March is Social Workers Appreciation Month! I wanted to take a moment to especially recognize and honor a specific group of Social Workers that make an enormous difference in the end-of-life journey: Our Hospice Social Workers!
Hospice Social Workers Make a Difference.
The Hospice Social Workers I have worked with throughout the last 10 years of my career, that have made a difference in the lives they have touched, ALL share the same impressive qualities:
- AMAZING listeners
- Advocate for what is right
- Kind-hearted
- Puts others needs first
- Sees the details
- Non-judgmental
- Understanding
- Open-minded
- Flexible
Hospice Social Workers use all of the above qualities to guide patients and their loved ones gracefully and respectfully through the end of life. Hospice Social Workers provide emotional support, advocacy, guidance of future plans, mediation of family decisions, a calm presence, coordinate communication, and ALL of the Hospice Social Workers I have worked with go above-and-beyond to facilitate one last experience of joy. Hospice Social Workers find out what brings the patient joy and then work to see how that joy can be felt and experienced one last time.
As a Hospice Nurse, I have had the absolute honor to have worked with some of THE BEST Hospice Social Workers out there. They not only work hard for the patient, they work hard for the harmony of the hospice team – balancing and supporting the entire team knowing how emotional hard (and draining) it can be to provide compassionate end-of-life cares to patients.
Never underestimate the Power of a Social Worker!
Thank you, Hospice Social Workers, for the Compassionate, Kind, Amazing, Sincere, Genuine work you do – everyday – for our hospice patients and the hospice team.
It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act.
-Dalai Lama
Hospice-101.com: All About Hospice 