patients stricken with cancer, suffering from Aids or faced with any other life threatening disease, it falls to the staff and care givers of the facility to make their last days as enjoyable as possible. Much of that work is done by Friends of Hospice, a charity devoted to providing volunteer and financial assistance to Agape House. "Friends of Hospice is a charity that raises funds and tries to supply volunteer services, equipment and supplies for the patients of Agape House, the home for the terminally ill,'' explained Friends of Hospice chairman, Andrew Martin. "It organises outings, trips, meals and, at times, even provides medication for those patients without insurance who can't afford to buy it. "The majority of the people there are cancer patients but there are also those with Aids and other illnesses. It is staffed by nurses from King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH), but our volunteers come in to do additional work such as sitting with the patients, talking with them and their families, comforting them and providing entertainment for them. The patients there sometimes have a lot of time left but sometimes, its just a maximisation of the last one or two percent of their life. The idea is for the volunteer to help to get the best out of what remains of the patients' life.'' With more than 100 patients cared for over the past two years, Agape House's 14 beds have operated at capacity although they are routinely half to three quarters full. "It's certainly a very busy place,'' added Mr. Martin. "And it's for everybody. The Hospice does not just cater to Aids patients. It is not just an Aids hospice. We don't want to underplay the Aids role, but people must understand that the Hospice covers a broader cross-section. It does not just care for those with highly infectious diseases. Approximately 60 percent of the patients have cancer or cancer-related problems, approximately 30 to 35 percent of the rest are suffering from Aids and the remainder have other diseases. "So there's a whole cross-section of the community represented there from various different backgrounds. The aim is to just try and help those with little time left, to try and get the best out of what's left of their lives.'' Helping them achieve such a goal, he said, is the work done by the Bermuda Health Alliance (BHA).

It is through the efforts of the BHA that Friends of Hospice, as an Alliance member, will receive the funds necessary to make renovations to the Paget Palliative care at its very best! believe there are a couple of real benefits that (it) offers,'' he said. "In relation to fund raising, all of its member charities are likely to be recipients of bigger gifts dedicated to national health care priorities if collectively, we go out to the main donors of the community and say we collectively need funds. Obviously, donors would find it much easier to say, `Here's the money, you decide what your priorities are amongst yourselves'.

That way we're not all competing for the same pot and the money gets spent according to the priorities decided upon. And it's obvious that the more members included in the Alliance, the more comprehensive funding can be. In this capital campaign, for example, we are the poor relations. We don't have high capital needs like the Diabetes Centre, which requires funding for its epidemiology project. We don't have capital needs in the sense that we're not going out to buy special equipment or to build a major facility but there will be other campaigns when our needs will surface as a higher priority. We may say that we need specific equipment or a specialist of a certain kind to come in.'' Through the combined efforts of the BHA, the general public can also be better educated on issues such as medical insurance coverage and health standards, he said. "We're representing the interests of the broader health care support services that are provided by charities. At the moment, all charities have their own interests at heart. In order to represent the collective needs of the patients and people who use health care in Bermuda, there must be a comprehensive source of information, a standard. If we collaborate, we can change the way we look at health insurance and the things that it covers. We can get together and go to Government, and the private sector, the Employers' Council, the BIU and address any and all concerns as a group. "It also provides a huge opportunity in terms of education. If we collaborate, we can go to the public and say we all accept that there are certain basic standards which should be observed. We can educate them and they can refer to the BHA as a central place where persons can co-ordinate and disseminate information.'' Palliative care, that which is practised in Agape House, is to take on greater importance with Bermuda's aging populations, said Mr. Martin, a fact which care givers should now take into consideration.

Care long term is that we have an aging population. According to Government's statistics office, we will have roughly 63,000 residents in the year 2020 and approximately eighteen percent of them will be over the age of 60. Many of them will not need or would not prefer institutional care and their families will have to make adjustments to look after them. We can use this time to prepare for that. The only way is for people to be trained to look after senior citizens. Home care service is a unique opportunity.'' Mr. Martin added that the Hospice will be sending volunteers to participate in tonight's telethon. PHOTO Agape House's delightful chef, Leonard Ming, prepares high tea every Friday afternoon for patients and their families and for birthdays and anniversaries, he makes birthday cakes and pies Kimberley Burns, BSCN, the new director of Agape House Peggy Bissell, Palliative Care Doctor, outside Agape House Special folks working at Agape House. Back row from left: treasurer, Winifred Richards, chef, Leonard Ming, and director of volunteers, Terry Pearman-Castle. Volunteers from left: Joan "Cookie Lady'' Taten, Elder Smith and Elder Hartman. Agape House caregivers from left: Janet Glasgow, Kim Burns, Merlyn Burgess, Lisa Trott, Anthony Wilson, Donna Viney, Sandra Smith, Jane Bermingham and Peggy Bisell Volunteer at Agape House, Peter Carpenter HEALTH HTH