Hospice care makes a difference

ART OF HEARTS FUNDRAISER-Michelle Luse, center, district representative for state Sen. Tom McClintock, is flanked by Mary Leste, left, and Shelley Chilton, co-owners and co-founders of TLC Home Hospice in Moorpark. Chilton and Leste want their clients to get the best possible care.

Realizing how much her mother had suffered from lack of compassionate care as she succumbed to breast cancer in the 1980s, Shelley Chilton vowed to make a difference. She promised God she’d change the way people were treated during their last days on earth.

Chilton’s vision of merciful and loving care for the terminally ill before they slipped into oblivion finally became reality several years later. She and a friend, Mary Leste, whose mother had been a hospice nurse, made the decision to start a hospice facility "against all odds." Chilton, former director of business management at Granada Hills Hospital, said, "We didn’t worry about the problems of opening a hospice facility. We went ahead anyway."

They eventually became co-owners and co-founders of Moorpark’s Loving Heart Hospice Foundation, also known as TLC Home Hospice.

The women began in April 1994 with a five-bedroom country cottage in Moorpark, nestled among colorful blossoms in a picturesque Thomas Kinkade setting. Its friendly staff and the neat, home-like atmosphere offer solace and competent assistance to 10 terminally ill patients. The impending grief of losing a precious companion is minimized as the patient is nursed with gentle, tender, professional care.

Leste said full hospice care is provided at the facility, 5400 Atlantic Court in Moorpark. She said patients may be covered by Medicare and/or Medi-Cal, while others may receive supportive in-home nursing visits, medical equipment and medications before entering a hospice facility.

The recent "Art of Hearts" silent art auction at the Renaissance Hotel in Agoura Hills was the first fundraiser for TLC Heart Hospice to help finance maintenance of the Moorpark cottage and its terminally ill patients. As the foundation’s volunteers, staff and survivors shared an evening of fellowship and camaraderie, state Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Simi Valley), represented by district representative Michelle Luse, honored the efforts of Chilton and Leste, who also are planning to graduate from Moorpark College’s nursing course in April.

If you’d like more information about TLC Home Hospice in Moorpark or Conejo Hospice in Thousand Oaks, please call Martha Zeiher, fundraising coordinator, at (805) 517-1620.