EvenMORE For You

Celebrating National Nurses Month!

Staff Spotlight on 2 More Amazing Hospice Nurses

Melissa Woods, RN & Angelina Munoz, RN

It’s still National Nurses Month! Today we’re spotlighting two more outstanding Crossroads nurses, both from Crossroads in Cleveland, Case Manager Melissa Woods, RN and On Call Nurse Angelina Munoz, RN. We appreciate the role of nurses in end-of-life care. They are highly valued members of the hospice care team.

Melissa Woods, RN is a Case Manager Role Model

Case Manager Melissa Woods, RN, joined Crossroads in Cleveland eight years ago after a short hiatus from professional nursing. She had been a nurse manager on a hospital telemetry floor and a nursing supervisor in a Cardiac Care Unit. 

During her brief work break, “My Mom said, you would make a good hospice nurse,” she said. Melissa followed her Mom’s instincts and decided to give end-of-life care a try. Crossroads with its Watch and Gift of a Day programs stood out to her.

Once she arrived at Crossroads, she noticed “a very different mindset (pivoting) from curative to comfort care. It took me about a year to get my bearings,” Melissa said.

Melissa has blossomed as a Case Manager at Crossroads. She combines deep management experience with strong customer service skills as she leads her team. Still, according to Melissa, she’s always evolving. One thing is for sure. Melissa knows how “to resolve issues” and knows when “to be silent and read the room.”

“It really makes you think about what’s important in life,” Melissa said about working in hospice. She’s a role model and mentor for students and new nurses on-the-job. And when she’s not at work, Melissa enjoys reading, spending time with her family, fiancé and pets.

Angelina Munoz, RN is the Pride of Crossroads

On Call Nurse Angelina Munoz, RN grew up professionally at Crossroads surrounded by supporters and propelled by Medical Director Dr. Walter George, who encouraged her to continue her nursing education.

Her journey began seven years ago when she joined Crossroads as a STNA 
(State Tested Nursing Assistant) Hospice Aide after working as a personal caregiver in a locked behavioral psychiatric unit. 

At Crossroads, as a Hospice Aide, she gained a depth of personal experience with attended deaths as it was often Angelina who was the one on Watch. Angelina was highly regarded at Crossroads and she was encouraged to gain additional education.

Angelina went back to school to earn her LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) and then she went back to complete her Bachelor of Nursing Science (BSN) degree, becoming a Registered Nurse (RN.)

“Helping families with dignity and comfort,” is what Angelina is known for crediting herself for having strong emotional resilience. She believes in “quality over quantity” when it comes to caregiving. 

Angelina traces her empathy towards patients back to her experience when, at age 11, her grandmother received “dignified” end-of-life care before passing.

Angelina is the On Call Nurse on duty every Saturday, Sunday and Monday at Crossroads in Cleveland. Everything that happens during the week also happens during the weekend in hospice. Angelina is there to handle patient emergencies. She is still on Watch duty often. Angelina also oversees admissions throughout the weekend. 

While Angelina is a valued member of her care team, she is also someone the team takes pride in because Angelina is not only a valued nurse, her upward professional nursing journey is also an example of the type of career advancement that’s possible at Crossroads.

So what is Angelina doing during the work week when she’s not on the job? Enjoying life and caring for her darling seven-year daughter.

National Nurses Month recognizes and celebrates the immense contributions of nurses to healthcare delivery.

Memorial Day

Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May, in 1968. The same law was updated in 1971, finally declaring Memorial Day a federal holiday. 

This past Monday, along with millions of citizens around the country, we observed Memorial Day. It is the day when we honor and thank all the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice protecting our nation. We also honor the families they left behind. We are forever grateful.

We’re Better Together!

At Crossroads Teams are Highly Valued

In the May 1 edition of EM4U, the Vital Signs Survey question was, “At a crossroads where do you see the green heart?” While 24 percent of respondents answered, “in the Crossroads Model itself,” 60 percent responded, “in the team.”

This aligns with what Crossroads Senior Vice President of Operations Christine Vincent sees when she’s visiting site locations. Earlier this month she attended an all staff meeting in Northeast Ohio, where she served as Executive Director for more than 12 years. 

Team members were asked if they’d like to share why they chose to work here at Crossroads and why they stay. Repeatedly Christine heard how individuals can always “count on their teams.” Over and over, she sees how employees love being on teams while being valued individually too as they contribute professionally.

“If we take care of our staff, they have the bandwidth to take care of patients,” Christine said. Of course, she doesn’t discount the importance of patients and families but Christine believes, “Staff come first.” Strong interpersonal relationships amongst team members lead to stronger teams, according to Christine.

That’s why, when she was NEO’s Executive Director, she made team bonding adventures a priority. There were laser tag, barbecues, bowling, Dave & Busters and Escape Room outings. 

“So that the ‘Green’ doesn’t fade,” team members need time away from stress to be together and get to know each other, Christine said.

On dictionary.com the definition of a team is,  “A number of persons associated in some joint action.” At Crossroads we know that the qualities that differentiate us from other hospice companies, making us the best end-of-life care company wherever we do business, are thanks to the many successful and thriving teams that show up every day to care for patients and their families.