About Benton Hospice Service

Benton Hospice Service has been a part of the healthcare community in the mid-Willamette Valley since 1980. Our goal is to provide compassionate, professional care at the end of life.

History of Benton Hospice Service
Mission, Vision, and Values Statements
Key Hospice Contacts
Current Board Members
Website Artwork by Bonnie Hall

History of Benton Hospice Service

Founded in 1979, Benton Hospice Service is an independent, non-profit organization which is overseen by an all-volunteer Board of Directors.

The modern hospice movement began in 1967 when Cecily Saunders opened the first hospice in England. The idea of helping people die at home, in comfort and surrounded by family inspired Corvallis area healthcare professionals to begin a similar program here in Benton County. In 1977, physician David Kliewer and his wife Jean, a registered nurse, began experimenting with providing end-of-life care to the terminally ill. By 1979, a dedicated group founded Benton Hospice Service, and in 1980 an all-volunteer staff accepted its first patient.

The first year of operation, Benton Hospice Service served less than 20 patients with a volunteer staff working out of donated office space. In 2001, Benton Hospice Service moved into its current office, built with donations from the community. Today we serve over 350 patients and their families annually with over 50 professional staff and more than 120 trained volunteers.

Benton Hospice Service is accredited by the Oregon Hospice Association, certified by Medicare, and licensed by the State of Oregon.

As Benton Hospice Service continues to grow, we remain committed to providing patients and families outstanding quality end-of-life care.

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Mission, Vision, and Values Statements

Mission

Benton Hospice Service provides compassionate, patient-centered end-of-life care.

We focus on quality of life; to ease suffering, honor dignity, respect choices and support grieving.

We provide resources and education for individuals, families and the community dealing with caregiving, serious illness and end-of-life support.

Vision

"You are not alone." Benton Hospice is the first name that the community thinks of when they need resources on end-of-life, grief and loss, or caregiving.

Benton Hospice is a thriving non-profit that is financially stable and maintains strong relationships with key healthcare and social service partners.

Benton Hospice has an engaged and highly qualified staff that works together as a team to consistently deliver high quality care to patients and their families.

Values

Benton Hospice Service is committed to the following values:

Excellence
Integrity
Compassion
Stewardship
Relationship-centered care

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Key Hospice Contacts

Micky Shields, Executive Director
Reenie Schwallie, RN, BSN, CHPN, CHPPN; Clinical Manager
Dana Evans, MSW, LCSW, ACHP-SW; Clinical Services Manager
Joelle Osterhaus, Bereavement Coordinator
Jamey Suderman, Volunteer Coordinator
Linda Bunch, Administrative Services Manager; HR Contact
Laurie Russell, Outreach Manager

You can also reach any Benton Hospice Service staff member at 541-757-9616

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Current Board Members

Sheila Goodwin, Chair	Retired RN, Eldercare Consultant
Gary DeLander, PhD, RPL Vice Chair	Associate Dean, College of Pharmacy Oregon State University
Steve Schauble Treasurer	Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Oregon State University Foundation
Deborah Rose Secretary	Crestwave Consulting
Shawn Foley, MD	Benton Hospice Service Medical Director
Benjamin Barnett	Rabbi, Beit Am Jewish Community
Marilyn J. Brasier	Jeanne Smith & Associates, PC Attorneys at Law
Courtney Campbell, PhD	Philosophy Department Oregon State University
Dina Lindquist	Retired, human resources management
Jason Phillips, MD, FACP	Samaritan Internal Medicine and Assistant Medical Director for Benton Hospice Service
Janet Preller	Director of Risk Management and Patient Advocacy, Corvallis Clinic
Kay Schaffer, PhD	Dean Emeritus, College of Liberal Arts Oregon State University
Bruce Thomson, MD	Corvallis Family Medicine

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Website Artwork by Bonnie Hall

The flower images on our website are the original artwork of Bonnie Hall.

"Bonnie Hall was born an artist. Though never formally trained, from her earliest school days she showed an innate talent for capturing life and transmitting it to paper. Through a nearly 40-year career as a scientific illustrator she regretted that her intensely detailed black-and-white drawings, though essential to the science, were shut away in scientific journals "very badly needed by very few people". When she discovered color seriagraphy, she found her life's mission. Her screenprints of native wildflowers and a few butterflies were immensely popular in the region. She was anxious that a larger public come to appreciate "the overlooked, the undervalued, or the threatened wild things native to our Pacific Northwest landscape."

Bonnie died of cancer, too young, at 72. She was at the height of her game, having almost mastered screenprinting after 12 years of struggle. Of the 32 large prints she produced, 14 are now out of print, and others are nearly sold out. This book is dedicated to her life and talent, in the hope that through this medium many more people will come to appreciate the natural world in the way that she did."

(from the introduction to Ever Blooming: The Art of Bonnie Hall)

Bonnie exhibited work in numerous juried events sponsored by regional arts associations and by the American Society of Botanical Artists, and continues to be represented by Pegasus Gallery in Corvallis, Oregon. Her work is collected in Ever Blooming: The Art of Bonnie Hall, published by Oregon State University Press.

Benton Hospice Service is grateful for the kind permission of Jim Hall to share Bonnie's artwork on our website and to Pegasus Gallery for their assistance.

California Poppy
Copa de Oro