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When I was first introduced to Hospice of Cincinnati, I knew very, very little about the organization, the philosophy, or the industry. I knew, for sure, we would be working together at some point.  And I had less than an hour to make a connection. Otherwise, I was headed to the airport to catch a late flight home.  

At 10:00 at night, I met a remarkable RN who rescued me from a reception desk and gently molded the chaos in my mind into a sense that everything was going to be alright.

My recruiter instincts kicked in at one point, and I asked, “Why are you doing this? I understand your work is important, but I’m not sure how hospice is a great career decision.”

The RN didn’t flinch. She looked directly at me, and said slowly and softly, “I do this because it’s an honor. Patients allow me to help them during one of the most important times of their lives.”

Well, I never did see that RN again. So, I called her a half a year later. At 10:00 at night, of course. I told her that she had been my role model for care giving during many of our absolute toughest hours.

And, during those absolute toughest hours, we had a deep certainty that we were at the right place, at the right time.

Indeed, I was thankful.

More To Do

Now, finally, I’m back home.

Predictably, I suppose, I’ve already noticed a new expansion of our local hospice.

I called.

The Learning Curve Starts Again.

At first, I knew nothing about hospice.

Just half a year later, perhaps I can be forgiven for only now discovering how many hospice facilities there are around the country.

It turns out, this is big.

Look around your community. Maybe you, too, can find a hospice organization worth supporting.

It really doesn’t matter if you start out clueless, like me. That part can be an advantage. It gives you fresh eyes.

What ultimately does matter is what you bring to the effort.

A hundred million of us will be checking out in the foreseeable future.

We’ve got a lot of reasons to get this right.