NorthStar Care Community Receives Skerratt Family Fund of the Otsego Community Foundation Grant

The gift will support the NorthStar Institute Simulation and Skills Lab

GAYLORD (July 12, 2023) Hospice of Michigan, a member of the NorthStar Community, has received a $500 gift from the Skerratt Family Fund of the Otsego Community Foundation that will help provide real-world training to Hospice of Michigan clinicians.

This grant will support the NorthStar Institute’s SIM Lab, Michigan’s first end-of-life hospice simulation lab offering cutting-edge, hands-on tools and resources to provide hospice clinicians with advanced, real-world training and education. Upon completion of using the lab, clinicians will have a mastery of both technical skills and facilitating effective conversations around death and dying.

“This gift will support advanced training to ensure that Hospice of Michigan clinicians are prepared to provide the highest quality care and meet the complex physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of patients and families at end-of-life,” said Roxanne Kiesling, philanthropy manager at Hospice of Michigan.

The SIM Lab training experience benefits patients by educating interdisciplinary clinical teams to improve therapeutic communications skills, reduce risk and focus on patient comfort above all else. The Labs’ innovative simulation-based tools, resources, and access to decision-making skills through real-life situations allow NorthStar Care clinicians to provide the best service possible without compromising patient dignity.

About NorthStar Care Community
NorthStar Care Community (NSCC) was created to preserve and promote the mission of nonprofit hospice and palliative care – to deliver expert, compassionate care to patients of any age, no matter their diagnoses, complexity of care, place of residence or ability to pay. NorthStar Care Community was formed in 2017 by two legacy nonprofit hospice agencies – Hospice of Michigan and Arbor Hospice – and also includes NorthStar Palliative Care, the NorthStar Institute and Jo Elyn Nyman Anchors Programs for Children. As members of the NSCC family, the organizations combine operational resources in order to maximize support at each patient’s bedside, delivering the highest standards of care to those who are seriously ill. In total, NorthStar Care Community members serve more than 6,100 patients annually across Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. For more information about NorthStar Care Community, visit www.northstarcarecommunity.org.