In 1994, bone cancer nearly had destroyed the discs in Rosemary Kirr's lower back when she sought the services of the Latrobe Area Hospital Hospice.
"She was paralyzed for a year and a half, and some doctors said she'd never walk again," said Richard P. Gibson, Kirr's longtime friend.
Registered nurses Mary Ellen Ridilla and Cindy Cramer were part of a hospice team there that helped Kirr eventually regain the ability to walk.
"I was very impressed with the work the staff did there for her," said Gibson, 73, who along with Kirr established the Richard P. Gibson & Rosemary Kirr Charitable Trust before her death in 2000.
As trustee, Gibson has since donated roughly $75,000 to area hospice programs, including the one at Latrobe Area Hospital, which became Excela Health Latrobe in 2004 after the hospital's merger with the Westmoreland Health System.
This month, Gibson gave a $600 grant to the Bethlen Communities Home Health Services' newly licensed hospice program in Ligonier.
Ridilla and Cramer are carrying on their work there as administrator and patient-care coordinator, respectively.
"It's not that much, but I just want the program to be a success," said Gibson, who previously served as secretary-treasurer of the Kennametal Foundation.
The Bethlen Hospice at 618 W. Main St. opened Dec. 8. Officials accepted their first patient Dec. 17, Ridilla said.
"We are extremely grateful for this generous donation," said Ridilla, 56. "We believe as Mr. Gibson does that hospice is very important in the final chapter of life."
The Bethlen Hospice offers in-home hospice services throughout Westmoreland County and parts of Somerset County, Ridilla said. It also provides in-patient services to the entire community, along with residents of the Bethlen Communities and Ligonier Gardens, Ridilla said.
A certified nurse's aide provides in-home personal care, bathing and homemaker services such as preparing meals and doing laundry; speech, physical and occupational therapy.
Medical social worker Janet Schreiber and the bereavement counselor, the Rev. Gabor Nitsch, provide aid to patients and their loved ones.
"Our goal is to provide some comfort to patients and their families when they're going through situations like this," Ridilla said.
Several people, including Ligonier Township resident Janet James, will also serve there as volunteers after undergoing a hospice-training program to be held in January by Schreiber.
"It's very rewarding to give the patient and the caregiver some comfort and ease while they're going through this process," said James, 71, a hospice volunteer at Excela Health Latrobe.
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