The following is a thank you letter we received from the daughter of a Hospice of the Northwest patient.
“I would like to say thank you to all hospice workers for the care, comfort, and support you provide to dying patients and their families. I especially would like to thank the team from Hospice of the Northwest who cared for my mother during this difficult time.
“I feel as though I could never capture the importance you all were to my mother and to me, who lost one of the most important persons in my life.
“The hospice care team – the doctor, nurse, social worker, care aid and spiritual counselor — all provided compassionate, comforting, and loving care. Every detail of care you gave, every word, every gesture, every smile, every phone call, was so profoundly important.
“My mother was 91 at the time of her passing. Her time with hospice was during the peak of COVID-19. If it were not for the hospice care team, it would have been difficult to obtain basic quality care and support for my mother. We were 50 minutes from an emergency room and urgent care clinics. All were crowded and fraught with risk, and hospitals were at capacity. Care for her anywhere but at home was not an option, especially with her rapid decline from pulmonary disease. My mother and I felt we were just a phone call away from guided or in-person help. The 24/7 availability of the hospice staff was a godsend.
“Additionally, I would like to thank the volunteers that called weekly to order supplies and communicate our needs to the team. All were kind, warm, and helpful. They provided a sense of caring connection through their weekly check-ins.
“I would especially like to thank our nurse case manager for being present at the time of my mother’s passing. She provided comfort and support, both confirming and validating, that all was done that could have been done to keep my mother comfortable and peaceful. I greatly appreciated her presence. Her kindness and pursuit of solutions to accommodate my mother’s needs reduced our everyday stresses.
“Thank you all for your dedication and selfless care for others. You are angels who are there when people need you most.”