YOLO HOSPICE

I was asked by our Human Resources Director today, to write a poem about hospice from the perspective of the employees. I grabbed a pad of paper and then asked her what led her to hospice. I then walked around the office jotting notes, while interviewing several nurses, a home health aide, two office workers and other staff. Hospice is a unique group of people who can talk about death and dying easily.

As a hospice worker, I am very selective to whom I talk to about my work as one never knows how unsettling it can be to others. It is so supportive to talk with co-workers as they understand the language. I have tried to figure out what brought me to hospice as many of us do. No one really has a clear answer. The similarity between us is that we all are drawn to this work. It is a calling. It is a privilege. It is such a blessing. The rewards are so amazing.

This poem was a group effort by our entire hospice team. In addition, one can change the title to any hospice of their choosing and it would be an accurate description of that staff as well. This is sacred work and is respected by those in the field of death and dying.

Folks continue to thank us for being there for them, but it is us who need to say “Thank You”. Thank you for allowing us into your home, sharing something as intimate as dying and telling us we made a difference in your life today. It doesn’t get any better than that.


YOLO HOSPICE
　

Hospice is more than a building.
Hospice is more than an agency.
Its foundation is the people inside
who make it run so smoothly.

If you ask what keeps them going,
their answers are as unique as they are.
None of them have chosen hospice,
as hospice has chosen each one of them.

Life experiences have directed their path.
“It is so natural to be here”.
“A massage for my soul.”
“It didn’t bring me here, but it keeps me here.”

You will hear honor, privilege, connection.
“It touches a deeper place in my soul”.
“Treating the whole family holistically  
at the most vulnerable time in people’s lives.”

A diverse group of chosen people
who receive tremendous rewards just knowing
that they made a difference in someone’s life today;
easing a transition towards a peaceful death.

Yolo Hospice.