EvenMORE For You

National Nurses Month Recognition

Saluting Two More Top Field Nurses

This May in every EvenMORE For You edition we are showcasing outstanding hospice field nurses from each site. Today we are highlighting Case Manager Devennse Barnes, RN, NP of Crossroads in Memphis and QRT Nurse Marlene Spivey, RN of Crossroads in Philadelphia.

Introducing Case Manager Devennse Barnes, RN, NP

Affectionately known as Dee, Devennse Barnes, RN, NP has been a model of hospice nursing success and career advancement ever since she joined Crossroads as a registered nurse in Memphis several years ago.

During that time Dee increased her credentials by becoming a hospice Nurse Practitioner and she excels every day on the job. Educating and supporting families as they navigate a loved one’s end-of-life care is one of her specialties. “This is one of the most vulnerable times for a family,” Dee said. “I’m there to help.”

Prior to joining Crossroads Dee was a nursing supervisor at a skilled long-term care facility for many years. It was there that she observed a Crossroads hospice nurse on the job. “She (the Crossroads nurse) really took time to care for the patient and listen to the family,” Dee said. The Crossroads nurse also took time to support and build relationships with the long-term care facility’s nurses and staff, a welcome extension of their team, according to Dee.

Joining Crossroads was a winning move for Dee. While becoming a hospice nurse was excellent for her career, Dee says she is a perfect match for Crossroads because of our “philosophy of being at the bedside at the time of death.” She is very proud of this position remembering nurses from other hospices at the long-term care facility leaving with the words, “just call me when they pass.” 

“One of my most memorable moments at Crossroads came when a patient and his family expressed a heartfelt final wish to be baptized before passing,” Dee shared. The patient’s desire became his Gift of a Day. Dee worked closely with the family and the hospice care team to ensure that the patient’s desire was filled with dignity and reverence. “It is a moment I will always carry as it also symbolizes what it means to walk beside someone at the end of their life with honor, grace and compassion,” Dee said.

This is a holistic approach that sets Crossroads apart. Dee said Crossroads is all about “compassion” and being there for the patient and the family and that suits her just fine. 

Introducing QRT Nurse Marlene Spivey, RN

Even though she’s been a nurse for more than 40 years, Marlene Spivey, RN only recently became a hospice nurse when she joined Crossroads in Philadelphia about a year ago.

As a member of the QRT (Quick Response Team) Marlene feels like she’s landed her dream position. Joining Crossroads and specializing in end-of-life care nursing was “a very good decision,” she said.

Marlene works from 8:00 P.M. to 8:30 A.M. managing all kinds of “after hours” work including being at the bedside for a patient’s attended death, managing an emergent patient or seeing through any necessary clinical work started during the day and in need of completion or follow up. According to Marlene, she’s all about “keeping everything moving” forward.

Marlene has always been very empathetic. “Even as a child I always wanted to help people,” she said. She was also an avid reader who devoured books about nursing (and horses) as a teenager. What started in her youth led to a successful 43-year nursing career that included critical care, long-term care nursing and many years working for a home infusion company.

Marlene believes all that experience contributes to her newfound success as a hospice nurse at Crossroads where she “loves the team environment” and being a member of an integrated care team that also includes chaplains, social workers, bereavement specialists, volunteer managers, hospice aides, physicians and other nurses all working together for patients and their families.

Angels Between Two Doors

By Danny Gutknecht
I was 26 when I first encountered hospice. Walking into my grandparents' living room, the familiar furniture pushed aside to make room for a hospice bed. My grandfather, an 87-year-old man with leukemia, his body much different than just two short years before. I sat down next to the bed, his eyes lit up, and he asked, “When do I get to hold that baby girl?”

My grandmother handed me his electric razor; I was the only one he trusted to give him a clean shave. “It won’t be long, Grandpa. She's due in four weeks, maybe earlier.” The hospice nurse had told me he was determined to hold my daughter before he passed. Her words felt like a gentle message, and I hoped he could hold on. I felt as if the nurse’s words were sent from an angel and hoped he would “make it” long enough. 

I was grateful when my grandfather got to hold my daughter. His frail arms and worn hands gently held her tiny new hands. As I witnessed a moment of an exiting generation lovingly greeting one that had just arrived, it felt like I was standing between two doors, the one we come into the world and the one that we exit. Except this time the doors weren’t separated by the distance of a lifetime, they were in the same room.

My grandfather passed a few days later and I know that moment meant a lot to him. It certainly meant a lot to me. It was a moment that is as alive today as it was over 30 years ago. 

Benjamin Franklin wrote, “time is the stuff life is made of.”  We all have different experiences of time. And yet, as different as every moment is for each person, everyone agrees that it goes by too fast. Inner time, time in the heart, follows its own mysterious laws. Fleeting seconds give birth to lifelong memories, proving that what happens within our hearts remain indelibly present.

Hospice is an essential fabric to society. It helps open doors that show us how to write chapters in blank pages at the crossroads of life. It hovers around death but is really about living. Showing us that we have time to craft important stories. The kind that steward peace. And stories of depth that nourish others with “soul-food.” 

The word “angel” is originally Greek meaning "message bearer” or “emissary.” The simple presence of a hospice provider can open us up to the deeper messages waiting for us.

Rising Strong: Take Charge of Your Bone Health Today

By Emily Hammer
May is Osteoporosis Awareness Month—a reminder that bone health deserves your attention, especially after 50. Osteoporosis is a “silent disease,” often showing up only after a fracture. But here’s the hopeful news: your bones are living tissue, and even now, they can rebuild with the right care.

What Is Osteoporosis?

It’s when bones become weak and more likely to break—often without warning. One in two women and one in four men over 50 will experience an osteoporosis-related fracture. And while bone loss naturally starts after age 30 (and speeds up post-menopause), you can slow or even reverse the decline with key lifestyle changes.

What You Can Do

• Get your Vitamin D – sunshine, wild-caught salmon, or a supplement with D3 + K2
• Boost magnesium – leafy greens, nuts, or a gentle supplement like Calm
• Prioritize protein – half of bone volume is protein!
• Add weight-bearing and strength training – walking, dancing, resistance work, or even 50 jumps per day helps
• Improve your balance – yoga, tai chi, or one-legged toothbrush routines

What To Avoid

• Smoking – it blocks calcium absorption and weakens bones
• Excess alcohol – impairs bone-building and increases fall risk
• Too much sugar – increases inflammation and calcium loss
  

What Now?

Talk to your doctor about a DEXA scan—often covered by insurance for women 65+ and men 70+, or earlier if you have risk factors. If needed, medications can help—but so can food, movement, and mindset.

Think of these changes as daily investments in your future mobility. Choose salmon over burgers, spinach over pasta salad, and a walk in the sun over another hour on the couch bingeing Netflix. Try a weighted vest that’s 10% of your body weight for added resistance. Your bones are your foundation—take care of them, and they’ll carry you strong into the next chapter.