My mother was under the care of Carle Hospice starting in January. She steeply declined in recent weeks and on a Friday it was obvious that she could no longer be kept at home and primarily cared for by myself and other family, so we arranged for Mom to go to the AC Nursing Home in Roanoke on Monday. On Saturday, it was clear that Mom’s needs were beyond our abilities, and getting her through the rest of the weekend at home would be impossible. In desperation, I called OSF Hospice and Anna Schmitt said she would help me, if possible, and in the interim she coached me to call 911 and take Mom directly to Methodist Hospital and ask for their onsite hospice coordinator and let them know Mom was one of their hospice patients and that she would work on a backup plan for me and that she would call me back. While I was riding in the front seat of an ambulance Anna called me back and said we could take Mom to Richard Owens if necessary and to call her back and let her know what we decided to do. I immediately felt relief knowing we had a solid backup plan. We were told that no one at the Carle hospital could help us, so I called Anna back and took Mom to Richard Owens, where we were greeted with compassion and love. Mom peacefully passed Sunday evening and my brother and I, along with our spouses, were able to spend Mom’s final hours as grieving and loving family members and not frantic, incapable caregivers. I will forever be grateful for Anna’s calm demeanor, kindness, and professionalism during our time of crisis.

Note: This is Anna's 2nd DAISY Award!