Name: Julie Schaffer, Spiritual Care Coordinator How long have you worked here? Eight-and-a-half years working and did her internship here prior to that. What made you decide to work here? When I was in grad school and looking for a place to do an internship, three different complete strangers in the same week all talked to me about Angela Hospice. So I thought, I’ve gotta go there and see it. I called the spiritual care supervisor at the time and came in and met with her. It went really well and she said we’d love to have you do your internship here; so that’s how I ended up here for that. Then I worked for another hospice that closed and merged with Angela Hospice. We had the opportunity to interview for jobs here and there was a job in the Spiritual Care Department available then, so that’s how I came back. What’s a typical day like for you? As far as patient care, there’s never anything typical; it’s always different. (laughs) But in the morning I always g...

Name: Paul Esser How long have you been a volunteer? A year-and-a-half. What areas do you work in/what sort of tasks do you do as a volunteer? Bereavement, spiritual care, mailings, and events. Hopes to get more involved with the We Honor Veterans program and direct patient care. What made you decide to become a volunteer? Well, for one thing, I’m retired. I truly appreciate the work of hospice; I’m all for what they do here, you know, helping people to pass with as much comfort as possible, helping the families. That’s something our society doesn’t do very well, so it’s nice to have a place like a hospice here. Why Angela Hospice? I’ve heard so much about it. I guess you could say my father was among the first people when they were starting hospice. They were still over in the hospital area and he was sort of being treated as an outpatient. That was the first year they were trying to get it started. So he died in my sister’s home but he would get his medic...

Angela Hospice is honored to be selected as one of four charities to benefit from Meadowbrook Country Club’s centennial celebration. As part of their 100 th anniversary, Meadowbrook has embarked on a member campaign to raise $100,000 to support local charities. In addition to Angela Hospice, CATCH, Bridgepointe, and Main Street League will benefit from members’ generosity. For decades, through the connection and kindness of its members, Meadowbrook Golf and Country Club has been a blessing and influence in the care of Angela Hospice’s patients and families. Club members have served as personal caregivers, active volunteers, pace-setting donors, and outspoken advocates for our charitable programs. The Meadowbrook centennial charity effort will continue that tradition of partnership toward the common good, supporting specialized elements of care for military veterans, for terminally ill children and their families, as well as unequalled free-of-charge bereavement and counseli...

On a muggy day in June, where you could almost grab the humidity by the handful, Cathy Wood did something she thought would end in tears: talk about her dad’s passing. “I was really close to my dad so I’m still struggling with this,” Cathy said as she got out notes about her experience with Angela Hospice. She didn’t want to miss a detail. If she was so nervous, why do the interview? “I feel like this is the last thing I can do for my dad…to say how good you guys were to him,” she said. Cathy, holding the letter her dad received from his We Honor Veterans ceremony. Cathy’s journey with Angela Hospice started last Christmas when her mom told her that her dad, Pete, was really sick and she wanted to take him to the hospital. Cathy wanted to wait until Monday so they could call his doctor, which they did. Pete’s physician told them there wasn’t anything further he could do for Pete and that they needed to be looking at hospice. Pete had been a cancer patient for over ...

Name: Jeanie Pritt How long have you been a volunteer? Since 2014. What areas do you work in/what sort of tasks do you do as a volunteer? Mainly mailings and helped with a marketing project last year. What made you decide to become a volunteer? I really believe in volunteerism. I worked full-time until I was 68 and during that time I would also volunteer, especially when my children were smaller. I think that’s kind of the backbone of America. Why Angela Hospice? The reason that I chose Angela Hospice was because when it was built in 1993 I lived across the street in the subdivision. When I would be on my way to teach I would think, “Ok, when I’m old and gray I can volunteer over there and read to patients.” I had thought of myself as being involved with the patients; but here, 40 years later, I’ve been involved with a lot of patients and people in the family who have passed away, so I knew that what I would be better suited for was the administrative part. ...

Name: Dr. James Boal, Medical Director How long have you worked here? 16 years and six days. What made you decide to work here? When I was in medical school and residency I had an interest in hospice, which I had developed by spending time with Dr. John Finn in hospice care at Hospice of Michigan. I came to Angela Hospice as part of a rotation for one of my senior year residencies and he mentioned that they paid a substantial amount for doctors on an hourly basis, so I did moonlighting here my senior year. This was 2000 and that year the entire medical community underwent a financial change where hospitals stopped employing doctors. So lots of opportunities had disappeared and dried up. Sister Giovanni was very generous and turned my moonlighting position into a full-time job. And I never left. How had you heard of Angela Hospice? I had actually worked with Hospice of Michigan a lot and for this particular rotation I was required to go to a hospice and I t...

Very few musicians would be happy to look out into the audience and see someone falling asleep. For Angela Hospice volunteer Kay Rowe someone falling asleep while she plays her dulcimer means she’s doing her job right. “I’ve seen a lot of people when I start out that are fidgeting,” Kay said. “Then you start to play for them and they just kind of relax. Sometimes people say they don’t think they can stay awake and I’ll tell them that isn’t required.” Kay has been playing the dulcimer, which is a string and percussion instrument, for the last ten years. With the hammer she uses the dulcimer sounds almost like a harp, helping comfort patients and their families with its soothing sound. Kay said a lot of dulcimer music is played fast and for dance, but Kay’s isn’t. Hers is played primarily to help relax those she’s playing for. It’s meant to be therapeutic. Kay plays the dulcimer once a week in the Care Center. She brings her very unique skills to the Care Center every ...