In the words of Joyce Robinson-Beck, “We never close.”

But she’s not employed at an all-night diner or 24-hour convenience store.

Robinson-Beck is a long-time registered nurse for Emmanuel Hospice, where the critical mission of providing personalized care and comfort doesn’t bow to the clock or calendar.

“No matter the hour of the day, no matter what time of year, people have needs, and it’s our privilege to serve them,” she says. “And that goes for holidays – Christmas and New Year’s included.”

Waiting to start hospice care until after the holidays is a common inclination, but hospice services can provide the necessary care and comfort to support both patients and their loved ones during what is already an overwhelming time of year. Having this support can enable families to focus more on cherishing their time together.

“Holidays are stressful enough,” Robinson-Beck says. “There are so many expectations already in place, and when you are in need of healthcare, that just intensifies the situation. So we make it our responsibility to be there, and in what can be the toughest of times.”

According to Robinson-Beck, Emmanuel strives to return a call for service within five minutes. The care team then does everything possible to respond to the need within an hour – which is a pretty tall order for a hospice organization whose service area translates to a 50-mile radius.

Just last winter during the holidays, Robinson-Beck recalls a situation where a patient’s daughter called late at night and needed to admit her mother for hospice care.

Despite a blizzard raging, “We were able to bring her meds, equipment and pretty much everything she needed to receive care in that daughter’s home rather than enter a hospital.”

Robinson-Beck says many calls received during the holidays – and after traditional daytime business hours in general – are from older caregivers who are unable to return a patient to their bed following a fall.

“That happens more than people realize,” she says. “These days, people are living longer, and it’s not unusual for a caregiver to be in their 70s or 80s or even 90s, and unable to lift that loved one.”

The reaction Emmanuel receives from its patients and caregivers?

“They’re incredibly grateful,” Robinson-Beck says. “They may be initially hesitant to call us during a holiday, for example, because they don’t want to be a bother. But when they realize this is something we do and want to do, they’re amazed, and it humbles us.”

For Robinson-Beck and many of her colleagues, stepping up at all hours of the day and times of the year isn’t just an obligation or duty.

“It fulfills the needs we have as caregivers ourselves,” she explains. “The way I see it, God gives us all gifts, and it’s on us to uphold that responsibility.”

Her job was made more complicated this past year due to the passing of a brother-in-law this past fall, an uncle seven months ago and her mother five months ago.

“I’ve been really sad since my mother passed away. But I know I have a job to do. And I can hear my mother’s voice whispering  ‘Go back to work, Joyce. You’re needed’.”

That work, says Robinson-Beck, “fills my cup, and there’s no bigger calling.”

Anyone can connect a loved one with Emmanuel Hospice. You don’t need a physician referral to begin the process. Visit EmmanuelHospice.org or call 616.719.0919 to learn more.

At Emmanuel Hospice, you might say Veterans Day is every day when it comes to providing patient care to those who have served in our country’s military.

Just ask Jim Parent, a mostly retired machine repairman, who never thought that his own service in the U.S. Marines more than a half century ago would set the stage for how he gives back to fellow veterans receiving end-of-life care.

“It was a couple of years ago when I turned to my wife, Mary, and said, ‘You know, I’m thinking of retiring, and she said, ‘Well, you might want to look into volunteering,’” Parent said.

So, he did. In exploring his options, Parent learned of something sponsored by Emmanuel Hospice dubbed its “veteran-to-veteran” program. Open to veterans and active-duty service members in West Michigan, the volunteer program offers an opportunity to provide companionship and support to veterans facing a life-limiting illness.

The first patient he saw was so disconnected from friends, family and community that, had it not been for Parent’s efforts, his funeral would have been attended by no one.

“He was in his late 50s, and even though we were fellow Marines, he didn’t want to talk about much at first,” Parent recalled. “He had children earlier in life, but I never saw any family or friends with him during my visits to his facility.”

Parent, whose own service was in Vietnam in 1969, was able to gain the vet’s trust in part by showing him magic tricks he learned via YouTube. Along the way, Parent had assured the veteran that when he passed, he would not be alone.

When he died on a cool day the next spring, Parent and four team members from Emmanuel attended his funeral at Fort Custer in Battle Creek.

“We were able to keep that promise, providing him a military funeral with a 21-gun salute,” he said. “I guess you could say Emmanuel was his family.”

Parent has since spent time with a half-dozen other veterans, whose stories are the stuff of legends, including one World War II vet who turns 102 soon and, at 100, was still piloting around his 400-plus horsepower Chevrolet Camaro.

Another WWII vet – also still living, at age 97 – grew up dirt-poor in a West Virginia coal-mining town and quit school at 14 because he was tired of being teased about his shoes, which were fashioned from cardboard and tape. He worked the mines until he was 17, then joined the U.S. Navy.

Parent says he receives more out of his volunteering than he gives.

“I get so much from their stories, and it makes me a better person, more aware of the different paths they walk, that we all walk,” he said. “I guess I’m cultivating a little empathy, too. And it’s a great learning experience.”

For his service, Emmanuel Hospice awarded him the Sister Gabriela Caring Spirit Award to honor him as the 2022 volunteer of the year.

Parent was humbled to receive the honor. The award recognizes a volunteer who carries with them the mission and vision of Emmanuel Hospice and who goes above and beyond with their compassion for patients and their families. It is named after Sister M. Gabriela Hilke, the founding visionary behind the creation of Emmanuel Hospice and the award’s first recipient.

“Jim embodies what we look for in all our team members and volunteers – the ability and willingness to go that extra mile for all the people we serve,” said Sara Lowe, Emmanuel Hospice executive director. “He’s an excellent example of all that we try to be, and to bring to our people.”

Emmanuel Hospice is seeking more volunteers for its veteran-to-veteran volunteer program, which is offered year-round for patients. Those who are interested may visit EmmanuelHospice.org/volunteer to learn more and register.

Grand Rapids, Michigan, Oct. 30, 2023 – Sara Lowe, executive director of Emmanuel Hospice, has been selected for the Grand Rapids 200 list.

Published by Crain’s Grand Rapids Business, Grand Rapids 200 is a comprehensive list of the most powerful executives in more than 20 industries in Grand Rapids. The list was compiled based on a number of factors, including the size of a given company or organization, growth rate, geographical reach and extensive personal contacts.

Lowe launched Emmanuel Hospice 10 years ago with the conviction that being on hospice doesn’t have to mean giving up hope. She has nurtured the nonprofit, which is growing into one of the premier hospice providers in Michigan.

The organization has grown from serving 50 patients in Kent County with a team of five in its first year to more than 600 patients in eight counties with a team of nearly 90 today. The nonprofit also provides free grief counseling and support services annually to more than 1,500 community members.

Lowe has received several accolades during her career. She was most recently named one of Michigan’s 50 most influential Women in 2022 and was an ATHENA Young Professional Finalist in 2018.

Lowe serves as a board chair of the Michigan HomeCare & Hospice Association and has served on the North Kent Aquatic Team board for seven years, most recently as president.

A licensed master social worker since 2007, Lowe earned her both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from Grand Valley State University.

Originally from Zeeland, she now resides in Grand Rapids with her husband, Elliott, and children, Avery and Hudson.

About Emmanuel Hospice

Emmanuel Hospice is an interfaith provider of compassionate, person-centered hospice care to patients and their loved ones in West Michigan. Serving the community since 2013, the nonprofit draws on a team approach that focuses holistically on mind, body and spirit, working to enhance each patient’s life with a combination of expert medical care, spiritual counseling and complementary therapies – because hospice is more about living than dying. Emmanuel Hospice has expanded to serve all of Kent and Ottawa counties and portions of Allegan, Barry, Newaygo, Ionia, Montcalm and Muskegon counties. For more information, visit EmmanuelHospice.org.

 

Grand Rapids, Michigan, Oct. 16, 2023 – Melissa Page, director of clinical services for Emmanuel Hospice, has been selected as a member of the 2023 class of 40 Under 40 business leaders by Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.

Page will be recognized for her business and community leadership alongside 39 other West Michigan leaders younger than 40 during an awards program Oct. 18. Since 1991, Crain’s City Brands have gathered 40 of the community’s overachievers for a special salute. Past winners have started companies, climbed the corporate ranks and made nonprofits stronger while giving back to the community and mentoring others.

Page joined Emmanuel Hospice in 2018 with more than 10 years of nursing experience. As director of clinical services, she assists in the strategic planning and growth of Emmanuel Hospice through the management of patient care. She also oversees quality assurance and leadership growth initiatives, assists with program development and manages multi-departmental budgets, among other responsibilities.

In addition, Page serves as a state hospice representative. She consulted with the state of Michigan on rewriting certification rules for certified nursing assistants, or CNAs, which increased access to certification and benefitted those who hold or were aspiring to hold this licensure. She also plays active roles in health care associations statewide and nationally, as well as community organizations.

Her nomination read in part: “Melissa has mentored countless health care professionals, influenced legislation changes through public policy advocacy and touched the lives of numerous community members through her own patient care.

“The pairing of her nursing experience with nonprofit leadership expertise has made her into a multifaceted leader able to confidently provide strategic direction over organizational operations, facilitate team member development and oversee quality management to better serve patients.”

Page previously served as director of nursing for Brookcrest-Sunset Retirement Communities and director of clinical services at St. Ann’s Home. In these positions, Page coordinated resident care and managed clinical care. These roles provided her the opportunity to chair committees that improved local process for health care as well as statewide legislation around skilled nursing and post-acute care.

Page earned a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis on health care leadership from Youngstown State University and a nursing home administrator license from Ferris State University.  She also holds a bachelor’s in nursing from the University of Michigan, associate degree in nursing from Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

She lives in Kent City with her husband, Ross, and children, Lexi, Austin, Gavin and Maddux.

About Emmanuel Hospice

Emmanuel Hospice is an interfaith provider of compassionate, person-centered hospice care to patients and their loved ones in West Michigan. Serving the community since 2013, the nonprofit draws on a team approach that focuses holistically on mind, body and spirit, working to enhance each patient’s life with a combination of expert medical care, spiritual counseling and complementary therapies – because hospice is more about living than dying. Emmanuel Hospice has expanded to serve all of Kent and Ottawa counties and portions of Allegan, Barry, Newaygo, Ionia, Montcalm and Muskegon counties. For more information, visit EmmanuelHospice.org.

Marcy Kiger is only one of many at Emmanuel Hospice who can attest to the importance of caring not only for patients receiving hospice care, but friends and loved ones on the journey with them.

“Right from the start, we like to emphasize that we’re here to care for anyone else who needs the support, because grief is not an isolated experience,” she says. “It grows roots and spreads, and everybody deals with it differently. By opening the door, folks are able to take that first step.”

As a social worker with Emmanuel, Kiger has noticed that especially in the Midwest, people can be more stoic than elsewhere, and that grief and loss aren’t easy topics to broach and discuss.

“So, we tell folks they’re the drivers of the bus, and we are the wheels,” Kiger says. “We’ll go as fast as they want.”

Kiger shares that friends and family of people in hospice care are sometimes surprised to hear a clinician or therapist turn to them and ask, “What about you? How are you doing?”

In asking just that, a pause often surfaces during which they can “recalibrate their brain and allow them to be OK with dwelling on whether they’re struggling with the journey.

“It’s real important for us to check in on them to make sure they’re having those moments,” she says, “and even if they’re brief, it’s important to know where they are and how they’re doing.”

Some tips for loved ones dealing with an impending loss? First, be brave enough to admit you’re having a tough time, because acknowledging it is a big first step.

Second, if you need to talk, seek out a good listener. Emmanuel’s staff is trained to meet you where you are, and help you cope with virtually anything. The nonprofit offers bereavement counseling for up to 13 months after a patient passes.

“That one-year anniversary can bring up a lot of feelings,” Kiger says.

At Emmanuel, caring for people surrounding the patient begins almost immediately.

“We assess the bereavement needs of family members,” Kiger says, “and then we might suggest it would be beneficial to talk with someone on our team if they’d like to do that.”

Kiger and her colleagues pay attention to a lot of factors and also look for clues that will help them counsel friends and family.

“We consider how close they are to the patient, if they have kids, if they are working full time and whether there have been any other deaths or traumatic events in the family lately. All of that might figure into their stress level.”

Dealing with feelings can be tougher on some than others, but Kiger says being open and honest about what you’re experiencing can help you move forward.

“Sometimes, we’re dealing with years and years of learning what is right and what is wrong to express,” she says. “To help them with their struggle, at least we can point out those different doors to consider.”

Emmanuel Hospice’s grief support services are open to anyone in the community on a grief journey regardless of whether they have a prior connection with the nonprofit organization or hospice care. More information is available at EmmanuelHospice.org/grief-support.

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