Dear Friends and Neighbors,

CentraCare and Carris Health care givers have been working around the clock for more than 20 months to care for you, your families and friends during COVID. We are committed to caring for every Minnesotan who needs us, and nothing will prevent us from doing so – even during these never-seen-before times.

The challenge of providing this level of care is that our hospital beds are often full. ERs in all of our hospitals are packed. And our clinical teams are exhausted. Early in the pandemic, our community stepped up in amazing ways to helps us. We ask that you again join us in fighting this pandemic together.

How can you help?

  • Please get your COVID vaccines and booster shots. They are proven safe and effective in reducing COVID illness, keeping people out of the hospital, and preventing death.
  • If your situation is not an emergency, please use other care options, including:
  • If this is a medical emergency, call 9-1-1, or visit the ER.

Together, we can do this. Thank you for your support.

Ken Holmen, MD
President and CEO

Meaningful Ways to Remember Loved Ones During the Holidays

Published in Wellness, Hospice, Behavioral Health Services
  • Decorate the grave with a special wreath designed by family
  • Share stories and pictures from the past with family and friends
  • Light a special candle
  • Give to a charity or special cause in memory of a loved one
  • Sponsor a light on the Hospice Tree of Lights
  • Volunteer to help with a service project
  • Create a memory quilt, tree ornament, wreath, pillow, or stuffed toy (one idea is to make teddy bears out of clothing of loved one)
  • Journal thoughts and feelings during the holiday season
  • Write a message to your loved one and put in a Christmas stocking to hang on the tree
  • Hold hands around the tree and sing a special song in remembrance of loved ones
  • Purchase a gift in memory of your loved one and give to a shelter or a share the spirit program
  • Remember loved ones in prayers before meals or during family devotions