In honor of National Social Work Month we took a few minutes to talk with Angela Hospice’s Director of Social Work and Bereavement, Rebecca DeRaud, to learn why this team works so well together, what it’s been like to watch them grow, and more. Check it out! Rebecca (top left) with the Angela Hospice bereavement team. How long have you worked here? Sixteen years this June. How many social workers were here when you started? There were three. There’s one remaining from then, besides me, and now there are 20 of us all together. What’s it been like to see that growth over the years? It’s been a phenomenal experience. In many ways I feel like we’re all growing up together. We’ve all watched each other and we’ve all helped each other become better clinicians, further each other’s professional development, and definitely personal development too. What makes an Angela Hospice social worker unique? What I think makes them unique is that they have excellent clin...

Do you love to shop for jewelry and support Angela Hospice? Then you’re in luck! On Thursday, April 7, from 5-8 p.m., Orin Jewelers is hosting Show Your Heart for Angela Hospice at its Northville Showroom. A portion of each purchase made at the event will be donated to Angela Hospice. Go ahead and get something sparkly for yourself or someone special to you! This would also be a perfect time to get something for Mother’s Day! Anyone who attends the event can earn the chance to win this blue druzy necklace and earring set from French designer Frederic Duclos! Value: $500.

Name: Mary Zelenock How long have you been a volunteer? About a year-and-a-half. What areas do you work in/what sort of tasks do you do as a volunteer? Patient care in the Care Center. Why did you decide to become a volunteer? I’m a retired RN and I always worked in intensive care with very sick patients. I loved that job but I was frequently with patients when they were dying and their families were there. I guess I was drawn to comforting people and doing whatever I could. I was never afraid of talking about passing away with the families or the patients. I think that kind of gave them some relief to be able to talk about it. What is your favorite part about volunteering? Being with the patients and their families. That truly is my favorite part. I enjoy the nurses and I admire Angela Hospice so much. I’ve never seen such a caring community. I like to be here in that atmosphere. Mary volunteers in the Care Center. What is one of your favorite s...

Name: Carmen Zatyko How long have you been a volunteer? Two-and-a-half years. What areas do you work in/what sort of tasks do you do as a volunteer? Patient care in the Care Center. Why did you decide to become a volunteer? I always used to drive past this place when I was working and I thought, someday I want to stop there and see if I can become a volunteer. So when I changed jobs I thought, I can come in here and do this now. So I did. I called and here I am. What is your favorite part about volunteering? What I get from the patients. I just love working with them. They are just amazing. Carmen volunteers on A-wing in the Care Center. What is one of your favorite stories or memories from volunteering? There are a lot of them. We have this patient now and when I feed him he says, “Carmen, I’ll love you forever and ever.” I said, “Really? That’s so sweet.” I would be feeding him and he would say, “I love you,” and I’d say, “I love you too.” I though...

Name: Ellen Wright How long have you been a volunteer? Since 2006. What areas do you work in/what sort of tasks do you do as a volunteer? Plays keyboards and brings dessert (her famous Ellen Bars) to weekly High Tea. Why did you decide to become a volunteer? I had a friend at my parish who was a volunteer here. When I retired she said I should volunteer here because she said that I would never meet nicer people. I thought, ‘What the heck?’ So I did. Ellen plays keyboards at our weekly teas. What is your favorite part about volunteering? The people that are here. What is one of your favorite stories or memories from volunteering? It’s just like the four of us [who do tea] are like a little family, and Syndie’s so great, and anybody I’ve met has just been really nice. One time I had to accompany the choir at an event…so that made a nervous wreck out of me. But it was really nice.

Kate Uberti’s mom, Helen Oakes, was able to spend her final days where she wanted to be: in her own home It was about ten minutes after the interview was scheduled to start when volunteer Kate Uberti showed up. She hadn’t hit traffic on the way or forgotten when it started, she just lost track of time talking with an Angela Hospice Care Center patient. “She was on a roll,” Kate laughed. “She’s dying but she’s still there and still wanting to make the most of her afternoon. So she was talking to me and we were laughing.” Helen celebrated her 90th birthday at Angela Hospice. For Kate, those conversations with patients are about much more than conversing; they’re about really listening. She believes everyone’s got a story and she wants to hear it. “I have learned things here that I’ve not been able to learn anywhere else in my life,” Kate said. “To me, that’s why this place is so special.” Getting to volunteer in the wing where her mom, Helen, was a patient in 2012 is pr...

Over the last 13 months Sarah Wiggins has learned a lot about hospice, but the most important thing wasn’t about procedures or medication; it was to be kind to herself. “There’s this self-doubt that you have,” Sarah said. “Am I doing the right thing for my mom? And they [hospice] have the ability, because they are a step back and look at the bigger picture, and say, ‘Yes, you’re doing the right thing.’” Nancy (right) and her grandchildren, Travis and Michelle. Sarah went through this struggle twice in the last year; first with her dad in December 2014, and then with her mom the following December. Her dad had gone into the hospital on a Monday because he was dizzy and disoriented. He was also extremely agitated and his health was declining. His conditioned worsened, and a few days later, doctors asked Sarah if she had thought about palliative care for him. “I said, ‘I want him to go. I want him to be with God,’” she said. “He wasn’t himself because he was so ag...