Blog: Hospice & Palliative Care Insights - February 2014
Doing More by Being There: Home Health Aide Sean Novak’s Commitment to Patients
Sean Novak is often part of the team sitting by the bed when hospice patients take their final breaths. As a home health aide, he provides Crossroads patients with emotional support, bathes and cleans them, keeps them comfortable, reads to them and visits with their families as they approach the ends of their lives. Though his work is difficult, he is motivated by an innate compassion for those he visits.
Thoughts from Our 2013 Caring More Recipients
Posted on February 26, 2014
George Asiedu Cobblah Social Services Director
Four Seasons Living Center, Sedalia, MO
In 2013, I had the distinct privilege of being awarded the Crossroads Hospice Caring More Award. In this competitive world where it seems you have to bring attention to yourself, in a big way, to be recognized – social services professionals are often overlooked. Therefore, it is quite endearing for an organization like Crossroads to take special notice of those men and women who have devoted their lives to this field. For me, the award is an affirmation that you do not necessarily have to make a big splash about what you do to be noticed. It is humbling to know that others pay attention to what we do.
A Daughter’s New Role: Caregiving Through The Generations
Candy Rolph and her brother enjoyed a happy upbringing in Springboro, OH. Her mother, Mildred was kind, attentive, and quick with a joke. Her parenting was guided by a strong connection to her faith. When Candy married and started a family of her own, she settled down just five minutes from the house she’d called home as a child. In 1995, Candy’s father passed away, leaving her mother to live independently. Candy would visit regularly and help her mother do the things she was unable to alone, like shop for groceries. In 2000, Mildred was diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a lung condition caused by her years of smoking. It was then that Candy realized her caregiving responsibilities for the woman who had always been there to support her would become full time.
What Is The Caring More Award?
Posted on February 24, 2014
When you think about what it takes to help an ailing patient recover, you may think of the nurse with a warm, welcoming smile, who provides round-the-clock support to patients. Or the physician, whose diagnoses and treatment recommendations we trust. Social workers are a key part of this care team – helping patients and families understand diagnoses, process major life changes such as transitioning to a new environment, and coping with issues around terminal illness, communicating end-of-life wishes, and bereavement.
Rossister’s Country Birthday is the “Ultimate Gift”
Mary Rossister has always been a fan of country music. The soulful guitar chords, the meaningful lyricism and the celebration of America’s pastoral roots have resonated with the Marshall, MO native since she was a child. Mary still lives in the small farming community where she grew up, but is now a resident of the Mar-Saline Manor Care Center.