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Published on 10/13/1999 All articles from this issue

Los Altos resident to receive hospice honor

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Special to the Town Crier

The Mountain View-based MidPeninsula Pathways Hospice will award its One From the Heart Award to Los Altos resident, Chris Alloo, at its breakfast on Oct. 21, at Hyatt Rickeys in Palo Alto.

Noted author, Rabbi Harold Kushner, will present the award, given annually to those who have contributed to hospice and end-of-life care in exemplary ways.

Alloo is a co-founder and coordinator of the Hospice Speakers Bureau. Her ongoing advocacy and efforts to educate the community about hospice and end-of-life care issues merit this honor, said Hospice spokeswoman Debbie Stinchfield.

An educator by profession, Alloo believes in the larger hospice mission of community education. "Hospice is a right, not a privilege," Alloo said. "People should know about their alternatives; but so many still don't know about Hospice. Nationally, only 20 percent of people whose deaths are expected receive care in a hospice setting. Those who do often wait too long to ask for help. That's why we formed the Hospice Speakers Bureau. The opportunity to explain person to person what hospice is and how it can help is priceless."

The Speakers Bureau comprises board members, staff, client family members and patient care volunteers who volunteer their time to speak at churches, community organizations, corporations and health fairs.

Last year, speakers gave eight presentations to organizations throughout Los Altos.

Hospice organizers said Kushner has inspired millions nationally with his musings on life and the celebration of the human spirit. His international best-seller, "When Bad things Happen to Good People," was written after the death of his teenage son. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross said Kushner offers "a moving and human approach to understanding life's windstorms." Other books by Kushner include "How Good Do We Have to Be?" and "Who Needs God?"

MidPeninsula Pathways Hospice is a non-profit community-based hospice established in 1977. It serves an average of 1,600 patients and their families annually in Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties.

To support MidPeninsula Pathways Hospice or for information on the awards breakfast (the kick-off for National Hospice Month educational activities), call 949-3859 ext. 6138.

For information about hospice services, volunteer opportunities or to request a Speakers Bureau presentation, call 948-4252.