At Ardent Hospice & Palliative Care, it’s our mission to provide the best quality of life to every single one of our patients. While we provide physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual care, we know that sometimes, patients need a little more support. We’ve created the No One Should Die Alone Foundation (NOSDAF) to meet the needs that might be beyond what hospice care can provide. From how the foundation got its start to how you can help continue its mission, here is everything you need to know about NOSDAF.
It all started with a little compassion.
Much like Ardent, NOSDAF was born out of compassion. Our founder, Susan Compton, first recognized the need to expand our aspects of care after receiving a call from one of our nurses who was doing an intake consultation with a patient. While visiting the patient, the nurse had discovered the woman didn’t have any food in her house. The difficult period of her life was going to be made exponentially more challenging because she didn’t have the resources to live comfortably. So, Susan, out of her own pocket, bought hundreds of dollars’ worth of groceries and pantry items—without expecting anything in return. She saw a need and immediately addressed it.
With NOSDAF, we are able to provide care beyond just a medical standpoint; we can ensure patients have more than the essentials and resources necessary to have a comfortable, positive quality of life. Since its start in 2012, the foundation has touched the lives of so many hospice patients in so many different ways—not just those admitted into Ardent’s program. We’ve been able to care for patients without insurance, provide life necessities, grant wishes, and support patients at a much greater capacity, all because of our relationship with NOSDAF.
NOSDAF focuses on three areas of giving.
At Ardent, we treat patients as individuals, so the support we provide through NOSDAF is specific to a patient’s needs and situation. The foundation provides three categories of gifts—Necessities for Life, Life Enhancements, and Wish Fulfillment—in order to provide a greater quality of life to each patient, by whatever means makes the most sense to their situation. Whether it’s buying groceries or paying rent or utilities, Necessities for Life gifts aim to make sure a patient’s basic human needs are met. Life Enhancements are a way to enrich a patient’s final days; this can be through education, travel, therapy, or other experiences.
Working with NOSDAF gives us the opportunity to add meaning to a patient’s life and that often means fulfilling one last wish. That might mean sticking their toes in the sand one last time or riding a Harley—the wishes we grant are as unique as our patients. One woman dreamt of having purple hair and a tattoo; through the foundation’s Wish Fulfillment program, we were able to bring in a beauty stylist to add purple to her hair and give her a temporary tattoo.
Some patients need food or companionship, another might need a tattoo to feel fulfilled. Because of NOSDAF, we can bring that completeness and peace to every patient.
There are several ways to donate and make an impact on a patient’s life.
The No One Should Die Alone foundation is only able to give these patients a better quality of life because of generous donations from caring individuals and organizations. There is no contribution too small to make a difference in the life of a patient. There are a number of ways to donate to NOSDAF and ensure it continues its mission of bringing hope and small acts of compassion to its patients:
- Donate directly to the foundation by visiting us online or mailing a check to your preferred location.
- Make a purchase through Amazon Smile and choose The No One Should Die Alone Foundation as your charity. A portion of the amount you purchased will be given to NOSDAF.
- Donate your vehicle to Action Donation. The San Diego company will pick up and refurbish your car, boat, plane, or any other vehicle, and give NOSDAF the sale proceeds.
- Participate in a NOSDAF-sponsored event. Whether it’s a comedy show, concert, auction, or dinner, we strive to make our events fun and memorable.
To find out more information or volunteer with the No One Should Die Alone Foundation, visit their website or contact Ardent Hospice & Palliative Care.
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