Reverend Gwendolyn Phillips Coates has joined Providence Hospice of Seattle as Diversity Project Coordinator

w/pic Rev. Gwendolyn Phillips Coates, formerly the pastor with Walker Chapel A.M.E. church in Seattle, has been named Diversity Project Coordinator with Providence Hospice of Seattle. Coates’ position was created to educate the African American community about hospice care and end-of-life choices. She comes to the position with a personal story that makes this work part of her soul. Nearly five years ago, only 30 days into her job at Walker Chapel, Coates’ husband suffered a brain bleed. He died a week later. Coates has written a book about her grief and loss, “Waiting on my lunch date: A journey through grief and a path to joy.” Her new position is a way for her to personally reach out to the community about end of life planning and palliative care. “I also see this as a way to find out what the African American community is thinking instead of assuming they don’t know or understand this choice,” said Coates. “I am seeking partnerships with organizations, churches, groups and individuals in the spiritual, medical and social communities as a way to present hospice as a choice while still alive.” Over the next year, Coates will meet with churches and community organizations to teach about hospice care, comfort care, palliative care, end of life planning and living wills. She looks forward to telling her story as a way for others to ease into the conversation and planning for their last stage of life. For more information about Providence Hospice of Seattle’s programs, please call Coates at 206-389-4331 or e-mail her at gwendolyn.coates@providence.org Former pastor of Walker Chapel AME church in Seattle. Originally from LA and am on pastoral sabbatical to do the work at hospice. Ordained elder in the AME church.She wrote a book about grief and lost, “Waiting on My lunch date: A journey through grief and a path to joy.’ I’m very passionate about people and choice. Wrote the book because of the death of my husband, while I was waiting in my office for my husband to take me to lunch. He had a brain bleed and died a week later. I’m very passionate about having choices and making decisions based on knowledge and not on happenstance. That’s my passion. It was easy for me to move into this arena. Going around the country talking about grief and loss, adds a vote off confidence since I’m here. HE died in December 2001. 66 days after we got here. Had not discussed this with this her husband. It was not on our agenda. We had not planned for this to happen. When he had the brain bleed, he never regained consciousness and died a week later. I believe it’s really really important for the African American community to have the information soi they can make the proper choice. They need to have an advanced directive, have five wishes. Need tto have hospice 101. Information removes fear. Healing from a loss is ann ongoiung process and it takes as long as it takes. Being able to see that I’m being effective with other people, seeing that they’re able to come to the end of their life in a more pleasant way, that’s really going to make a difference.You start taking life for granted when you have a sudden disruption to what’s normal. You have to discover a new normal. When someone you love dearly, never comes and you never hear their voice again, and the next time you see them lying there with the love out of them. I will never forget that every moment is precious and that this life is precious. You can’t keep putting things off. www.gpcministries.comwww.gap-minitries.comwww.suddenlysingle.comKnowledge removes fear. This is something I hope they’ll be open to. She wants to go into churches, organizations, community venues and bring the education and the awareness and to help assists some of the churches in their health ministries, bereavement ministries, to have a total package, so they can be an arm to say to terminally ill people, have you talked to your doctor about hospice care.