Windber Hospice held a Butterfly Release on September 7 at the pavilion at Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Christian Church in Windber to honor and remember the lives of hospice patients this past year. The bereaved families, along with our staff, released 240 butterflies into the tranquil park. Dr. Kelly Warshel gave a message of hope, Chaplain Gieta Gresh said a prayer, and Rachel Allen sang and played the harp. This annual event provides families with the opportunity to celebrate their loved one as they navigate through the grief process. Butterflies represent change, transformation, and beauty.
Windber Hospice, a non-profit hospice program, has been serving the communities of Cambria, Bedford, Somerset, and parts of Blair, Indiana, and Westmoreland counties for more than 45 years. Founded by Dr. Earl Shope, Windber Hospice was the first hospice program in the state of Pennsylvania and the first rurally oriented hospice in the country. Today, Windber Hospice is respected as one of the finest anywhere.
Windber Hospice is also unique, as it employs a full-time medical director who focuses on the holistic, comprehensive, and compassionate approach to end-of-life care for patients and their loved ones. Dr. Kelly Warshel is board-certified in both internal medicine and integrative/holistic medicine and is trained in reiki and flower essence therapies. She is a graduate of the Metta Institute End-of-Life Practitioner Program.
Special thanks to Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Christian Church in Windber for donating the pavilion at the park.
