BETHEL – Approximately 50 volunteers from the Bethel area recently attended an appreciation luncheon hosted by Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice at the Bethel Inn and Country Club.

The luncheon was one of three events the agency held to honor the outstanding efforts of its volunteers. A dinner was held at Martindale Country Club in Auburn and a luncheon was held at the Boiler Room in Wilton.

Honored for 15 years of service as a hospice and bereavement volunteer were Gwyneth Bohr and Barbara Hall. For 10 years of service with the organization in one or more of the following volunteer areas: hospice, bereavement, visiting, office, annual fund and grocery were Carolyn Balsam, Audrey Brown, Margaret Craven, Barbara Douglass, Dorothy Haggan, Dean Kelley, Geneva Kirk, Mary Manookian, Judith-Ann Riordan and Florence Whynot.

Connie Adams, Jan Aliberti, Jim Bossie, Jean Camire, Rebecca Conrad, Martha Greene, Suzanne Grover, Linda Kimball, Lorraine Langlois, Liette LeBrasseur, Rejane Lemieux, Sr. Claire Lepage, Jolene Lovejoy, Marcella McGuire, Nora Morris, Karen Munday, Marge Pritsky and Judith Webber were all recognized for five years of service in one or more of the following volunteer areas, board of directors, foundation trustee, hospice, bereavement, visiting, office, annual fund and grocery.

A special recognition was given to Mary Heath and Sally Brochu to their five years of service and leadership to the Program for Grieving Children and Teens as the program celebrates its five-year anniversary. Other volunteers who were awarded for volunteering with the program since it began in 1998 were Merrill Bittner, Carolyn Bloom, Pauline Fortier, Janice Fournier, Janice Nutting, Lynn Pelletier, Connie St. Pierre, Janet Theriault and Sharon Wood.

The agency’s dedicated volunteers serve in a variety of critical functions including serving in a leadership role on the agency’s board of directors and its various committees, fund-raising, performing telephone surveys to help assess patient satisfaction, respite to caregivers, grocery shopping and household chores, transportation to doctor’s appointments for the agency’s patients and helping children deal with their grief after the loss of a loved one.

“We are honored to have so many wonderful people in our community choose to volunteer with AHCH,” said David McDaniel, president and CEO of the organization. “Our compassionate volunteers play a vital role in supporting the well-being of our patients and fulfilling our mission of servicing the communities in our service area.”

Nancy Greene, volunteer coordinator, read the following quotation by Luciando de Crescenzo: “We are all like one-winged angels. It is only when we help each other that we can fly.” She thanked each volunteer for their time, compassion, commitment and talents that they give to AHCH patients, the agency and their communities.

Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice is a nonprofit, Medicare-certified agency that provides skilled home care, supportive care and hospice care for residents of Androscoggin, Franklin, Oxford and northern Cumberland counties. The organization provides skilled home care and hospice care to patients and families regardless of their ability to pay.

The agency provides a full spectrum of services including skilled nursing; physical, occupational and speech therapies; home health aides; medical social work; personal care and homemaking services that allow people to live independently and safely at home. In addition, several specialty care programs are offered, including infusion therapy, diabetic education; wound care; cardiac rehabilitation; psychiatric, obstetrical and pediatric nursing; and telemedicine services.