Hospice For Utah is defined by its staff. Our quality of care and commitment to integrity is created by a team of professionals who have an extraordinary spirit and vision. Providing hospice care is an extremely meaningful and life-changing position to have and Hospice For Utah tries to go the extra mile to take care of our employees. We offer a fun, relaxing, and inspiring retreat every year to help employees recharge. We encourage team-building and communication in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. On this page we would like to share some of our experiences with you.

These pictures were from our first annual 2009 Staff and Family Trip to Lagoon.

Staff pictures from years past.

Employee Experiences

I Love My Job
I love my job because I work with people at the climax of their lives when meaning and wisdom of their life experience runs deep.  I have the blessing of experiencing that wealth.  I have loved bringing comfort and peace to their final days and I truly grow to love each one of them I serve. 

-Debi Poulsen, RN

What I Have Learned
In working with hospice patients, I have learned that tomorrow is an expectation for most but promised to none.  I have learned that what we do with today matters and that living life to the fullest is much more than a cliché.  I have learned that physical proximity isn’t enough. We must always be present with those around us because time is anything but fickle.  Most importantly, I have learned true purpose. 

-Alethea Martinez, Administrator

Miracle of Love
As I arrived in the parking lot of the nursing facility I was surprised to see my friend Julie (the Director of Nursing) pacing back and forth in front of the building. She was happy to see me and asked, “How did you know?”
“How did I know what?” was my response.
“John is slipping away very quickly and Mary has gone to a doctor’s appointment.”
Mary had promised John she would be by his side every minute until the day he would leave. But recently she had been in an accident breaking both of  her legs. On this day, it was necessary that she go and was the only time she had left John’s side for months of his illness. Julie led me to John’s room with the assignment of keeping him earthbound until Mary arrived. Though unresponsive, our spirits connected with the understanding that Mary would arrive shortly to keep her promise of being present.
A brief while later as Mary was wheeled into the room by her two daughters, an air of extraordinary love entered with them. As both of Mary’s broken legs were in casts,  she was quite immobile. She then made an unusual request, “Chaplain Buckley, could you please place me on my husband’s lap?”
John was seated in a recliner which helped with his breathing. Though the two daughters were concerned, I indicated I would be happy to do so. Accompanied by angels, I accomplished the task.
Mary softly kissed John on the forehead and said, “I love you.” Then another kiss on the cheek with the same words. Then another on his nose and his eye, each time repeating the words “I love you”.
The daughters and I shed a quiet tear as we exited the room realizing we had just experienced the miracle of love.
John died three hours later filled with love and Mary by his side.

-An experience by Chaplain Gaylen Buckley,

My Brother
During my time at hospice I have learned many things; not only about the people that I have taken care of but about people in general- from the people I meet on the street to my coworkers and most of all, about myself. The lessons I have learned seem to be from an infinite supply which I hope I never stop learning from. When I think back on it all, the first thing that comes to mind is a story about someone I really loved. Not too long ago, a person came into my life through work that loved me and in return I loved him. When I first started working with him, he was not that much older than me so it was easy to get to know him. We had a similar childhood so we could relate to each other on many levels. There were other aspects of us that were different too, like him having a wife and son whereas I did not. The thing we would talk about most was unconditional love and how he, after having his son understood how it felt to give that to someone. He also felt like he had never been loved unconditionally by someone. He would come back to it time and time again until one day he asked if I loved him. I replied, "Of course, you're my partner". We went on for months getting closer and I would stay after work and help him outside because his family could not handle seeing him deteriorate as he was. After the cancer took his sight, I thought, at times, that he would mistake me for one of his brothers. Before I left every day, I would say, "See ya', partner". On the days I had off I would go over to his house and make sure he was doing well. One time some other people from Hospice For Utah and I helped him and his family have a big barbeque. After that he told me how much he loved me. I thought he was just thinking I was one of his brothers and I told him I loved him too. We continued sharing this sentiment with each other for a few weeks as I thought it was good for him to feel loved. Then one day he had me sit on his bed and after I said, "See ya', partner", he again said he loved me. I said, "I love you too". He did not want me to go but as I had to leave I told him I was not his brother. His reply was that he knew I was not his brother, I was his partner and he loved me like I was one of his brothers. When I did leave that day, I realized how much he meant to me. Not too long after that he passed away but every day I saw him before he died I would say, "I love ya', partner".
-Nolan Oliver, Hospice For Utah Certified Nursing Assistant

An Angel
One day I was called to help a patient with a coworker. When we got there we were immediately put to work. As we were leaving, I asked to give the patient a kiss and as I did the patient's wife told him he had just been kissed by an angel.
-Amanda Hackett, Hospice For Utah Certified Nursing Assistant