The two days of the conference featured new and returning speakers who covered everything from anticipatory grief to the neuroscience of pain, to hospice houses and compassion fatigue, organizers said.

“We’re off to a really good start, we’ve had a number of great speakers,” said Sue (Kitti) Rutkowski, co-chairwoman of the conference and CEO of Lake Superior Life Care and Hospice, on the opening day of the conference.

The conference, now in its fifth year, was started with the aim of providing close-to-home education for those in the Upper Peninsula and surrounding areas, Rutkowski said.

It was opened up to caregivers last year, she said, as organizers recognized a need in the community for caregiver education and support.

From left, are panelists Krista Clumpner, Jim LaJoie and Elle Schellhase at the 2018 Upper Great Lakes Palliative Care & Hospice Conference Tuesday. Each panelist shared their personal stories about a loved one undergoing end-of-life care through hospice, with the panel discussion aiming to give care providers a deeper understanding of what families experience. (Journal photo by Cecilia Brown)

They “had some really good responses” from caregivers who attended the first year, Rutkowski said, noting she feels the “same is true this year.”

Attendees of the conference also had a chance to hear from caregivers directly, as three panelists who lost a loved one spoke at the conference to share their experiences with hospice, grief and loss.

The panel discussion aimed to inform professionals who work in hospice about the feelings and perspectives of families who have had a loved one go through hospice care.

“They’re here to talk a little bit about their stories and what they went through, challenges they had and what they might do differently if they had to do it over,” Rutkowski said.

The three panelists from the community, Jim LaJoie, Elle Schellhase and Krista Clumpner, each took a turn sharing their personal experiences with the audience.

Elle Schellhase, who was the first panelist to speak, shared the story of her late husband’s hospice care with the audience.

“Every minute of every day, I always knew there was someone from hospice that was going to help me,” she said. “It did so much so that I could help him better.”

Schellhase said she was surprised to learn how extensive hospice care was, noting she was thankful that items such as wheelchairs could be delivered to their home, that hospice staff helped with medications and that they could be called for help when it was needed.

Overall, Schellhase said, she was most impressed by the “the compassion and the kindness that we had every day.”

Jim LaJoie spoke next, telling attendees about the experiences his family had while his late mother was undergoing end-of-life care in an assisted living facility after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

“It was the first time in my lifetime where I got to experience incredible hands-on compassionate care, not only from that group but then when she entered into the hospice stage — that loving, nurturing was just unreal,” LaJoie said.

LaJoie told the audience about the stages of grief he went through when his mother was diagnosed, as well as the things he came to recognize and learn during the experience.

“Too many people stop visiting their loved ones, their need for love and affection never dissipates and there were days, honestly, where I went to go see my mom, where probably in a two-hour session, there were maybe four or five words said. There were days where we just held hands and we listended to Elvis Presley. And my mom was happier than heck doing that,” he said. “The other thing I learned — caregivers have an incredibly tough job and more resources need to be available for respite care.”

Krista Clumpner was the final speaker to share a personal story, speaking with the audience about her and her family’s experience with hospice care for her late husband.

It was helpful for her that the hospice process was explained “step-by-step,” Clumpner said, noting that because she really likes having detailed information, “it really helped me that it could be all outlined and explained to me.”

Her husband was interviewed about his life by hospice providers, who asked what he liked and didn’t like about his life, and what the best and the worst things were, Clumpner said.

This interview revealed that “the worst things were a lot of the side effects,” of medication, Clumpner said, which helped the team find a way to improve his quality of life by changing the way his medication was managed.

“My husband just wanted his life to get better — and it did,” she said.

Many attendees thanked the panelists for sharing their stories during the session, with several commenting on how helpful it was to hear these perspectives for both personal and professional reasons.

“Hearing about some of the things from folks who have experienced it can make a big difference,” Rutkowski said of the panel.