Elise Power: caring for families in their time of need

Elise Power has joined FAITH Presbyterian Hospice as its Jewish Hospice Community Liaison. FAITH is a Jewish-sponsored, not-for-profit organization that provides a wide range of hospice services throughout the DFW area. FAITH Presbyterian Hospice provides hospice care in the home, nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living communities and in its inpatient hospice center, located in the T. Boone Pickens Center, north of Medical City Dallas. FAITH’S compassionate end-of-life care supports life and hope, and the values of Jewish tradition.
With more than 30 years’ experience in the hospice industry, Elise has a passion is to make a difference in patients’ and families’ lives by educating the Jewish community on compassionate end-of-life care, more specifically Jewish hospice care that is Accredited by the National Institute for Jewish Hospice. When there is no cure, caring takes over. As Rabbi Irwin Kula says so eloquently, “Fighting fiercely to live includes knowing when not to let go but rather to take hold and live until our last breath…what Jewish wisdom names the divine kiss”.
Elise found her calling as a hospice trailblazer in the North Texas Jewish community when she moved to Dallas in 2003, recruited from New Jersey as a hospice educator and administrator. Today, she gets calls from around the country and spends her days talking to physicians, nurses, social workers, discharge planners, rabbis, congregations, and families throughout the Jewish community. FAITH works closely with Rabbi Howard Wolk, community chaplain of Jewish Family Service.
“Elise has cared for more than 1,920 Jewish families during the past eight years,” said John Mezo, executive director, FAITH Presbyterian Hospice.
Elise has been recognized for her dedication and compassion in the community. She was awarded the Each Moment Matters honor from Faith Presbyterian Hospice for being an “agent of change” and given the Lifetime Friendship Award from the National Institute for Jewish Hospice for having participated in 10 years of NIJH conferences. Elise is also a member of Temple Emanu-El Dallas.
She is constantly running into people who remind her how she made them feel. They are grateful for the comfort and peace she brought into their lives during a time of chaos and uncertainty — giving them the gift of hospice.
Elise can be reached at 214-505-7234 or epower@forefrontliving.org.

Remembering the officers gunned down July 7, 2016

The dedicated Dallas citizens of Imagine Dallas! commemorated the fourth anniversary of a day that shook Dallas to its core.
On July 7, 2016, four Dallas police officers — Lorne Ahrens, Michael Krol, Michael Smith and Patrick Zamarripa — and DART officer Brent Thompson were killed in the line of duty.
Over 3,000 lunch boxes were prepared, distributed, and co-sponsored by Spice of Life Caterers owner Jeffrey Kollinger and DFW Caterers, to all of the Dallas Police stations throughout the Metroplex, by this passionate group of volunteers to show their love and appreciation for the officers .
Imagine Dallas! was founded to pay tribute to the memory of the five people who died who were dedicated public servants working that night to protect others.
Among those present at the George Allen Central Dallas Police Station were:
Former District Attorney Faith Johnson; Chief of Police Renee Hall; Pastor Troy B. Jackson, Ph.D; President of the Southwest Dallas County Republicans Lane Sullivan; President of the Park Cities Republican Women’s Club and Imagine Dallas! founder and activist Dee Holly; Gary Cruciani; Vicky Little; Diane Benjamin, a former DPD Crime Watch executive committee member and former commissioner of Environment and Health Services for the City of Dallas; and many other concerned citizens.