“Hospice care is my calling. This is me. This is who I am.”
— Lidia, Hospice Aide Supervisor and Clinical Coordinator
Lidia started as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). That was eight years ago. Today, she is a Hospice Aide Supervisor and Clinical Coordinator and one of the longest-tenured members of the Minnesota Hospice team. She has watched the organization grow, welcomed dozens and dozens of new team members, and been present for some of the most tender and difficult moments a healthcare professional ever faces.
Since the day she started, Lidia’s passion for hospice care has not wavered.
I’m proud of where I’m at. But I’m mostly proud that I still have the passion and love of hospice.”
— Lidia, Hospice Aide Supervisor and Clinical Coordinator
Her passion for hospice care has deep roots. Lidia lost her father the summer she graduated from high school, when she was just 17. Losing him that young has never left her, and it is what led her to hospice. What she understands now about helping people at the end of life is exactly what she wishes her father could have had, and it is why she believes no other family should go through end-of-life without hospice.
“I think of my dad a lot,” she says. “I didn’t understand hospice then the way I do now. So I provide that compassion to everyone else I serve.”
Lidia brings the same care into every patient room. She listens. She communicates gently. And she always asks three simple questions.
“How can I help? What can I do to make you more comfortable? How can I help make you feel safe and not scared?”
— Lidia, Hospice Aide Supervisor and Clinical Coordinator
Lidia has a specific goal she sets for herself on every visit. When she leaves, she wants the patient to look peaceful. She wants the family to walk back into the room and see their loved one looking calm.
“I’ve gotten feedback where I go do the visit, and when the family comes back in, they say: they look very peaceful,” Lidia says. “That is my goal. Every time.”
As a supervisor, Lidia teaches new CNAs to bring the same heart and compassion to patient care that she does.
“You’ve got to have the heart, you’ve got to have the passion, you’ve got to truly care.”
— Lidia, Hospice Aide Supervisor and Clinical Coordinator
She also spends time correcting a misunderstanding she encounters often, especially in her own community, where hospice is rarely discussed.
“Hospice is not what it seems,” she says. “It’s not what you might hear. It’s just extra support. As healthcare providers, we are a guest. We’re coming in to help in whatever way we can.”
Eight years later, the mission is the same, the values are the same, and so is the compassionate care she brings to every visit.
For ten years, the heart of Minnesota Hospice has not changed. People like Lidia are the reason. As Lidia puts it:
“Hospice care is my calling. This is me. This is who I am.”
— Lidia, Hospice Aide Supervisor and Clinical Coordinator
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