A Tribute to Jack Harrison and Mark Roeder

A Tribute to Jack Harrison and Mark Roeder

Hospice Austin recently lost two beloved employees, Maintenance Coordinator Mark Roeder, and Certified Nurse Assistant Jack Harrison. They both died unexpectedly, leaving the rest of us – usually so accustomed to death – feeling unmoored. Mark was with us a little...
Reflections on Camp Brave Heart

Reflections on Camp Brave Heart

This summer was my 26th time to attend Camp Braveheart.  Over the years I’ve played many roles:  director, small group facilitator, floater, trouble shooter, home-sickness whisperer.  Every year there is a moment at camp that pulls my heart so wide open I can barely...
How to support someone with a serious illness

How to support someone with a serious illness

Supporting a family member, friend, or client with a serious illness can be a daunting, painful, brutal, unrewarding task for anyone. It can also be one of the most connective, loving, engaging, and life-changing opportunities a person can experience. The difference...
Hospice Access for All

Hospice Access for All

When Matt Weiss had a heart attack, he didn’t even know it. He was in his 40s, in great shape, worked out every day, rarely even ate fast food. He didn’t go to the doctor, because he didn’t have insurance. A couple of months later, his feet – and shortly later his...
Night Shift

Night Shift

When the sun goes down, it gets scary for families of patients on hospice care, according to Hospice Austin On-Call Team Leader Aimee Alexander. Symptoms seem to get worse. People are tired and upset. The on-call staff working nights and weekends have to be prepared...
Welcome, Dana!

Welcome, Dana!

Dana lost her mother to leukemia a month before Dana graduated from nursing school. Shortly after embarking on her career, Dana read an article about a hospice forming in Central Texas, which prompted her to move to Austin. Hospice Austin was not yet admitting...
The MOST Time of Year

The MOST Time of Year

Hi Friends, Instead of this being the most wonderful time of the year, perhaps it’s really just the MOST time of the year, as a favorite podcaster of mine likes to say.  No month insists on cheerfulness more than this one.  It’s as if everything has been turned up a...
Joey Jimenez – A Season for Caring

Joey Jimenez – A Season for Caring

When Joe Jimenez was dying after suffering a heart attack and stroke in 2016, his 21-year-old son, Joey, promised his father that he would remain at home to look after his mother and younger brother. It was a responsibility he took seriously. “To Joey, family has...