Saturday Hospice Run supports care in Fergus Falls, OTC

By Lauren Radomski (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Thursday, September 4, 2008

Cathy Mueller’s mother was fighting a losing battle with cancer when her doctor recommended hospice care.

Enter Lakeland Hospice and Home Care, whose staff visited Donna Boll at her Ottertail home for months — first once a week, then daily — before Boll’s death in December.

“There was always a family member there but we just couldn’t do it alone anymore,” Mueller said. “They were just wonderful people.”

Hospice staff not only managed Boll’s overall care and comfort, but picked up medications and provided equipment including a wheelchair and a hospital bed. Months after her mother’s death, Mueller says Lakeland still keeps in touch with phone calls and mailings.

Boll and her family were fortunate in that Medicare covered the cost of Lakeland’s services. For those without insurance, hospice care is still an option — thanks in large part to the money raised via the annual Lakeland Hospice Motorcycle Ride, scheduled for Saturday.

Now in its seventh year, the motorcycle ride collects money for hospice services through a free-will offering and the sale of $20-tickets for a 2008 Harley Davidson Heritage Soft-Tail cycle. Saturday’s event begins with registration at 10:30 a.m. in the U-Motors parking lot, with riders departing on the approximately 130-mile route at noon sharp, rain or shine.

A free-will offering meal will be held in the Z103 Bar and Grill parking lot at 5 p.m., followed by the band “Betty Does” from 8 p.m. to midnight. The Harley Davidson and a handful of cash prizes will be raffled at 7 p.m. Raffle tickets are limited but are still available by visiting Lakeland’s offices at 120 South Union or calling 218-998-1400.

Proceeds from the run provide hospice services to those people who could not afford them otherwise. Lakeland Hospice and Home Care serves 65 to 75 patients a day in parts of Minnesota and the Dakotas.