Walking through the hospice wing’s beige halls, filled with sterile smells, beeping equipment and nurses’ quick steps, Emily Cherny, ‘28, holds bright-pink and magenta orchids for her patient, P.
At the sight of the vivid petals and Cherny’s smile, soft tears rolled down P’s wrinkled cheeks.
Cherny frequently visited P, whose identity is protected under privacy laws, while volunteering at the Visiting Nurse Association Health Group this past summer. There, Cherny directly saw the impact of her small gestures.
Now, Cherny brings these acts to the Lehigh Valley community as vice president of Lehigh’s Bring Happiness for Hospice club.
The club originally started at Duke University. It began as a way to support those in hospice, a medical service for end-of-life care.
This fall semester, Sianna Biem,‘27, brought the nonprofit’s mission to Lehigh to make aiding people in hospice more accessible to students.
Lehigh’s Bring Happiness for Hospice club partners with The Care Team Hospice and St. Luke’s Hospice.
Club members create care packages, cards and other acts of kindness to brighten the days of hospice patients. By working with hospice volunteer coordinators, the club ensures each note or gesture is personalized to patients.
Christina Lieb, volunteer coordinator for The Care Team Hospice, said the club is the first student group to reach out that specifically caters to hospice patients.
She said she’s seen the impact of their work firsthand.
“You can definitely see (patients) faces light up,” Lieb said. “Sometimes it gets really lonely. The volunteers that visit our patients or give them a card give a visual representation of ‘I see you and I hope you’re having a good day.’”
For Cherny, brightening patients’ day is a way to give them a break. She said patients are often surrounded by doctors running tests, nurses taking blood pressure and medication shadowing meals.
“Our goal is to do something small but extremely meaningful,” Cherny said. “Doing these small things can be just as important as the medical treatment that (patients) are receiving.”
Biem said she understands hospice staff can’t give as much attention to patients as they would like because of their other responsibilities. She said the Bring Happiness for Hospice club hopes to fill the gap in service.
For Beim, a helping hand from the community makes all the difference.
“When you’re in a state where you have such little hope, it’s really nice to have someone who cares about you and puts in effort to brighten your day, sending you a little hope and happiness,” Biem said.
As a pre-med student, Biem said learning to lend emotional support to patients is important. Approaching hospice through the lens of comfort for patients helps confront preconceived notions around the service.
Lieb said having exposure to people in end-of-life care helps volunteers gain perspective on what hospice is.
“Hospice is one of those things that when you mention the name people shrink back,” Lieb said. “It sounds really scary. Like things that sound scary, it’s more just because you don’t know about it. Ultimately, what (hospice) is, is a lot of love.”
Biem said she understands college students are typically young and don’t have to think about hospice. However, she said this leaves patients overlooked. For her, the Bring Happiness for Hospice club brings attention to the group and gives students greater perspective.
“You really have a different outlook on life when you realize that someone has less than six months to live, and they’re trying to make the most out of that time,” Biem said.
For Cherny, volunteering at a hospice center taught her to treasure the small moments.
“In the moment, you don’t realize something good that’s happening, whether it’s eating a sandwich with your mom or dad,” Cherny said. “Once you look back on your life, you realize that all these moments flew by, and all you want to do is go back and eat that sandwich.”
P was a well-known artist and the first hospice patient Cherny spent time with.
Cherny said P suffered from a severe injury, leaving the artist’s arms immobile.
Despite her circumstances, P dedicated herself to teaching Cherny how to sketch and paint.
“(P) had so much passion and was so mentally strong,” Cherny said. “She went from being an incredible artist to not being able to do what gave her life purpose.”
Cherny said the experience gave her a whole new perspective on life and was very rewarding.
“It made me realize that everyone ends up living a meaningful life in their own way,” Cherny said. “It was so fulfilling to see that what I’m doing, even if it’s just talking to someone for a little bit, is making a difference in someone’s life.”
The Bring Happiness for Hospice Club is in its trial phase at Lehigh.
Cherny said the club has seen good perception from students. So far, the club has had a card-making event and a guest speaker visit.
In the future, Biem said once the club receives more funding, they can start making more elaborate care packages. As a senior, Biem said she hopes the club can continue and flourish even after she graduates.
Lieb said she’s excited to see where the partnership between the club and The Care Team Hospice goes. She said having students reach out is wonderful because of the big difference it makes.
“A lot of these students are not from the Lehigh Valley, but they have such caring hearts that they’re willing to help out in their adoptive community,” Lieb said.
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