. Those
are the types of opportunities that we need. But we
also need volunteers who are able to us sit with
our patients and have a cup of coffee with them
(25:04):
in the morning. Many of our patients are very much active,
you know, they're they're they're they're able to do things,
and they want to talk to people. So just to
keep them company while their loved one takes a shower,
goes out to lunch with their friends or whatnot. Those
are the types of volunteer opportunities that we're looking for.
But we also have the heart of hospice crafters and
(25:27):
they just make knit blankets or and we'll teach them
to sew if we have to, you know, or make
pillows or whatnot that are going to go to our
patients as just a little gift, just some comfort.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
Yeah, and so when you know, with hospice, the nurses
can make visits to the home, but you also have
inpatient hospice patients.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
Yes, okay, so we do.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
Have a general inpatient center and that we're actually going
to open our new inpatient center. It's called oh my gosh,
it's called.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Our Compassionate Center.
Speaker 5 (25:57):
Yes, I have we call it CCC Internal Needs.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
So I want to see I would have gone straight
to Child Crisis Center because I just had an interview
with them when I went there.
Speaker 5 (26:07):
Our compassionate care center is for patients who maybe their
families cannot handle the needs, the actual medical needs of
the patients.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
It's a full time job.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
People their lives.
Speaker 5 (26:19):
Absolutely, And this is for patients who are suffering very
high anxiety and they can't control it or manage it
at home, or pain, pain levels that you can't medicate
at home right without a permit. So we have an
internal an impatient center where you can take your loved one.
I mean, this new care center is beautiful. Every room
(26:41):
has a theme. We will have a one room for
a butterfly patient as well. We have a room specifically
for veterans as well, so it just feels like home
instead of feeling like a hospital where it's kind of
all the same, you know, very generic, very monotonous. That
each of these rooms has a different personality and it's
(27:03):
just a little bit more comfortable for our PATIENTSLL.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
Me, and where is this going to be located?
Speaker 2 (27:07):
This is located.
Speaker 5 (27:08):
I can't think of this street right now, but it's
right in the UTEP area.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Okay, okay, yeah, that's pretty much people need, like the
general area because it's not it's not open.
Speaker 5 (27:16):
Yet, correct, not open yet we're hoping to be open
within the next fourteen days. Oh wow, yeah, okay, we're
just waiting on the state and all our permits are
ready to go.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
So there you go.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
And Hospice of All Passes is at one four four
zero Miracle Way.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
What part of town is.
Speaker 5 (27:30):
That We actually just moved to wed okay, So we
are on on Lockheed okay, And again I don't remember
the address. I typed in eighty to twelve to my
phone and that was a wrong address. So we are
on Lockheed right across the street from Hunday of Olbazo
on Montana. Yes, so we are. We just moved in
(27:51):
there today, which is why it's okay fresh. But yeah,
we're very excited to be able to welcome the community.
Stay tuned because we will have like a housewarming of orts,
will invite the community and just to look at our
new facilities so that they can be familiar with it.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
Oh good.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
So again, all this information will be on our sister stations,
you know, depending on what station you're listening to. And
the reason also that I was asking about the inpatient
and outpatient for volunteers. When they volunteer, are they sent
to the person's house to volunteer or do they volunteer
there at the center.
Speaker 5 (28:23):
So there will be some volunteer opportunities at the center,
but mostly they go to people's homes and then the
crafters just meet in our offices to craft in our
volunteer specific.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Room and what are the guidelines or application process to volunteer.
Speaker 5 (28:41):
So the application process is pretty much the way it
is for staff. So they would have to do an
application and then they have to take a TB test
as well, because again they are forward facing and we
we're dealing with a very fragile, you know person, we're patients,
so we want them to do their TB test and
then we do a background check as well.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
Okay, yeah, so they like they have to.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
I guess they'll be given training, you know when you're like,
say you're chaperoning the movie for the kids and you
have your mask on or okay, okay, but yeah, because
you know, for people that are applying for the services too,
you know, there's the volunteer and application process and yeah,
it's a little tedious, but then again, if your family
is someone that's receiving these services and you're going to
be volunteering with them. You also want to feel comfortable
(29:25):
knowing that they're going through the proper absolutely, and if
they have to go.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
If they have like a pre existing TV test within
a certain timeframe, we can accept that. We just want
to make sure that on our end that they're safe
to go and visit with our patients.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Again if you're just joining us, we have Thelma Ramos,
director of Marketing and Fundraising for Hospice of All Pass
so the only nonprofit hospice in All Pass. So we've
talked a little bit about the services palliative care that
they offer hospice, how to apply volunteer opportunities. So you
have a couple of events coming up there. They're a
little bit in the future, but if you want to
(30:00):
plant the seed for people to get rid of what
do you tell me about sounds fled.
Speaker 5 (30:04):
Yeah, So if you follow us on social media, we'll
list all of our events that I think Amber will
tell you the hash the handles later. But we will
have a housewarming for our new facility and that should
be coming up in February give or take. We were
still trying to get situated, get the WiFi up and everything,
but then the one I'm most excited about is our
(30:24):
Margarite to shake Off. So it's our largest event, a
fundraising event of the year. It'll be our thirteenth annual
Margarite to Shake Off. And what's cool about this is
that it happened because the owners of one of the
local bars actually had a family member who Hospice helped
and they wanted to do a fundraiser for US. Thirteen
years ago they started it at their bar and now
(30:47):
it's just blown up. Last year we had thirteen hundred
people attend. This year, we're hoping for three thousand, and
it's going to be at the San Jacino Plaza June
twenty first, five to ten. I know it's a ways away,
but you'll definitely be hearing more about that as the
time approaches for that.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Oh Hana, you told me that they like closed off
the plaza area like it's a big event.
Speaker 5 (31:07):
Yeah, well, close off the event. We'll have space for vendors,
food trucks. I mean, it's going to be a party,
it's going to be family friendly. There's going to be
margarita tasting, so you can vote for the best margarita.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
And I'll pass.
Speaker 5 (31:17):
So so we're hoping to have a great time doing
it and raise funds for the uninsured and underinsured population
while we do it.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
There you go, so again, the money that they'll raise
during that Margarita shakeoff will go towards helping these people
that are applying for these services that can't afford it.
And their social media at Hospice dot L Paso at
Hospic dot L Paso, on Instagram, on Facebook at Hospice
l Paso. And again for Power one oh two point
(31:47):
one Sunday ninety nine point nine and ninety six point
three k Country Instagram and Facebook. I'll have that information there,
but you can follow them on their socials for quick
updates Thealma. Is there anything else that you would like
to tell the listening audience?
Speaker 5 (32:00):
Oh? Thank you, I mean, I just I do want
to say that we really rely on the community to
succeed and keep offering these experiences to people who otherwise
would not be able to afford them, and so I
thank you. I want to say thank you to all
of our community partners and please join us. We try
to make volunteering fun for you as well, so we'd
(32:21):
really love to see people just showing up.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
I really hope that someone listening to this will be like, hey,
I can donate this, especially for.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
For the pediatrics.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
I know they're all in need, but again, yeah, that
just really yes, you know.
Speaker 3 (32:35):
Me and kids, that's the FIRS strengths. Yes, uh huh,
thank you, Alma, thanks, thank you with me today. Awesome.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Thank you. Ember.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
You've been listening to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio l Paso. If you, your
organization or event would like to be featured on an
upcoming program, please email to ep Forum at iHeartMedia dot
com or call us at nine one five three five
one five four zero zero. Tune in again next week
(33:01):
for another additional of El Paso Public Forum. The preceding
program was recorded at the studios of iHeartRadio El Paso.
Welcome to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly half hour
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso for over twenty years,
featuring local news and interviews of interest to our listeners
in West Texas and southern New Mexico. All views and
opinions expressed on this program are those of the host
and guest, and not necessarily those of iHeartRadio Management and
now El Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I'm your host,
Amber Banda, and today we have Robert Hart. He is
the executive director for Living Hope Counseling Service, a nonprofit
in al Paso, Texas.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Robert, thank you for being here with me today.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
Thanks Amber, I am super happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
I can tell I can see that big smile on
your face. So, Robert, this Living Hope Counseling Service. One
of my biker brothers from Gardens of the Children brought
this to my attention and he speaks very highly of
you and the services. Now this is a faith.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Based the way he speaks very highly of the biker group.
Your entis oh.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Good, I would hope so yes awesome.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Shout out to Doc or you know him as Dates
that's right. This is a faith based counseling service. So
can you tell us how Living Hope Counseling Services, since
it is faith based, is different from other counseling services.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Absolutely, we are a mental health service provider, so all
of our clinicians have at least a graduate degree or
they are in school obtaining either their Masters or their
PhD in a mental health field. But what separates us
is that we don't just look at and deal with
the mental, emotional, behavioral issues. We also address the spiritual issues.
(01:35):
So we're a Christian organization, so we come at things
from a Christian perspective, and all of our counselors are
Christian counselors. But we not only again address the emotional
and mental and behavioral issues, but also the spiritual needs
that people bring to the table from a Christian perspective.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Definitely, and there's definitely certain cups that you have to
feel in order to have a better quality of life.
That includes financial, it includes relationships, it includes mental, physical,
and spiritual is a big one. If I'm being honest,
It's one of the ones that I struggle with the most.
So I'm very happy that you're here to answer some questions,
and you know, if people feel like this is something
(02:14):
that they do want to learn more about, we're going
to give the contact information here pretty soon. So Living
Hope Counseling Service, What kind of services do you provide
to the community.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
We focus on providing individual, couple, family, mental and behavioral
counseling therapy services. So we meet with people to discuss
verbally the challenges and issues that they have going on
in their life. And those issues range anything from relationship issues,
(02:44):
trauma issues, depression, anxiety, just all of the whole range
of mental and emotional and behavioral.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Health issues and is it all ages? It is okay?
Speaker 4 (02:56):
At this time, I'd just like to acknowledge there are
a lot of great services throughout Alpaso that specialized in
working with children under the age of ten. So I
don't typically say that we're an organization that specializes in
working with kids. We do have counselors that are focused
(03:17):
on working with children, but that's not our specialty as
an organization. I would say our specialty as an organization
is working with trauma and or couples.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
And what kind of services you provide as far as
you know some uh, some offices are specialized for. I
think it's called EMD. I've done it before, Yes, Amdr EMDR. Yes,
do you offer different practices.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
We have several clinicians who are trained in that, and
there's another specialty service that my wife and I provide
called Emotional transformation therapy or ETT. It's less well known,
but I can tell you that as somebody who's also
been trained in EMDR, I find it much more effective.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
What is can you can explain that all?
Speaker 4 (04:00):
It's Emotional transformation therapy uses visual stimulation, specifically light and
color to engage different parts of your brain. It's really
more of a it's more of a neurological stimulation type
of a treatment doesn't require any type of device to
be connected to you, but using lights and colors, it
(04:26):
helps target specific regions of your brain to bring rapid
resolution to certain types of trauma.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
That's interesting because when I did the AMDR, I held
in my hands would look like two worries.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Stones and the vibrated.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Yet.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Yeah, when you focus on a certain memory and it
goes from basic correct, but you also offer that so
I mean correct. That's awesome that you know you're offering
these different types of services and again. The Living Hop
Consoling Service has been around for since two thousand and seven,
over eighteen years serving the community. And you Roburn, you're
actually specialized in work related to sexual trauma. You treat
(05:03):
both victims and perps, you know, separately. Of course, yes,
can you do you feel comfortable communicating why you decided
to get into that line specifically?
Speaker 4 (05:14):
Absolutely, the there's a short answer and a long answer
and the ten minutes now so well, the strictly professional
answer is a whole series of steps. Open doors occurred
where I was able to specialize in working with trauma
(05:35):
and perpetrators of sexual abuse, and I wasn't anticipating doing
that initially. Initially, the thing that drew me into counseling
was marriage and family because I got married in August
of nineteen ninety two, and immediately my wife and I
started experiencing challenges in our marriage. And so when we
(05:56):
got help, we both experience such profound gratitude for that
that that drew me into the field. Now, the spiritual
side of that is not to sound too churchy or whatever,
but there there was a very strong conviction spiritually that
this is the thing that the Lord was compelling both
(06:19):
my wife and I to do so, which is very
significant in the whole journey as to how we got
here to El Paso, because this whole journey started for
us in Austin, Texas. Okay, And it's not often that
people go from Austin, Texas to El Paso, Texas. It's
often the other way, right, Usually they start in Olpasso
and move to Austin. So, but we love the ol
(06:39):
Paso community. We love I imagine that we're going to be
here until we are put in the ground here hopefully
nine times soon.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
Right, how long have you all been in Alaso.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
We've been in al Paso now for fifteen.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Years, okay, Okay, so this.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Is definitely our home definitely, Oh yeah, after fifteen.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
I mean our Passo is very welcoming, you know anyway,
people that visit, I people with a lot of country
artists that come in and they just love.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
I'll pass on home.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Sure the community is and more so maybe I don't
know if you've noticed this, but I'll pass so. I
know Austin has a big Hispanic community, but I'll pass so.
I think even more so, there is kind of this
mental health stigma with Hispanics do you see that that.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
You've moved here.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
Yeah, absolutely for sure. And this is why I definitely
see it as such an honor when someone from a
Hispanic family comes to see me, because then suddenly I've
got twenty or thirty other of their family members that
they trust to us, and it's like, boy, that's a
big deal. You've now allowed me or us access to
(07:45):
your family. That's a very significant thing.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
And so well, that's true because again that I never
thought i'd light bulb right now. Hispanics and religion also
go ahead and hand, so that probably hurts them to
seek mental services even more.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
So, absolutely, and that is very important. I mean there's
I want to say, eighty five to ninety percent of
the folks here and I'll passo identify with Christian faith
on some capacity, whether Catholicism or Protestant forms. So it's
very prevalent in the region for sure, which is really
ironic then that we are one of the only Christian
(08:21):
counseling providers here in tewnt so such a huge base
and that's where I think again, I think we stand
out from other clinicians because nobody else is specializing in that.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
That's true. That's true.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
And if you're just tuning in, we have Robert Hart,
executive director for Living Hope Counseling Service, a nonprofit in
I'll Passo that's been serving the community for over eighteen years.
Faith based counseling services. Now, personal question, I'm just curious
having this be faith based counseling services. Is there anything
(08:54):
that you're maybe not allowed to do that in more
traditional counseling services they can or not? Is that is
that an issue at all?
Speaker 4 (09:03):
Well, I'm not exactly sure of what your question there
is if you wanted to ask that a different way,
but I can tell you that a lot of times
when people hear Christian counseling or faith based counseling, they
kind of have ideas of what that means, like that
they must be a Christian or that we're going to
be trying to evangelize or convert them into Christianity as
a part of the mental health services. And we definitely
(09:24):
do not do that. We don't require folks to be Christian.
You don't have to believe anything similar to what I
believe personally or any of our counselors. And at the
same time, there's a large number of folks who want
the security of knowing, Hey, are we doing something that
lines up with my Christian values or belief system. And
(09:44):
that's where we can reassure folks for sure we absolutely
line up with a Christian biblical worldview.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Well, I'm glad you address that, because I know that's
going to be one questions listeners have. And let me
rephrase the question a little bit. So I'm Jewish, so
I'm kind of you know, I don't know what might
be allowed or not allowed with the Christian faith. But
you know, I watched this show. A lot of listeners
will know. It's called mom Talk. They're Mormon wives, and
I know they do something called ketemine therapy, which I
(10:11):
don't know how they get the loop around, you know,
for that, but I guess that's what I mean. Is
there anything, any type of therapy procedures or anything that
might not be for lack of a better term, allowed
with faith based counseling versus regular therapy or has that
not been an issue?
Speaker 4 (10:26):
It's really hasn't been an issue because as professionals, and
we're located in Olpaso, which is Texas and Texas overseas
mental health work none of us are physicians, so we
don't prescribe or do any type of medication as part
of our therapy. We're not anti medication, right, And some
(10:47):
people would say THHC is a medication, and some people
just like ketymine clearly a medication. Some of the psychedelics
are now being tried in terms of mental health, like
mushrooms and things like that, and we don't administer or
engage in that kind of therapy or treatment at Living Hope,
but we're also not anti any of those things. Yes,
(11:09):
so does that.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Sort of question since that makes perfect sense? Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
So, you know, people want to spiritually better themselves, whether
it's going to counseling, and when I looked at the website,
there was also some other ways that people could enhance
their spirituality or you know, use faith based therapies for
you know, if that properly describes it outside of therapy,
such as joining a church, going to websites, celebrating recovery.
(11:39):
Can you speak more.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
To that, Well, yeah, we're we are a part of
what I like to refer to in the medical community
is the continuum of care. Okay, continuum of care means
on one end, you've got very low need or low
contact interventions that can also help, and that's going to
(12:01):
be things like your friends, your support, your family, people
that you know and care about who don't have training
or any type of specialty education. And then on the
other end of the extreme, you've got a need for
basically twenty four hour seven care like in a hospital.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
Well, and then there's everything in between. And so we're
we're not at the very bottom of the scale, but
we're clearly not at the top of that scale either.
We're somewhere right in the middle. So then there's basically
the other Christian services in town that we encourage people
to go to. I mean just being a part of
a community of people who share values and beliefs. Typically
(12:40):
you're going to find that in church, but you're also
going to find it in other places like CrossFit, You're
going to find it in you know, running groups. Yes
he did on a big scale, right, So, and then
there Celebrate recovery groups for people who may be struggling
with addictions. There's AA groups in town. Most of those
(13:02):
have a faith based component in it. Because step number
one says, we recognize that we are powerless and we
needed something outside of ourselves to help us overcome this addiction.
So and you typically find those resources in a lot
of the churches around town.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
So now I know to you this seems obvious. And
just to speak more to the listeners the benefits for
people looking for something bigger than themselves, were looking for
that hope, for that faith. Can you speak to the
listener about the benefits of this faith based counseling, Like
just having that hope is what I see religion. As
you know, correct, you don't have to rely on yourself.
(13:42):
There's something out there that you can can can pray
to and can you speak to that? Well?
Speaker 4 (13:46):
Sure, And obviously the name of our organization, Living Hope
Right does hopefully lend some ideas to the hopeful nature
that we believe. A faith commit unity and a personal
faith based belief system internally provides a person when they're
(14:07):
in places where they feel alone, scared, anxious, depressed, and
really hopeless. A faith tends to provide a sense of
there's more than what's going on right here, right now,
and when we can get in touch with that, that
(14:30):
often gives us the necessary motivation and inspiration to do more,
and there analyze the hope, and as Christians, we believe
that comes through Christ and through a relationship with Christ.
And at the same time, like I said, as a
mental health organization, we're not there. We're there to help
(14:53):
people and give them access to that information and that
knowledge and that experience. But it's not forced on people.
So it's not like a you know, let's come and
lay hands on you. Yeah, pray, And although we absolutely
pray with our clients when requested, and we absolutely lay
hands on them if they ask for it, we don't.
(15:15):
But none of that stuff is forced.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Right, Right, that makes sense, And I do believe in
the power of prayer no matter what religion you are.
That just something about it. There's even a little bit
of science to it, which you.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
Know, there's research out there on prayer for sure.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Definitely.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
So Robert, I want to ask you, is there anything
else that you would like to tell the listening audience.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
Well, probably the main thing I would just say to
folks is like even today, just on my way coming
into the station, I was having to deal with a
client who's really struggling with life and death issues. Right,
They're feeling so hopeless and overwhelmed, like they feel like
they're in a hole that they just cannot get out of.
(15:55):
If you're in that place, the best thing I can
do is encourage you to reach out and let someone know,
because often when we're feeling in those dark places, we
keep it to ourselves and we don't let other people know.
A big part of help is just reaching out and
letting other people know, Hey, I'm really struggling, because you
(16:19):
find when you let other people know that, hey, you're struggling,
I'm struggling too. I didn't know. I thought I was
the only one. As connected as we are in this world,
through social media, we've become more disconnected than ever. And
so the best thing I want to encourage people to
do is don't you don't have to stay alone in
(16:41):
your pain or your fear. Let other people know what's
going on. And if you don't have people in your life,
that's where we encourage you. Give us a call, see
what we can do to help out at Living Hope.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
And of course if you don't mind me plugging this
nine to eight is the crisis hot. Absolutely there is,
you know, an extreme emergency, but you can contact them
Living Hope CCS dot org. You can go there for
more information, there is the phone number there at living
HOOPECCS dot organ as always on power to two point
(17:15):
one ninety six point three K Country and Sunday ninety
nine point nine. Look for us on Instagram and Facebook
and that information will be there, and if you're listening
to this on the iHeart app, that information will also
be there available in the podcast description. So Robert again, thank.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
You so much for being here with us today, my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Welcome back to the Alpaso Public Forum. I am Amberbanda,
your host, and today we have Thelma Ramos. She is
the director of Marketing and Fundraising for Hospice of Alpaso
the five oh one C three. Thelma, thank you for
being here with me today.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
Thank you for having me Amber, Thank you.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
So Hospice of Alpaso. Now my mom works for hospice,
but this one is different. This is an actual nonprofit.
So what makes this a nonprofit?
Speaker 5 (18:05):
So we are the only hospice provider in Olive El
Paso that will accept patients who are either uninsured or
under insured Okay, and we will take we will cover
the costs for them if they are unable to cover
them for themselves.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
So with that being said, if someone did have the
money to pay for the for hospice or you know,
adequate insurance, do you also accept those patients.
Speaker 5 (18:28):
We absolutely accept those patients as well.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Okay, perfect, So for those people that are not aware
of hospice, and honestly, I probably wouldn't be really understanding
of what.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
It is has and had it not been for my mom.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
What is hospice and when should people start to look
for it for that need?
Speaker 5 (18:43):
Sure, So, hospice is an option given to people who
have been given about six months, no longer than six
months with their illness. They can come to us and
we can provide care, be it medical care, but also
provide a socio emotional help and well being. We have chaplains,
(19:04):
we have social workers as well as our medical staff
on hand, and yeah, we just try to make the
person the patient as comfortable as they can be during
the last six months or the six months that they're given.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
So these patients are terminal. And again just because I'm so,
you know, my mom talks to me about work. But
is this hospice only for elderly patients?
Speaker 5 (19:28):
No, So we are the only hospice in all Pastor
that does provide care to pediatric patients as well. We
call that our Butterfly program, and that's only for patients
under the age of eighteen. We don't only provide hospice program,
we also have a palliative care program and that goes
to really control the comfort levels of our patients. They
(19:51):
don't necessarily have to be terminal per se. They can
just be either suffering anxiety, they can be looking for
outside treatment, but also in a lot of pain, and
we're able to manage that for them as well. So
we offer either hospice or palliative care services.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Oh wow, and I know palliative care again, just what
my mom said that it is kind of hard to find.
It's not really very common, So that's excellent. Plus, like
you said, you know, if they have no insurance or
under insurance, right, you can help with the cost of that.
So with hospice and palliative care. You know, again, if
someone has a terminal diagnosis, they're given six months or
(20:29):
less to live, that's one of the criteria for hospice care.
What do you see the benefits of it? Because I
think that people when they get that diagnosis, they may
not think I don't know, I don't want hospice like
will handle it our own.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
What do you see are the benefits of hospice care.
Speaker 5 (20:44):
Our staff is so knowledgeable, this is what they do
day to day that any questions that might pop up
while you're going through that situation, they will have answers for.
They will provide not only the patient with services, but
they're also providing a sense of respite and stress relief
(21:05):
for the family, who's usually the primary caregiver, especially in
our close knit community, right, So it's definitely an extra
resource that the family can rely on. I mean they
can call us. We have somebody on call twenty four
to seven, So if they have a question about the patients,
be it like I said, mental condition or physical condition,
(21:26):
in the middle of the night, somebody will be on
call to answer that. So it's always most families are
approaching this without knowing what the circumstance is going to
look like, what questions to ask, and where they're twenty
four to seven to answer any questions and even be
there physically if we're requested to be there.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Yeah, So people that maybe don't realize the benefits of it.
There's kind of like stages to someone someone's passing away,
and you know, for someone like a nurse that's providing
this hospice care, they can explain those stages to the family,
this is what's.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
Happening in this phase, this is what's happening there.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
And again, my mom that has provided hospice to elderly patients,
they've told her, you know, Bernadette, you're like a part
of the family now and I don't know how we
could do this without you. So again, anyone out there
that has been unfortunately given this diagnosis for themselves or
someone that they love, hospice care really does help. And
again Hospice of Al Paso is there to help you
(22:23):
if you are uninsured, under insured. So how would someone
go about applying for these services so they can the we.
Speaker 5 (22:31):
It's usually referred by their immediate you know, their primary caregiver,
their primary doctor. You need a referral car absolutely, yes,
but we are at nine one, five, five, three, two, five,
six ninety nine. If they have any questions that they
want to ask us directly, but yes, definitely get your
doctor's referral, ask them about hospice all Passo and what
(22:55):
kinds of options that we offer for them.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Okay, So that's right, so that you're going to need
referral from a doctrine. Again, if you didn't catch that
phone number. I will be posting contact information on ninety
six point three k Hey Country Instagram and Facebook Sunday
ninety nine point nine and par one o two on
our Instagram and Facebook. All the contact information will be
there for Hospice of All pass. So so again, ah,
they hit me hard with the ages, you know, because
(23:18):
again my mom, I think alderty. But you also have
the butter What did you call the butterfly.
Speaker 5 (23:22):
It called the Butterfly program, and we currently have eighteen
pediatric patients in the Butterfly program. So you would think
that you know one or two or zero, but it's
really our community really needs it. Those patients really need it,
and we're the only ones that provide it in our county.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
That is so hard.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
I had a friend that that's what she did, and
I think she was for Hospital pass and now she
does it on her own nonprofit. But with that being said,
people hear children and they hear hospice and they're like,
you know, they feel a little bit helpless. But you
were telling me that you actually do take volunteers. Yes,
So the volunteers can help with what kind of opportunit.
Speaker 5 (24:00):
We have so many opportunities with regards to our butterfly program.
We grant butterfly wishes and we are so lucky to
have so many partners across the community that donate. We
just had somebody donate a theater. Premier Cinemas and Flick
Sprew House both donated use of the theater. Again, these
babies are immuno compromise. They can't watch a movie just
(24:21):
like any other kids the rest of the crowd. You know,
they have to be very careful. So these two partners
were so generous in giving us use of a whole
theater at no cost to us, so that two of
our babies could enjoy watching a movie with their family.
That's all they wanted. So these are the types of
wishes that we grant and a lot of times will
(24:43):
need volunteers to help us grant those wishes, right, be
it donating a basket or be it actually being there
to help us facilitate the event for the butterfly. Those
are the types of opportunities that we need. But we
also need volunteers who are able to us sit with
our patients and have a cup of coffee with them
(25:04):
in the morning. Many of our patients are very much active,
you know, they're they're they're they're able to do things,
and they want to talk to people. So just to
keep them company while their loved one takes a shower,
goes out to lunch with their friends or whatnot. Those
are the types of volunteer opportunities that we're looking for.
But we also have the heart of hospice crafters and
(25:27):
they just make knit blankets or and we'll teach them
to sew if we have to, you know, or make
pillows or whatnot that are going to go to our
patients as just a little gift, just some comfort.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
Yeah, and so when you know, with hospice, the nurses
can make visits to the home, but you also have
inpatient hospice patients.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
Yes, okay, so we do.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
Have a general inpatient center and that we're actually going
to open our new inpatient center. It's called oh my gosh,
it's called.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Our Compassionate Center.
Speaker 5 (25:57):
Yes, I have we call it CCC Internal Needs.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
So I want to see I would have gone straight
to Child Crisis Center because I just had an interview
with them when I went there.
Speaker 5 (26:07):
Our compassionate care center is for patients who maybe their
families cannot handle the needs, the actual medical needs of
the patients.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
It's a full time job.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
People their lives.
Speaker 5 (26:19):
Absolutely, And this is for patients who are suffering very
high anxiety and they can't control it or manage it
at home, or pain, pain levels that you can't medicate
at home right without a permit. So we have an
internal an impatient center where you can take your loved one.
I mean, this new care center is beautiful. Every room
(26:41):
has a theme. We will have a one room for
a butterfly patient as well. We have a room specifically
for veterans as well, so it just feels like home
instead of feeling like a hospital where it's kind of
all the same, you know, very generic, very monotonous. That
each of these rooms has a different personality and it's
(27:03):
just a little bit more comfortable for our PATIENTSLL.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
Me, and where is this going to be located?
Speaker 2 (27:07):
This is located.
Speaker 5 (27:08):
I can't think of this street right now, but it's
right in the UTEP area.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Okay, okay, yeah, that's pretty much people need, like the
general area because it's not it's not open.
Speaker 5 (27:16):
Yet, correct, not open yet we're hoping to be open
within the next fourteen days. Oh wow, yeah, okay, we're
just waiting on the state and all our permits are
ready to go.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
So there you go.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
And Hospice of All Passes is at one four four
zero Miracle Way.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
What part of town is.
Speaker 5 (27:30):
That We actually just moved to wed okay, So we
are on on Lockheed okay, And again I don't remember
the address. I typed in eighty to twelve to my
phone and that was a wrong address. So we are
on Lockheed right across the street from Hunday of Olbazo
on Montana. Yes, so we are. We just moved in
(27:51):
there today, which is why it's okay fresh. But yeah,
we're very excited to be able to welcome the community.
Stay tuned because we will have like a housewarming of orts,
will invite the community and just to look at our
new facilities so that they can be familiar with it.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
Oh good.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
So again, all this information will be on our sister stations,
you know, depending on what station you're listening to. And
the reason also that I was asking about the inpatient
and outpatient for volunteers. When they volunteer, are they sent
to the person's house to volunteer or do they volunteer
there at the center.
Speaker 5 (28:23):
So there will be some volunteer opportunities at the center,
but mostly they go to people's homes and then the
crafters just meet in our offices to craft in our
volunteer specific.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Room and what are the guidelines or application process to volunteer.
Speaker 5 (28:41):
So the application process is pretty much the way it
is for staff. So they would have to do an
application and then they have to take a TB test
as well, because again they are forward facing and we
we're dealing with a very fragile, you know person, we're patients,
so we want them to do their TB test and
then we do a background check as well.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
Okay, yeah, so they like they have to.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
I guess they'll be given training, you know when you're like,
say you're chaperoning the movie for the kids and you
have your mask on or okay, okay, but yeah, because
you know, for people that are applying for the services too,
you know, there's the volunteer and application process and yeah,
it's a little tedious, but then again, if your family
is someone that's receiving these services and you're going to
be volunteering with them. You also want to feel comfortable
(29:25):
knowing that they're going through the proper absolutely, and if
they have to go.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
If they have like a pre existing TV test within
a certain timeframe, we can accept that. We just want
to make sure that on our end that they're safe
to go and visit with our patients.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Again if you're just joining us, we have Thelma Ramos,
director of Marketing and Fundraising for Hospice of All Pass
so the only nonprofit hospice in All Pass. So we've
talked a little bit about the services palliative care that
they offer hospice, how to apply volunteer opportunities. So you
have a couple of events coming up there. They're a
little bit in the future, but if you want to
(30:00):
plant the seed for people to get rid of what
do you tell me about sounds fled.
Speaker 5 (30:04):
Yeah, So if you follow us on social media, we'll
list all of our events that I think Amber will
tell you the hash the handles later. But we will
have a housewarming for our new facility and that should
be coming up in February give or take. We were
still trying to get situated, get the WiFi up and everything,
but then the one I'm most excited about is our
(30:24):
Margarite to shake Off. So it's our largest event, a
fundraising event of the year. It'll be our thirteenth annual
Margarite to Shake Off. And what's cool about this is
that it happened because the owners of one of the
local bars actually had a family member who Hospice helped
and they wanted to do a fundraiser for US. Thirteen
years ago they started it at their bar and now
(30:47):
it's just blown up. Last year we had thirteen hundred
people attend. This year, we're hoping for three thousand, and
it's going to be at the San Jacino Plaza June
twenty first, five to ten. I know it's a ways away,
but you'll definitely be hearing more about that as the
time approaches for that.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Oh Hana, you told me that they like closed off
the plaza area like it's a big event.
Speaker 5 (31:07):
Yeah, well, close off the event. We'll have space for vendors,
food trucks. I mean, it's going to be a party,
it's going to be family friendly. There's going to be
margarita tasting, so you can vote for the best margarita.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
And I'll pass.
Speaker 5 (31:17):
So so we're hoping to have a great time doing
it and raise funds for the uninsured and underinsured population
while we do it.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
There you go, so again, the money that they'll raise
during that Margarita shakeoff will go towards helping these people
that are applying for these services that can't afford it.
And their social media at Hospice dot L Paso at
Hospic dot L Paso, on Instagram, on Facebook at Hospice
l Paso. And again for Power one oh two point
(31:47):
one Sunday ninety nine point nine and ninety six point
three k Country Instagram and Facebook. I'll have that information there,
but you can follow them on their socials for quick
updates Thealma. Is there anything else that you would like
to tell the listening audience?
Speaker 5 (32:00):
Oh? Thank you, I mean, I just I do want
to say that we really rely on the community to
succeed and keep offering these experiences to people who otherwise
would not be able to afford them, and so I
thank you. I want to say thank you to all
of our community partners and please join us. We try
to make volunteering fun for you as well, so we'd
(32:21):
really love to see people just showing up.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
I really hope that someone listening to this will be like, hey,
I can donate this, especially for.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
For the pediatrics.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
I know they're all in need, but again, yeah, that
just really yes, you know.
Speaker 3 (32:35):
Me and kids, that's the FIRS strengths. Yes, uh huh,
thank you, Alma, thanks, thank you with me today. Awesome.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Thank you. Ember.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
You've been listening to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio l Paso. If you, your
organization or event would like to be featured on an
upcoming program, please email to ep Forum at iHeartMedia dot
com or call us at nine one five three five
one five four zero zero. Tune in again next week
(33:01):
for another additional of El Paso Public Forum. The preceding
program was recorded at the studios of iHeartRadio El Paso.
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