Today is National Doctors’ Day, a day to recognize the contributions that physicians make to our community every day. Physicians and medical professionals are constantly seeking better medical solutions to heal their patients; dedication that requires a lifetime, and can impact future generations.
Acclaimed author and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou, once said, “The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” Crossroads Hospice patient, Virginia Mudd, knew that ache all too well. She longed to visit her hometown but, due to illness, Virginia was unable go anywhere for years – growing more and more homesick.
After the passing of her husband, Jeanne Smith knew firsthand the grief that comes with such a significant loss. As she worked through her own mourning process, she decided to help others experiencing a similar heartache:she joined Crossroads Hospice as a volunteer.
At Crossroads, we help families remember the happy moments in life by recording them in what we call a “Life Journal.” A Life Journal is a special gift that patients give to family members recounting life experiences, offering advice, and expressing love. The patient works with a Crossroads volunteer to collect unique life stories and photographs, pulling together irreplaceable memories into one volume that the family can treasure for years to come.
I’d like to thank Crossroads Hospice for honoring me with the2012 Caring More Award. Truly, I am humbled to have been nominated, and I’m pleased that Crossroads Hospice recognizes the many various contributions of its social workers men and women who work everyday to address to the ongoing needs of the people we serve. Our clients, patients, and residents confront a unique set of emotional and health-related needs, and there are many dedicated social workers who are just as deserving of this award as I am for their diligence, long hours, and commitment to not only addressing the needs of their clients but also to their own professional development.
I was talking to a Nursing Home Administrator from Cleveland last fall, and he said he really appreciated the fact that we wear green. “I can always find your people just by looking around,” he remarked. It’s true: when our patients, their family members, or staff at any location need us, they simply have to look around. While that’s certainly an advantage, that’s not why we wear green.
