1-765-301-7614
contact.us@pchpca.org
Putnam County Hospital | 1542 S. Bloomington Street, Greencastle, IN 46135
Search Site
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 02/02/2025
Greencastle, Indiana.
Board members of Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) had their first meeting of 2025 in January. The all-volunteer Board of Directors have members representing healthcare, education, skilled nursing facilities, pastoral care, communications, hospice and palliative care, social work, caregivers, business, and others. They are committed to advancing the PCHPCA mission of optimizing the quality of life for seriously ill persons and their loved ones, caregivers, and healthcare providers.
The PCHPCA is an independent nonprofit and a source of unbiased information and support for people and families coping with serious illness. PCHPCA encourages people to talk to someone they know, and to become informed before there is a crisis. Elaine Peck, Director noted, “Knowledge is power, and it can also relieve stress. We are here for you in person, by phone, by email, whatever works best for you.”
2025 officers are: R. Amber Alexander, President, Meagan Montague, Vice President , Alice Greenburg, Secretary and J. Sue McCune, Treasurer.
2025 Board Members are: Brian Black, D.O., Cathy Clodfelter, Cathy McCall, Chris Oldstone-Moore, PhD, Janet Panoch, PhD, Jennifer Roose, CNA, QMA, Brand Selvia, MA, and Beth Newton Watson, MDiv, RCC.
Elaine Peck, LCSW is the Director.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11/07/2024
Greencastle, Indiana.
Every November, the Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association lends its voice to recognize National Hospice and Palliative Care Month (NHPCM) and honor the dedicated professionals who provide compassionate care to individuals facing life-limiting illnesses.
Within our larger medical care system, palliative and hospice care play a vital role in helping patients maintain autonomy and comfort in their final stages of life, while also providing essential support to families. The hospice movement, pioneered by figures like Dr. Cicely Saunders and Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, opened the door to meaningful conversations about end-of-life care, shaping the hospice services we know today. This month offers a chance to reflect on the vital work being done to ensure patients receive holistic and compassionate care, while advocating for continued progress supporting persons facing serious illness through the end of life. To learn more visit www.pchpca.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10/16/2024
Greencastle, Indiana.
Each year, World Hospice and Palliative Care Day falls on the second Saturday in October. One of the goals of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is to raise awareness and understanding of the needs – medical, social, practical, and spiritual – of people living with serious illness and their families.
The Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association shares this goal and seeks to foster a more compassionate community that prioritizes the needs of the aging and seriously ill and their caregivers. The need is great and growing as the population ages and healthcare services become more specialized and complex. Healthcare systems are only part of the equation of providing holistic support for people with serious illnesses. We encourage individuals and community groups in Putnam County to raise awareness of the issues and provide practical assistance to those in need in the community.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 09/01/2024
Greencastle, Indiana.
Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) announces that World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is Saturday, October 12, 2024.
The purpose of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is
- To share the vision of increasing the availability of hospice and palliative care throughout the world.
- To raise awareness and understanding of the needs – medical, social, practical, and spiritual – of people living with a life-limiting illness and their families.
In preparation for the day, PCHPCA is asking people who have been impacted by a life-limiting illness – either personally or by supporting a loved one – to consider contacting us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to share their experiences. We are particularly interested in learning about needs and challenges experienced in our community as we develop our 2025-2029 strategic plan.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 09/01/2024
Greencastle, Indiana.
Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) is pleased to announce the release of an updated resource folder for seriously ill patients, their families, their caregivers, and their healthcare providers. “We are very pleased to provide this information packet,” said Elaine Peck, Director of the PCHPCA. “It is free and available to the public and to all Putnam County healthcare providers.”
The new resource folder offers a wealth of current information including:
- Resources for caregivers.
- Contact information for services in Putnam County, including skilled home healthcare, in-home personal care, palliative care, hospice care, transportation, and other helpful services.
- Helpful information about hospice and palliative care.
- Factsheets about life-prolonging medical treatments.
- Gone From My Sight, the “Little Blue Book,” by Barbara Karnes, which explains the dying process in easy-to-understand language.
- My Friend I Care, a book about grieving.
To obtain the resource folder, contact Elaine Peck at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 765.301.7614. Other helpful information is available at www.pchpca.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 08/01/2024
Greencastle, Indiana.
A google search for “medical alert bracelets” or “medical identification tags” yields many resources for obtaining these items, with assurances that they will protect the wearer. But this is not always the case. In complex or emergency medical situations, it depends upon the situation and current Indiana law.
When is medical identification jewelry helpful? Medical identification jewelry can be helpful when it is used to identify allergies or medical diagnoses that could explain a person’s condition or provide guidance for medical care.
When is medical identification jewelry not helpful? Medical information jewelry, tattoos, or other indications of a patient’s wishes not to be resuscitated or intubated cannot legally be honored unless there is also the presence of a legally signed medical order such as Indiana’s Out of Hospital Do Not Resuscitate (OOH-DNR) form or the Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment (POST) form. The jewelry may alert emergency responders that such medical orders may exist, but without the actual physical presence of the signed medical order itself, emergency responders must legally provide all medical care in accordance with standards of care for the person’s situation.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 06/06/2024
Greencastle, Indiana.
Research from The Conversation Project shows that the comfort zone is growing larger for having end-of-life care conversations. More than half (53%) of Americans now say they would feel relieved if a loved one started “The Conversation.”
This is important information because one of the roadblocks to starting a conversation about wishes for end-of-life care has been the belief that it would make our loved ones anxious. “The survey shows that talking with the people we love about their wishes for end-of-life care brings relief, not anxiety,” says Ellen Goodman, founder of The Conversation Project.
Other research (as reported in American Geriatric Society, 2020; Journal of Palliative Medicine, 2022) shows that
- Advance care planning conversations are associated with decreased survivor grief, decreased post-traumatic stress disorder, and decreased burden.
- Patients, caregivers, and clinicians who have had to make serious medical decisions for themselves or for other people report that they think advance care planning is important.
- It is important for seriously ill people and their healthcare representatives to prepare and become informed for making future medical decisions before a medical crisis, when there is rarely time or access to clinicians who can help walk them through the decision-making process in the moment.
“We have begun to break the taboo around talking about death,” says Goodman. “There’s a huge cultural shift under way. Virtually everyone knows this is important, but there is still a lingering reluctance to begin.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 06/06/2024
Greencastle, Indiana.
Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association seeks to increase the quality of the end-of-life experience for patients, loved ones, caregivers, and the healthcare community in Putnam County. One of the ways the Association seeks to accomplish this is to promote hospice volunteerism in Putnam County.
Hospice care in the U.S. was founded by volunteers, and there is continued commitment to volunteer service. Medicare regulations require that hospices train volunteers to provide at least 5% of patient care services.
Being a hospice volunteer is a rewarding endeavor. Hospice volunteers have a tremendous impact on the lives of the patients, caregivers, and families they serve, and many hospice volunteers discover that their service leads to a deeply meaningful experience. Hospice volunteers, commonly report:
- A greater appreciation for life and understanding of what is truly important;
- A deeper understanding and acceptance of death as a part of life;
- An enriched understanding of different perspectives;
- A sense of fulfillment and connection.
For additional information about volunteering for hospice, visit www.pchpca.org or contact a hospice provider to inquire about next steps. A list of hospice providers serving Putnam County is available at https://pchpca.org/index.php/hospice-care-4.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 04/10/2024
Greencastle, Indiana.
Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association is gearing up for National Healthcare Decisions Day on April 16th, and in preparation, provides these terms that every adult should know.
- Advance Care Planning (ACP)– Advance care planning for healthcare is a process to help any adult, at any age or stage of health, understand and share goals and preferences for future healthcare. This will help your healthcare team, family, and friends know what you want in case of a sudden medical crisis, accident, or serious illness. Ideally, this process occurs before a crisis, and your wishes are legally documented in an advance directive, shared with your loved ones, and recorded in your medical record.
- Advance Directive – An advance directive is a legal document in which you provide written instructions about your future healthcare choices and/or who should speak for you should you become unable to make decisions for yourself due to an accident or illness. These documents are witnessed and signed in "advance" - while you still have capacity - and shared with your healthcare representative, loved ones, and physicians. Advance directives are reviewed periodically and become more specific as your health changes. You may change your instructions at any time either verbally or in writing. You remain responsible for making your own medical decisions until a doctor certifies that you are no longer able to do so. You do not need a lawyer to complete these documents.
Healthcare Representative (HCR) – A healthcare representative is the person you choose to make medical decisions for you in the future if you should become unable to make them for yourself due to an accident or illness. This person will tell your healthcare providers what type of medical care you would want when you are not able to speak for yourself. Your healthcare representative’s responsibility is to make medical decisions in accordance with your wishes, if they are known, and to make decisions in your best interest if your wishes are not known.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 04/10/2024
Greencastle, Indiana.
April 16th is National Healthcare Decisions Day, and Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) wishes to take this opportunity to remind everyone of the importance of choosing a healthcare representative and talking with them. Your healthcare representative is the person who will tell your healthcare provider what medical care you would want if you should become unable to speak for yourself. Your healthcare representative can make medical decisions for you if you become unable to make your own decisions. This is important for ALL adults – at ALL stages of life and health. Accidents and sudden medical emergencies can and do happen.
Human beings naturally fear death and dying. With the advancements of modern medicine and the busy pace of modern life, we tend to operate as though we will live forever. Yet, all of us will face death in our lives at some time – our own or a loved one’s.
Spiritual leaders throughout time and place have stressed the importance and value of facing our own and others’ mortality. In addition, research supports the benefits of choosing a healthcare representative and having conversations with them in advance of a crisis - for both the patient’s quality of life and for their loved ones’ stress and grieving process.
PCHPCA has free information and resources for individuals and healthcare professionals and is happy to provide this information to you at a time of your convenience. Contact us for free assistance.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 02/15/2024
Greencastle, Indiana.
Board members of Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) had their first meeting of 2024 on January 24. The all-volunteer Board of Directors have members representing healthcare, education, skilled nursing facilities, pastoral care, communications, hospice and palliative care, social work, caregivers, business, and others. They are committed to advancing the PCHPCA mission of optimizing the quality of life for seriously ill persons and their loved ones, caregivers, and healthcare providers.
The PCHPCA is an independent nonprofit and a source of unbiased information and support for people and families coping with serious illness. PCHPCA encourages people to talk to someone they know, and to become informed before there is a crisis. Elaine Peck, Director noted, “Knowledge is power, and it can also relieve stress. We are here for you in person, by phone, by email, whatever works best for you.”
2024 officers are: Christina Wagner, PhD, President; Tammy Keenan, Vice President; Judi Purvis, Treasurer; Alice Greenburg, Secretary.
2024 Board Members are: Amber Alexander, Brian Black, DO, Bethany Combs, RN, Marilyn Culler, Crystal Fortner, Elizabeth Garber, RN, Cathy McCall, Sue McCune, Meagan Montague, Brand Selvia, Laury Wallace, NP, and Beth Newton Watson, MDiv, RCC.
Elaine Peck, LCSW is the Director.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 02/15/2024
Greencastle, Indiana.
Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (“PCHPCA”) has released its 2023 annual report to the community. Elaine Peck, Director, noted that in 2023, PCHPCA was frequently told how fortunate Putnam County is to have an organization like the Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association. “Whether it is an individual or family coping with serious illness or providers from other communities seeking information about local resources, they express gratitude for the services PCHPCA provides and for its independent, unbiased, and free assistance,” said Peck. Peck added that research supports the use of advance care planning, hospice, and palliative care to reduce complicated grief and improve the mental health of those dying, their healthcare providers, and their survivors.
In a rural community with many people of lower socio-economic and educational status who cannot afford to pay for assistance, the PCHPCA provides an important role in addressing health inequities in Putnam County. Research documents that these populations are less likely to engage in ACP and to utilize hospice and palliative care, making access to PCHPCA’s free education and resources especially valuable.
In 2023, the PCHPCA reported that it expanded its relationships and collaborations with organizations critical to the long-term success of its mission, including healthcare providers, faith communities and nonprofit organizations. Many local healthcare professionals are now utilizing PCHPCA-provided resources for their patients. Greater comfort and involvement with hospice, palliative care, and advance care planning is being seen within local healthcare systems. More providers are offering community-based palliative care in Putnam County. Four churches came on board in 2023, supporting educational presentations and distribution of PCHPCA materials to their members in a variety of settings. PCHPCA expanded its relationship with Dusk to Dawn in 2023, distributing its grief materials in the Serious Illness folders, and collaborating on a Lenten program with Gobin Memorial UMC. PCHPCA continues efforts to reach under-resourced individuals in Putnam County. An education table was organized at the Community Connect event this year. Emergency responders are important partners in this effort, and conversations will continue in 2024 about reaching seriously ill persons in jail and prison.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 12/01/2023
Greencastle, Indiana.
During this season of giving, the Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHCA) reminds everyone that getting organized for death and making key financial, healthcare, and even funeral decisions now, while we are healthy, is a huge gift and an act of kindness for those who will be left behind. These actions are important for all adults at all stages of life and health.
Elaine Peck, Director of PCHPCA, said, “We all know people who have died at all ages and in many different circumstances. I believe that when we die, the people who love us should be able to simply grieve. We can support them by making key decisions now and being organized. This act of courage and kindness will eventually be our final expression of love.”
Most of society’s conversations around estate planning centers on the desires and needs of the deceased - which is important - but that’s not who will have to live with those decisions. Avoiding planning for dying is tantamount to offloading our hard decisions onto the shoulders of our loved ones to deal with, when they are already stressed and struggling to think. If we expand how we think about our own deaths to consider those we love, we may discover that doing this work and having these conversations brings us closer.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 12/01/2023
Greencastle, Indiana.
For many people, the start of a new year marks an opportunity to reflect on life and think about setting goals for the future. However, change is difficult, and most new year’s resolutions fail within the first two months, primarily because people set goals that are too large to sustain. In 2024, consider engaging in self-improvement by making small incremental changes to daily habits. This strategy makes positive change more achievable and ultimately more impactful.
In this spirit, the Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) encourages all adults to consider working on or updating their advance healthcare directives and having at least one advance healthcare planning conversation in 2024. Advance directives are important for all people in all stages of life and health.
“There are many reasons to make advance healthcare planning a part of your life,” said Elaine Peck, PCHPCA Director. “For example, research shows that people become more active in their own healthcare, and more engaged with life and living when they are not afraid to have conversations about death and dying.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11/02/2023
Greencastle, Indiana. On November 11 our nation marks Veterans Day and thanks veterans for their service. Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) takes this opportunity to share some of the many resources that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides to ill or disabled veterans. “At the PCHPCA, we hear many stories of satisfied veterans receiving financial assistance, health care, and other benefits from the VA,” said Elaine Peck, PCHPCA Director.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11/01/2023
Greencastle, Indiana. On November 11 our nation marks Veterans Day and thanks veterans for their service. Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) takes this opportunity to remind the public of the many resources that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides to ill or disabled veterans. “Post discharge, many veterans reengage with civilian employment, obtain benefits from their employers, and forget about the many resources that are available through the VA,” said Elaine Peck, PCHPCA Director. “We encourage all veterans to become informed.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 09/01/2023
Greencastle, Indiana. Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) is pleased to announce the availability of free Vital Medical Information Files in new locations throughout the county. “We are making them available at no charge to local physicians and many other locations,” said Elaine Peck, PCHPCA Director.
Peck said that free Vital Medical Information Files are now available at Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, Greencastle City Hall, North Putnam Family Healthcare, Putnam Pediatrics and Internal Medicine, Family Medicine of Greencastle, Internal Medicine of Greencastle, Family Medicine of Cloverdale, Putnam County Hospital Cardiology, Putnam County Hospital Cancer Center, Greencastle Family Health, and in the Medical Records Department at the Putnam County Hospital. “Some of the local volunteer fire departments also carry them on runs,” Peck said.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 09/01/2023
Greencastle, Indiana. A google search for “medical alert bracelets” or “medical identification tags” yield many resources for obtaining these items, with assurances that they will protect the wearer. But this is not always the case. In complex or emergency medical situations, it depends upon the situation and current Indiana law.
When is medical identification jewelry helpful? Most emergency responders are trained to look for medical identification jewelry worn as a necklace or bracelet. Emergency medical information can also be made available on a person’s phone. This information can be helpful when identifying allergies or medical diagnoses that could explain a person’s condition or provide guidance for medical care.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 09/01/2023
Greencastle, Indiana. Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) is pleased to offer free information and forms to all Putnam County adults wishing to choose a legal healthcare representative and complete other advance healthcare directives. The “My Advance Directives” folder is a deep blue color and full of important information, such as how to choose a healthcare representative, how to be a healthcare representative, and fact sheets about life prolonging treatments.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 07/10/2023
Greencastle, Indiana. All adults should have a legally designated healthcare representative to make healthcare decisions for them should they become unable to speak or make decisions for themselves in the future. This is not just for older adults. Anyone may suffer an accident or an unexpected health crisis. Representatives may also be able to provide advocacy, support, and a second set of ears when serious or multiple illnesses are involved.
Identifying a legal healthcare representative is an important step. However, equally important is sharing your thoughts and wishes with your healthcare representative, and sometimes it can feel uncomfortable introducing these conversations.
Putnam County Hospital
1542 S. Bloomington Street
Greencastle, IN 46135
T: 765.301.7614
E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
