Staff, friends, supporters and noted dignitaries gathered on the Hospice of the Panhandle campus Monday to celebrate 10 years at the Kearneysville location.

CEO Nikki Bigiarelli welcomed visitors as she took the podium at the start of the morning’s festivities to thank everyone for joining in the organization’s celebration.

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito made remarks, sharing a bit of her personal experiences with hospice care when her parents were at the end of their lives.

“This is a real soft spot for me,” Capito said, as she referenced hospice care. “If you haven’t lived it yet, you will live it.

“Hospice and palliative care is a very personal issue to me, and I have long advocated for the support organizations need to do their work efficiently and address the workforce challenges they face,” she added. “Hospice of the Panhandle has been a champion of hospice and palliative care in our state, and the growth they have fostered here in Kearneysville has allowed them to expand their reach and provide important services to West Virginians and their families who need it the most. While much change has occurred since the opening of this campus, the top-notch service that Hospice of the Panhandle provides has remained the same.”

Following Capito’s remarks, Bigiarelli shared some statistics that show the incredible reach that Hospice of the Panhandle has had since moving to the Kearneysville campus.

“I am overwhelmed by the number we have served and the impact we have had,” she said, sharing that nearly 11,000 people have been impacted in the past 10 years and more than 3,000 patients have found comfort there. “I am so grateful for our in-patient facility.”

She added that chef Jordon Thompson has made more than 77,000 meals for patients and their families there.

Bigiarelli also commented on the organization’s Center for Grief Support, the newest initiative available to not only those seeking hospice care but to all members of the community.

“It is a hidden gem in the community,” she said, stressing that it is free to anyone.

Another part of the gathering focused on the number of stories to be told.

“We have had celebrations of life, weddings, baptisms and graduations,” Bigiarelli said.

She shared a story of a patient who wanted one last Christmas with his family, so the staff created a Christmas in July, knowing he would not live to see the traditional Christmas.

Patti Maerten Hicks stepped to the podium to share her family’s personal story and hospice experience, as her husband was a patient at the in-care facility. In 2017, Hicks shared her husband, Dan, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

The couple’s two children were scheduled to graduate in May of that year, one from high school and one from eighth grade. However, it was unlikely that Dan would make it for the ceremonies. The staff at Hospice of the Panhandle, in less than 24 hours, arranged for graduation ceremonies for the family to share together.

“They contacted family, friends, school administrators, teachers and classmates. We celebrated my children. My most precious memory was when Dan insisted on standing for ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ as our children entered in full graduation regalia,” Hicks said. “How loved we felt that someone would do this for us.”

“Stories like this one wouldn’t happen without the support and generosity from our community,” Bigiarelli concluded, as board President Rev. G.T. Schramm concluded the event by offering words of remembrance for three nurses who have now passed away.

Dubbing them “Angel nurses,” Schramm named Beth Coffinbarger, Taylor Spigler-James and Heather Bowers.