After 420 miles, hospice walk will finish in Bangor

A 420-mile fundraising walk for hospice services will wrap up on schedule in Bangor this Friday despite the storm that dumped more than a foot of snow on much of Maine this week.

Betty Brennan, board chairwoman of the Lighthouse Hospice Foundation and chief executive officer of Boston-based Beacon Hospice, said Tuesday that the project, which began as a 60-mile personal challenge to mark her 60th birthday, “has become something much greater.”

More than 300 walkers – “courageous souls” from Beacon’s 20 New England offices, according to Brennan – have raised close to $30,000 in much-needed funds that will be available through the Lighthouse Hospice Foundation to meet the needs of terminally ill patients and their families.

The most recent Beacon Hospice office opened in Bangor in September. In Maine, the company also operates out of Augusta, Lewiston, Portland and York. Brennan was born and raised in Brewer; she now lives in Newburyport, Mass.

While Medicare and private insurance programs will pay for many of the services hospices provide, including professional nursing care and medical equipment needed to care for patients at home, many relatively minor expenses are not covered, Brennan said Tuesday, explaining the need for supplemental funds.

She recalled a dying man who was receiving hospice care in a Massachusetts nursing home – a true-blue Red Sox fan whose greatest wish was to watch the final games of the 2007 World Series. The facility where he was staying couldn’t accommodate his wishes because it would be disruptive to other patients to have the common-room television on late at night.

Brennan said funds from the Lighthouse Hospice Foundation purchased a small color television for his room and a new Red Sox cap.

“This individual was simply delighted to be able to watch his beloved Red Sox win the series,” she said.

Another patient received new bed linens so hospice staff could put fresh sheets on her bed each day, Brennan said. Other foundation funds have helped pay funeral expenses and allowed a family to send their loved one’s ashes to Africa for burial. The foundation accepts requests from any hospice organization, Brennan said.

The “Lighting the Way” fundraising walk started in Mystic, Conn., on Nov. 16. Relay teams from Beacon Hospice offices in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine mapped out the 420-mile continuous route with each office signing up to cover one or more 20-mile stretch. Each team has carried a battery-powered lantern, handing it off to participants in the next leg of the relay. The lantern, Brennan said, signifies the importance of supporting terminally ill patients and their families.

The fundraiser has been so successful, Brennan expects it will become an annual event.

Though her birthday isn’t until next week, Brennan, who has joined her staff in walking several of the 20-mile segments, will complete her 60-mile birthday goal when she hikes into Bangor from Prospect this Friday afternoon. A celebration of the event will be held at the offices of Beacon Hospice on Hancock Street.

More information about the Lighthouse Hospice Foundation is available at www.lighthousehospicefoundation.org.

Meg Haskell may be reached at mhaskell@bangordailynews.net or 990-8291.