Event to Benefit Hospice & Palliative Care of Northeastern Connecticut

Day Kimball Healthcare (DKH) invites the community to join together virtually to celebrate its 31st annual “Tree of Life” ceremony to benefit Hospice & Palliative Care of Northeastern Connecticut in the safety and comfort of home on Sunday, December 13 at 6:30 p.m.

Due to COVID-19 related public health concerns, this year’s celebration will be a virtual ceremony recorded in advance and will include a simultaneous tree-lighting experience representative of the many towns DKH serves, and will honor the many lives that have been touched by Day Kimball’s hospice team of professionals.

“This year, we’ll certainly miss gathering with families and friends across Northeastern Connecticut as has been our tradition for the past 30 years,” said Kristen Willis, director of development, Day Kimball Healthcare. “But we can still participate in this time-honored tradition while staying safe. In a unified but deeply personal way, each of us has the opportunity through the Tree of Life ceremony to celebrate the life of a loved one, honor a caregiver, and pay tribute to the remarkable individuals who have left their mark on our community and in our hearts,” she said.

The purchase of memorial lights on each community’s Tree of Life benefits the work done by Hospice & Palliative Care of Northeastern Connecticut, a service division of Day Kimball Healthcare At Home, to enhance the lives of seriously and terminally ill patients and their families. Skilled and experienced professionals and trained volunteers provide care through an individualized plan that meets the physical, psychosocial, spiritual, and emotional needs of each patient and their families throughout end-of-life and bereavement care.

“I am extremely honored to serve as the Chair of the 2020 Annual Tree of Life for a second year and to have the opportunity to spread the message of hope and healing through this important community event in support of the hospice program,” said Roger Franklin, Hospice Tree of Life Chairperson. “I’ve experienced first-hand, the care and compassion of the Day Kimball Healthcare at Home hospice team of nurses and aides whose amazing skills and professionalism allow our loved ones to have a pain-free, special kind of dignity during their end-of-life experience. I hope that community members of northeast Connecticut will join me in illuminating their own Hospice Tree of Life as a beacon of hope and remembrance, and a reminder to all of the caring and compassion of the hospice team,” he said.

Honorarium lights can be purchased online or by mail. Learn more at daykimball.org/TreeOfLife or call the Day Kimball Healthcare Development Office at (860) 928-7141.

To experience the virtual ceremony throughout the holiday season, visit daykimball.org/TreeOfLife or facebook.com/DayKimballHealthcare beginning Sunday, December 13 at 6:30 p.m.

To learn more about Hospice & Palliative Care of Northeastern CT visit daykimball.org/athome.