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Social Worker Again Honored For Hospice Program

Klint Lowry/SUNCOAST NEWS

HOSPICE SOCIAL WORKER MARILYN PECK guides senior Jim Kanehl on a tour of his own memories using her award-winning “Life Through Pictures” program.

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By KLINT LOWRY | The Suncoast News

Published: February 1, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - According to the old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words. For Gulfside Regional Hospice patients and their families, however, that would be an underestimation of the therapeutic benefits Marilyn Peck has brought about with her innovative use of photographs.

The peers of the Gulfside social worker agree. For the second time in as many years, Peck has been honored for her photography and its use as a palliative tool in end-of-life care.

Peck recently took second place in an annual photography, writing and film contest sponsored by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. This comes after winning the 2006 Florida Hospices and Palliative Care Award of Excellence for her "Life Through Pictures" program.

The concept, now used throughout Gulfside Regional Hospice, uses the power of visual imagery to stimulate patients to do mental "life reviews." In these reviews patients talk about their memories and in so doing find clarity and peace in the final chapters of their lives.

"When an individual comes to the end of their life, a lot of times there are a lot of pieces that need to be pulled together," Peck said. "My goal is that if they see what they have done, their regrets will diminish, their peacefulness will grow."

"Life Through Pictures" was developed through a grant from United Way of Pasco County. The program's concept is to use photo albums to stir memories and conversation. The photos are either generic or depict a time in the past.

In either case, a social worker goes through the photos with the patients, asking them what each picture reminds them of from their own lives.

The photo selection isn't based on any scientific study. Peck and her colleagues keep track of the kinds of responses each photo gets. Shots that don't seem to do a whole lot get pulled and new ones are added from time to time.

An amateur photographer since she was 10 years old, Peck has always had an appreciation for the power of the visual image. Working at Gulfside Regional Hospice for more than 10 years, she has figured out how to incorporate it into her work.

"We're very proud of her," Linda Ward, Gulfside Regional Hospice president and chief executive officer, said of Peck.

"I think what she brings to us, in addition to her social work skills, is therapeutic enhancement to the quality of life for our patients. Putting these types of programs in place really enhances our programs as a whole, but the goal is to enhance the lives of our patients."

This latest accolade gives further endorsement to Peck's work with photographic images. To be honest, Peck said, she snapped her winning shot before the contest came along.

"I always have my camera in my car," Peck said. She was on her way to see a patient one day in the Seven Springs area. While passing over a bridge she saw what looked to be a good shot. She went back later and took the picture, which she titled "Quiet Time on the River."

The photo shows a white rowboat tied up alongside a riverbank. It sits alone, idle and empty, surrounded by the green of the lush foliage on land and in the reflection on the water.

Later, when she heard about the contest, she was going through her photos and the composition of this photo seemed to suit the theme "Loss and Life," which she explained in an accompanying essay.

Peck isn't about to rest on her laurels. She is close to formally introducing a new therapeutic visual tool she calls "Memories in Motion." The idea is almost an extension of "Life Through Pictures" for patients' families,

The idea is to create a "video album" combining video- and audiotaped interviews with the patients and their loved ones with still images and other visual elements.

"It's a life review for the families," Peck said.

The ultimate purpose of Hospice care is to improve the quality of this part of their lives life for patients and their families, Peck said. These programs are meant remind them of life's joys, then and now, and the joy that comes in sharing one's life.

For more information about Gulfside Regional Hospice, call 727-845-5707, or visit its Web site.

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