August 6, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jennifer Roseman, Director of Communications & Development
(509) 474-2395 or (509) 994-5032
For photo availability, contact Jennifer Roseman
No one should die or experience the death of a loved one alone. That simple but profound thought propelled Sister Georgette Bayless into action more than 20 years ago. Then the chaplain at Providence Hospital in Everett, she began working to find a way to bring physicians, nurses and volunteers together to provide hospice services to that community. The fruit of her labors is Hospice of Snohomish County, which honored Sister Georgette for her efforts in June.
The project began with patients seen on an informal, no-fee-for-service basis. Physicians had to be recruited, volunteers had to be trained and, in the true spirit of the religious community’s foundresses, donations had to be sought.
In 1980, Hospice of Snohomish County expanded to become a full-fledged, tri-county hospice, using seed money from the foundations of Everett General and Providence hospitals, as well as a $20,000 grant from United Way of Snohomish County.
“The values espoused by Sister Georgette and followed by the early founders and participants in the efforts of Hospice of Snohomish County are lived out each day in the services we provide,” says Mary Brueggeman, executive director of Providence Hospice and Home Care of Snohomish County.
In honor of Sister Georgette, who currently lives in Yakima, the agency’s board of directors created The Bayless Society, which “serves as a stewardship tool for recognition, acknowledgement and appreciation of the agency’s annual campaign and major gifts.” Members of the Bayless Society are annual donors with cumulative and irrevocable planned gifts of $1,000 and more, lifetime donors with one-time, cumulative and irrevocable planned gifts of $25,000 and more, and longevity donors with a giving history of more than 10 years and more than $1,000 cumulatively. Approximately 100 donors were members of The Bayless Society in 2001.