Jenna Knowles was nominated for the Langeland Hospice Caregiver Award by her Colleagues at Wings of Hope Hospice.

Left to Right: Dana Naumann, Bereavement Care Coordinator, Langeland Family Funeral Homes Burial & Cremation Services; Rachel Johnson, Registered Nurse - Director, Grace Hospice; and Greg Langeland, Funeral Director, Langeland Family Funeral Homes Burial & Cremation Services.

Rachel received the Hospice Caregiver Award for August.

Thank you Rachel for all you do as an exceptional Caregiver and we especially recognize how you have gone above and beyond during the pandemic!

Rachel received The Crystal Heart Award and a gift card to be used for whatever she would like.

Lisa Matthews received two nominations one by Amy Block and another by Sandra DeYoung for the care of their family members for the Langeland Hospice Caregiver Award.

The care that my mom received from Lisa was truly outstanding. She answered our questions without making us feel like they were unimportant. Lisa was gentle and patient with my mom. She took her time with us and was very thorough in her explaining of my mom’s situation. Her honesty and patience with me and my questions and confusion truly showed me how wonderful she is.

Lisa – Her loving care was much appreciated. She is tender and considerate of her patient and their family. She is professional. Answered the phone and questions we had. Came when we needed her. We really appreciated her kind and loving spirit and help through these difficult times! Thanks so much for your help!

Left to Right: Dana Naumann, Bereavement Care Coordinator, Langeland Family Funeral Homes Burial & Cremation Services & Lisa Matthews, Registered Nurse, Centrica Care Navigators

Lisa received the Hospice Caregiver Award for July.

Thank you Lisa for all you do as an exceptional Caregiver and we especially recognize how you have gone above and beyond during the pandemic!

Lisa received The Crystal Heart Award and a gift card to be used for whatever she would like.

Jo An Mowry was nominated for the Langeland Hospice Caregiver Award by Nonie Knight.

Jo An was an answer to an unspoken prayer. This was our first time to use Hospice Care and my family and myself couldn’t have known we would receive such loving, caring and special care.

Jo An was always there when she said she would come. She took care of my husband like he was a beloved family member of her own. She also helped us accept and know what to expect and how to handle it. Her strong faith in the Lord Jesus came through in everything she did. She prayed with us and inwardly wept with us.

She was such a strong support for me. I thank God every day for her and hope to continue our friendship for many months.

Joy Coffey was nominated for the Langeland Hospice Caregiver Award by Nancy Lyon.

As I like to call her Joy, Joy, Joy! I nominate my work friend and colleague, Joy as she not only brings joy and her calmness and beautiful smile and tool belt (very organized by the way) with her every day. Always going out of her way for the patients as far as doing their laundry when they don't have a working washer and dryer.. and much more.. Also making the patients feel at ease with wit and fun and her caring heart at the same time. Always thinking how she can make the patient most comfortable. Or if not her, other disciplines at Wings of Hope Hospice that would be able to reach out to the patient. She also is a wonderful Mom of 6 grown children raised and homeschooled them and are flourishing and such a big part of her life. She has taught me alot about family. I'm so grateful to of been blessed with her as a teammate. Many of us are. 

Robin Barrett was nominated for the Langeland Hospice Caregiver Award by Gayle Mahieu.

Robin was the kindest and most caring nurse I have seen. When my mom (Helen Goldsmith) was at Glen Arbor she would sit in her room and talk to her while she charted. She listened to my mom’s stories about her travels and things from her past. She even got a kick out of the fact that she was charting in the hall and turned around and my mom was standing there. She was always very patient with my mom and that wasn’t always easy since she could be very confused. I am so glad she went to Glen Arbor as her care was excellent. 

Winnie received two nominations for the Langeland Hospice Caregiver Award by Marsha Love and Beverly Nyhuis.

My mother, Ruth Veld was at Rose Arbor for almost six weeks. (Passed away January 16, 2022) Miss Winnie immediately bonded with my mother. Winnie's contagious smile was what my mother needed on her first day at Rose Arbor. Naturally, mother was scared, but Winnie's outgoing personality, respect, kindness and love welcomed my mother, as she (mother) began her last life chapter. Mother looked forward to the days/shift Winnie was working.....it did not take long, before Winnie felt like part of our family. Not only was Winnie there for our mother, but also for our family. Near the end of my mother's journey, my sweet out of town sister was having a rough day while visiting our mother, Winnie hugged and supported my sister as well. My fondest Winnie memory: holding mother's hand, while singing "Amazing Grace". 

Winnie was our angel! Her care for our mother and to me (daughter) was such a Blessing. Towards the end of my mom’s life journey, she ministered to her in song. She sang: “you are my sunshine” and “Amazing Grace” several times, as she tended to her needs. I had a meltdown one day and she hugged me & wiped my tears. I was alone that day and felt anguished & afraid. Winnie Lifted me up!!! She showed genuine Love & Compassion the 6 weeks my mom was there. I know God will Bless her for her good works!

Andrew Lowden was nominated for the Langeland Hospice Caregiver Award by Scarlet O'Heran.

I am nominating Andrew Lowden because of his dedication to serve. Many people have withdrawn from serving others, due to the legitimate fear of illness, but Andrew has continued to volunteer in homes, open facilities, and anywhere a patient needs companionship or support. Andrew is there for our patients and families for respite relief, friendship, end of life care, and much more. Whatever it is, he is willing. He always exceeds expectations with his communication and people skills. He has a natural ease with his patients and is accepting of where they are at in life and meets them at that place. He comes alongside them as a friend and confidant, and is willing to go out of his way to improve and enhance their lives. Andrew comes to us via Scotland; we are very fortunate to have him as our citizen and our constant reminder that you can always do more for people. He is an inspiration, a light to those around him, and we could not be more thankful to have him as a volunteer. 

Nikki is my mom’s home health aide. Knowing my concerns/fears about the things I need to learn to care for my mom in her final days…. Things I have never done, nor expected to do, Nikki jumped in as both a kind and helpful caregiver to my mom as she gently bathed her (always quietly explaining what she was doing) AND as a patient teacher to me. As a hospice caregiver, Nikki has a heart the size of Texas and a disposition that brings out the smiles and humor in what is often a dismal situation. I couldn’t be more grateful for her tender care of my mom in her last days and her equally tender care of me as I strived to provide the care that allowed my mom to spend these days in familiar surroundings, her home, with my dad and visits from all the family who loved her so.

Art Bryan was nominated by Carol Goldsmith-Moore for the Langeland Hospice Caregiver Award.

Art was a big comfort to both my mother-in-law as well as myself and my daughter. I know my mother-in-law enjoyed his visits and he was able to offer her solace and reassurance. When she was near the end he came to her bedside within a short time when we called. The prayers and bible verses he said with us were very consoling. He has since called to see how I am doing and continued to offer consolation.

Art received the Hospice Caregiver Award for December.

Thank you Art for all you do as an exceptional Caregiver and we especially recognize how you have gone above and beyond during the pandemic.

Art received The Crystal Heart Award and a gift card to be used for whatever he would like.

Ashely was nominated by Jacque Annen for the Langeland Hospice Caregiver Award.

I would like to nominate Ashley Fort for the Hospice service award. From the time she walked into our house she had my husband Ed, believing that she was there to give him the best care possible. She knew how to engage in conversation with him and not be intimidated because he could be pretty blunt. When he asked her questions about her care for him she was very straightforward. She had a fun sense of humor, which he loved. She even made friends with our dog. As the weeks went on and he experienced more pain, she was so gentle, even though what she had to do was difficult. I never felt like she was trying to just do her job, but she stayed as long as we needed her. She even called me after Ed had passed to give her sympathy and talk about how she enjoyed taking care of Ed. We could not have gone through this difficult journey without her. 

Scarlet O'Heran was nominated for the Langeland Hospice Caregiver Award by Catherine Foster.

I am nominating Scarlet O'Heran for the Caregiver award. I have served at two hospice locations, and while I have had the privilege to meet the most outstanding people in this field, I have never met anyone with such a giving spirit and loving heart as Scarlet. She shines through the amount of care she gives to those around her; whether it is her volunteer team, her co-workers, her family or the patients in hospice, Scarlet approaches everyone in her life with a smile. I have been enriched by knowing her, and she is such an inspiration to me both personally and as a volunteer in hospice. I am on the front lines in my interactions with patients, and I sometimes wonder how we will get resources for them. Scarlet never complains, and I often find out later that it was through her efforts that people received what they needed, even though it fell outside of her duties to do so. Scarlet regularly works long hours, even once leaving a family gathering in a different state and driving for hours to make sure a patient had a friendly visit when another volunteer fell through. This kind of commitment to patient care is so rare, but Scarlet does this without resentment and with a genuine heart for the wellbeing of her patients. I am continually in awe of her and inspired by her energy and the love she pours into her job, which is clearly a calling for her. I am honored to know her, and I try to model myself after her. I can only imagine that when this award was created, it was with the sole purpose to give it to someone with her exact qualities. I humbly submit that you can do no better for a recipient, and I ask you to please bestow it upon this very deserving woman for all that she does for her community with the innumerable thanks of those whose lives she has enriched.

Cally Matherly was nominated for the Langeland Hospice Caregiver Award by Karen Bainbridge.

Cally was my mother's primary Hospice Nurse while she was in Kairos Dwelling. Staff at Kairos mentioned that Mom was unusually restless this particular morning and had difficulty breathing when they were bathing her. Mom's oxygen saturation was abnormally low in spite of having supplemental oxygen. Fortunately, Cally came to see Mom early in the morning. She looked for kinks in the hose and found none. She kept searching and discovered the top to the humidifier bottle was cross threaded. They had just filled the jar that morning. Cally also stopped in on her day off to check on Mom! On one of her visits I noticed her looking at Mom with such compassion that it brought tears to my eyes. She was very kind to me and kept me informed as to Mom's status. 

Left to Right:  Dana Naumann, Bereavement Care Coordinator, Langeland Family Funeral Homes Burial & Cremation Services; Cally Matherly, Registered Nurse, Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan & Tyler Langeland, Licensed Funeral Director, 4th Generation Family Employee.

Cally received the Hospice Caregiver Award for September.

Thank you Cally for all you do as an exceptional Caregiver and we especially recognize how you have gone above and beyond during the pandemic.

Cally received The Crystal Heart Award and a gift card to be used for whatever she would like.