MERRIMACK – This year Home Health & Hospice, 7 Executive Park Drive is celebrating 30 years of its annual golf tournament, presented by SolutionHealth to benefit HHHC’s Pediatric and Home Care Programs.

On Monday, June 7, golfers will gather and enjoy a day of golf at Vesper Country Club in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts.

HHHC director of corporate giving Paula Telage said while the pandemic prevents them from having a big gathering in a room to do a fund-in-need or an auction, the golf tournament will provide HHHC the chance to create a fundraiser in the great outdoors.

“The good thing is that the golfers can share carts this year,” she said. “Last year, we had to pay so much more money to rent additional carts.”

HHHC and Telage are grateful for their top sponsors, which include The Harbor Group, Merrimack County Savings Bank, Atlantic Charter Insurance Co., Eaton & Berube Insurance, NorthPoint Construction Management, Frank Vumbaco- Edward Jones, Seaboard International Forest Products, Eastern Bank, wydraTEK, St. Joseph Hospital, Melanson, Amherst Label, Knott’s Land Care, Etchstone Properties, ,Flegal Law, Glenn Flessas- Bankeers Life, HyTen Plastics, Focused Eye Care, The Lenny Dobens Agency, Jay Steel, and the Copy Shop.

While registration for golfers is now closed, Telage said there are other ways that people can help, including 50/50 raffle tickets that are for sale (only 200 have been sold), and as always, donations are welcome.

“I think it’s kind of a big thing, this year,” she said. “Thirty years of a golf tournament being successful is great accomplishment for us.”

While HHHC’s offices are in Merrimack, they own the Community Hospice House in Merrimack. Additionally, they are a visiting nurse association that covers 25 cities and towns across southern New Hampshire.

“We’re not just in Merrimack,” Telage said. “Nashua and Manchester are our biggest cities but we go all the way over to Wilton, as far north as Hooksett and as far east as Salem and Raymond. We’re spread out and we go to people’s homes because sometimes that’s a more comfortable atmosphere for them.”

While HHHC is well-known for the hospice house and the hospice services that they provide in nursing homes and in people’s homes as well, Telage touted the house itself and the warm environment that it offers to patients.

“It was so thoughtfully built 20 years ago,” she said. “It’s wonderful. It was built to be thoughtful of the families. When my father-in-law went in, you went into his room and there is a little living room area and a little dining room area, but the door out to this beautiful patio garden area that the volunteers maintain allows the bed to roll through so that if the patient wants to sit outside on a nice day, they can do that.”

Telage said the special building has been home to weddings and birthday parties.

“It’s supposed to be a house and make people feel at home,” she shared.

With the exceptional pediatric care for children in our community, HHHC understands the impact that an illness or health issue can have on a family.

“We normally raise money for the house with two other events,” Telage said. “We have a wine dinner and a big champagne ladies luncheon, that we will hold in November 2021.”

Sponsorship is up, Telage reported, and that she said is a sign that people are getting the vaccines and for many, they’re coming out of their year-long hibernation.

“I’m up to 132 golfers,” she said. “I could probably use another foursome or two, but there are people who have called so I have to get back to them and see how many spaces they need.”

Telage added that people have expressed to her how happy they are to finally be able to get out and do something, like playing golf.

“People are anxious to do something together,” she said. “I can’t complain. We may not be able to do the fund-in-need or the auction, but if people want to help by sending in a little donation, that would be fantastic.”

For more info, contact Paula Telage at paula.telage@hhhc.org or by calling her at 603-689-2812.