Amy was nominated by the TEAM at Wings of Hope Hospice

As Fundraising Coordinator, Amy Chestnut’s dedication helps Wings of Hope accomplish its mission and contributes significantly to our overall patient care needs. From making floats to lip syncing, Amy will do just about anything to support Wings of Hope Hospice and the Wings Home. Our annual auction (our largest fundraising event) is phenomenal because of her organizational skills. It seems that everyone who lives in our area knows who Amy is and trusts her to pull off first-rate events. She is a calm diplomat in helping everything to run smoothly – even in a crisis. We often enjoy her sense of humor. Amy provides compassionate and professional in-house support. She covers our main phone frequently and is always a friendly voice on the other end. When greeting the public at our front desk, she graciously makes sure the need is met. She oversees our web site and Facebook page. She is a steady and resourceful worker, always ready to help in any way she can. The excellent work that Amy does arises from who she is. If there is one word that sums her up, it is “humble.” Her presence is unassuming, yet full of joy. Her humility leads to her ethics. She treats everyone with respect and assumes the best about everyone. She finds the positive in each situation. Her genuine care for people is seen in her non-judgmental listening ability. Yet she often has a wise insight to help with a problem. There is something special about Amy Chestnut that cannot be summarized in one word. Amy is a calming presence, a true friend, a person with a warm heart and smile. She is just the kind of person a hospice needs. She is part of the positive energy in the room. To know Amy is to love her. As team members at Wings of Hope, we wholeheartedly nominate Amy Chestnut for the Langeland Hospice Caregiver Award. 

Barb was nominated by Scarlet O'Heran, Volunteer Coordinator - Heartland Hospice

Barb has been a volunteer with our organization for almost 16 years. Barb serves in the capacity of friendly visitor of hospice patients. She has an ability to meet patients where they are emotionally and physically. Her dedication, compassion, humility and service is an inspiration to our entire team here at Heartland. She was quoted to say "If I can share one special moment with a person in a song, a story, a laugh, or a smile, to help bring an atmosphere of dignity to a dying patient, then I have been blessed." Barb has walked with over 150 patients to the end of their life, with beauty, grace and love she continues to make a difference in those last days.

Katie was nominated by Cheryl Hawkes on behalf of the Poortenga Family

Katie was the first nurse we met when our Mom arrived at Rose Arbor. She was very gentle and loving with Mom and knew exactly how to help her. She had a sweet, caring, and a welcoming nature that was a blessing to our family during this difficult time. It was comforting that she was also the nurse with Mom when she passed. It takes a special, loving, caring person to work at a hospice facility and we are thankful for Katie and the blessings she brought to our family.

Thanks again.

Karen was nominated by Bonnie Langeland.

Karen went above and beyond caring for my aunt –

She was so helpful. Couldn’t have gotten thru some nights without her help.

Donna was nominated by Jack and Rosemary Nicewander.

Mrs. Coots made the enrollment very smooth, knows her job very well, and is a very Caring and Kind Hearted Person.

Wendy was nominated by Susan Henderson

Wendy, from SouthernCare Hospice was our mom’s Hospice nurse during her last 4-5 months of life. We appreciated Wendy’s availability, her patience with us when answering all our many questions and listening to our concerns. We also appreciated her willingness to look for solutions that fit not only our mom’s conditions but our desires for her comfort and care as well. She spoke with our mom and our family in a very direct but caring way, allowing us whatever time we needed to process or explain our thoughts and feelings as well as process our grief. Wendy arrived in my mom’s life at a time when her care was not going well - her medications were not being handled professionally or appropriately, and the Hospice team stepped in and skillfully took over that part of her care as part of their service. As a result, our mom’s medications were faithfully provided and monitored, and were often changed as mom’s physical decline warranted it. Wendy followed through regularly with the facility’s staff, training and explaining as she interacted with them, to ensure that our mom was receiving the best possible care. Shortly after my mom’s passing, Wendy came, and while only two family members were present at that time, she waited over an hour until my husband and I arrived before calling the funeral home to come and pick up our mom’s body. We greatly appreciated her giving us this extra time in her schedule – it allowed me the time to not only grieve my mom’s passing before her body was removed but allowed me the time to talk with Wendy as well – to achieve closure. I was the family member who was present for most of the Hospice visits, meaning I had a lot of interaction with Wendy, and her caring and compassion for me became very important to me. She is a gem. While our family is very grateful for all the folks at SouthernCare Hospice we are most grateful for Wendy sharing her life and her skills with us through a very difficult time. She poured into our family and showed a love for us and for my mom far above what many medical professionals share. She was a huge blessing to us and we thank her for loving my mom while caring for her, and for loving and caring for the rest of our family as well. Thank you, Wendy, and To God Be the Glory.

Kelli was nominated two separate families by Tarina Macklem and also by Cindy Johannes.

Kelli was our Mom’s hospice support. She spent extra time and extra care with Peggy. Her loving attitude made a very difficult time for us and Mom easier. She communicated every step of the way. Kelli would ask advice as well as listen to all Peggy’s idea. Anyone who has Kelli for care at a most difficult time is lucky to have her. That is why Kelli deserves every good thing that may happen to her.

Kelli cared for dad for 5 months. She is a very caring and giving person. She treated dad with great respect and that made him feel very special as he was on his final journey. Kelli saw dad 5 days a week for all his personal care and to feed him daily breakfast. She not only was there for dad but also for us his daughters. She prepared us for everything we should expect and taught us how to respond for every issue that dad should have. She was there also after work hours to check on dad and always made sure we knew how to contact her at home with any questions that might arise. She is very dedicated to her work but mostly to her clients. As this was our first experience with death, she certainly made things easier with her love and compassion. We would certainly request Kelli again if the need arose and suggest she be nominated for this award as she is very deserving of so much more. She was our angel in what has to be the most difficult time in ones life. Thank you Kelli, we love you very much!!!

Hilary was nominated by Donna Campbell.

Compassion, explanations, care, help, peace...These are all words that describes what I see when our Grace Hospice LMSW Hilary Smith is involved with her patient and their family or caregivers. Our Mission is for each employee to treat every patient as their own treasured loved one, providing care that affords a quality of life that outweighs quantity of days and supports caregivers as their hearts find healing. Hilary lives by this Mission, whether it be helping a patient get a scooter, having a 'last swim' for a patient in her lake that was brought inside, or just an ear to listen. Her compassion and understanding makes her a true advocate for the patients and families that we are privileged to serve in this most precious of times.

Lindsey was nominated by Bonnie Langeland.

Lindsey was nurse in charge of my Aunt – She went above and beyond to help us. Because of Lindsey and her group I was able to keep my Aunt at home (as I promised her) until she passed. Could not have done that without Great Lake, Lindsey and the other girls.

So Grateful – 

Sherline was nominated twice – once by Tom Zemrowski and again by The Dunfield Family.

All the staff at Rose Arbor are wonderful, caring people who truly do their very best for hospice residents and their families.

Sherline stands out among them to me as the most memorable. She was so kind and loving to my wife Carol. Sherline bathed her even stopped by after March 31 to visit each day. (On April 1st the staff rotated for the next 6 months to the east end of Rose Arbor).

Sherline is the best!

Sherline is SO kind and compassionate. She took fantastic care of my Dad when he was at Rose Arbor. She was wonderful!! She helped out our family and friends too. She always had a smile on her face. She’s ONE IN A MILLION! Right on :)