Employee Spotlight: Bernadine Hillman

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Name, title: Bernadine Hillman, Home Care Aide/CHPNA

How long have you worked here?
Over 12 years.

What made you decide to work here?
When I was working for a home care agency that was located in Livonia they had assigned me a patient that had dementia, and she was on hospice, and she passed. I didn’t realize how emotionally attached I had become to her until her daughter told me she was dying…so that’s when I decided ok, I think that’s my calling; to get into hospice. And I’m glad I did.

How had you heard of Angela Hospice?
Through a CNA program that I was taking at the time, they had listed some different agencies that were hiring.

Bernadine has worked at Angela Hospice for over 12 years.
What’s a typical day like for you?
I go to my first visit, where I’m welcomed by the family, or the patient if they stay alone. Then I get them prepared for their personal care, setting out what I would need to give them a bath or assist them in the shower. Then I move on to my next patient and basically the same thing happens all over again until the end of the day.

What is your favorite part about working at Angela Hospice?
Making the patients and their families happy.

What is one of your favorite memories from your time at Angela Hospice?
There was one particular couple -- they were in their nineties and had been married over 70 years -- and the gentleman was on hospice. He had some type of ailment that caused him to hemorrhage, which he couldn’t control and couldn’t stop. So when that time came his wife knew and he already knew it wasn’t going to be long before he passed. When he started hemorrhaging, the nurse was there to slow down the bleeding by applying pressure. He told his wife, “I love you.” That was so touching because he knew that he didn’t have too much longer.

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