The Langeland Family Funeral Homes began recognizing Hospice Caregivers and the amazing work they do. In 2016 as they began selecting a Hospice Caregiver each month from nominations submitted on behalf of those who want to recognize a special Hospice Caregiver. On October 9, 2024, Langeland Family Funeral had the privilege of recognizing another year of exceptional Hospice Caregivers. Since December 2015 Langeland Family Funeral Homes has given people in our community the opportunity to recognize how a Hospice Caregiver goes above and beyond in their hospice care. These individual awards are presented monthly to a worthy hospice caregiver and every October the monthly winners are invited to enjoy a special evening recognizing their special contributions and to be present for the award of the Langeland Hospice Caregiver of the Year.
This year Heather Phillips, a social worker at Heartland Hospice, was selected as the Langeland Hospice Caregiver for 2024. She initially received the monthly Langeland Hospice Caregiver Award for June 2024. She was nominated by Jackie Kline, the Bereavement Coordinator for Heartland Hospice. Jackie shared this in her nomination, how Heather is known for responding to the comment that she has a busy day ahead, she says, “That means I get to help more people”.
Heather has worked at Heartland Hospice since July 2023. She was attracted to work in hospice care because of her strong passion for working with the elderly population and supporting families through the end of life; helping her patients have the best quality of life through this difficult time. Heather says the most gratifying part of her work is forming relationships with patients, which often means becoming part of their family. She finds it especially difficult when a patient does not have any family of their own, so she and her team do their best to support them and become like a family to them. Heather shared a very special connection she made with one patient who needed to move into a facility where she could receive 24-hour care. It took several conversations to help her agree to the move since she had been living alone for the past 35 years and was very anxious about this transition. After the move, Heather visited her and found the facility had placed a roommate in her patient’s room. Heather anticipated this could be a very hard challenge for someone who is used to living by themselves.
When Heather asked how this was going the patient responded with overwhelming thanks because her new roommate had become the best friend the patient had ever had. She added that if Heather had not helped her make this essential transition, she never would have met her Best Friend. Heather attended the Hospice Caregiver Award Banquet with her husband David and her Grandma Judy who have been such a great support to her over the years. It was so special to be able to share the evening with these amazing people. Heather lives in Paw Paw with her husband David and her stepchildren Andrew and Ava. Currently Heather is continuing her education towards a Master of Social Work. She enjoys spending time with her family and in her spare time, she volunteers as a softball coach and enjoys interactions with people of all ages.
Finally, Heather talks about how working in Hospice reminds her of the importance of staying in the moment and helps her focus on what the most important things in life are. She tries to live each day with this in mind: Tomorrow is never promised, and each day is a gift.
If you know of a hospice caregiver who is exceptional in their work, you can nominate them for the monthly Hospice Caregiver Award by going to Langelands.com and clicking on Hospice Caregiver Award or by going into any of the Langeland locations and filling out a nomination form.
