July 25--The Duncan Regional Hospital (DRH) and Chisholm Trail Hospice are hosting "A Walk to Remember" at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 9 at the DRH pavilion.

The event is a time when people can make a donation in a loved one's name to help someone in hospice care.

Cyndi Crook, DRH foundation and media director, said this will be the seventh event.

"It used to be called 'Light the Night' and we used to do it about 9 o'clock at night. So we just re-branded it and called it 'Walk to Remember' and pushed it up an little bit early in the evening at 7:30," Crook said. "It is basically the same concept. It is a fundraiser for our hospice patients, but it's an evening that people gather to honor their loved ones."

Those who donate $20 will get a T-shirt, but to guarantee a shirt, people should register by Aug. 6. Some shirts will be available the night of.

Crook broke down the event.

"We do a short walk -- then we came back and do what we call 'The Reading of the Names,' and as your loved one's name is read, we have a wreath where we pin ribbons which you can write your loved one's name on," she said.

The wreath with all the names then hangs in the Chisholm Trail Hospice office.

"When I say it's fundraising for our hospice, it doesn't mean that your loved one had to have been a patient of our hospice. They could have passed a month ago or 20 years ago," Crook said. "It's just a night for you to come a remember someone."

Crook said fundraising might not be something most people associate with hospice care, but it is important.

"Not everybody has insurance or things like that," she said. "Chisholm Trail Hospice doesn't turn anyone away. Whether you can pay or not, you are still going to get the same compassionate care that our hospice provides.

"Therefore, when we raise money for those services for those who can't pay, that's nursing care, that's equipment, medication."

"We have out 'Christmas in July' going on right now for Hospice, " Crook said. "We do gift baskets at the holiday time they are full of goodie like instant coffee, hot chocolate, socks, puzzle books. We take donations with the tree all through July for the hospice."

She said it was a way to give some joy to people in a hard time.

The tree is set up in the Chisholm Trail Hospice office, which is in the building across from the ER.

For more information or to donate, contact the DRH Foundation office at 251-8211.

___

(c)2018 The Duncan Banner (Duncan, Okla.)

Visit The Duncan Banner (Duncan, Okla.) at www.duncanbanner.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The liquidation of PHL Variable Insurance Co. will not happen until next year at the earliest, Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Josh Hershman said in a status update filed Tuesday.

State insurance guaranty associations are preparing to seek bids from insurers willing to assume portions of the troubled company's business, Hershman explained, a process that will take months. The court-appointed rehabilitator for PHL, Hershman had maintained that a liquidation order would be entered by the end of 2026.

The National Organization of Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations is handling the request for proposals to take PHL business, the report said.

The organization "anticipates that its RFP process will commence in the third quarter of 2026," he wrote. "After the RFP process commences, the timing of critical next steps will vary depending on the proposals that are received."

Connecticut regulators placed PHL Variable into rehabilitation in May 2024 due to hazardous financial conditions, attaching a moratorium on benefits and premiums. In December, a judge approved changes to the moratorium that could reduce universal life death benefits owed by up to $4.1 billion.

Bumpy road to liquidation

Regulators tried for months to rehabilitate PHL, before abruptly pivoting to a liquidation plan announced in the rehabilitator's year-end 2025 filing.

Hershman remains confident that insurers are interested in assuming some of PHL's guaranteed insurance and annuity obligations.

The rehabilitator said the bidding process also could include proposals that provide policyholders with benefits above state guaranty association coverage limits, funded by assets remaining in the receivership estate. Any enhanced benefits would depend on factors including the proposals received, available estate assets, applicable guaranty association coverage and court approval.

"The shared goal is to protect policyholders as provided for under receivership and guaranty association statutes while maximizing the value of the estate assets," the report said.

The report also provided an update on policyholder elections under a court-approved modification of the rehabilitation moratorium. Universal life and fixed indexed annuity holders were given options to receive fixed amounts under their policies.

According to the filing, nearly all eligible policyholders and annuity contract holders have received election packages outlining available modification options. About 350 customized election packages remain outstanding for certain universal life policyholders who own multiple policies or annuity contracts covering the same insured. Those mailings are expected to be completed in July, Hershman reported.

As of June 23, about 40% of eligible policyholders and annuity holders had submitted elections selecting one of the available modification options.

PHL's administrative service provider has processed approximately 80% of the fixed indexed annuity election forms received and about 60% of universal life election forms, the report said, with processing continuing within the timeframes outlined in the election materials.

© Entire contents copyright 2026 by InsuranceNewsNet.com Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted without the expressed written consent from InsuranceNewsNet.com.