When you’ve spent as many years at Victoria Hospice as I have, people sometimes ask what has changed the most.
After all these years, I can tell you that the heart of hospice hasn’t changed. Patients and families still need the same things they’ve always needed: someone to listen, someone to explain what comes next, someone willing to sit quietly beside them when words aren’t enough. The simple truth hasn’t changed: no one should have to face end of life or grief alone. What has changed is watching the next generation of caregivers step into this work. One of these people is Alana.
When Alana joined Victoria Hospice, she was a new graduate full of energy, compassion, and questions. I remember thinking how naturally she connected with people. Alana greeted patients warmly, listened intently, and treated every person with dignity.
Over time, I’ve had the privilege of mentoring Alana and watching her become the kind of caregiver families gravitate to. She understands that sometimes the most important thing we can offer someone is not just our medical expertise but our time and presence when people need it most. This fills me with hope.
Because tomorrow, another family will hear life-changing news. Another person will begin the final chapter of their life. Another child will begin grieving a loved one. Another caregiver will wonder where to turn. When you’ve spent as many years at Victoria Hospice as I have, people sometimes ask what has changed the most. After all these years, I can tell you that the heart of hospice hasn’t changed.
Your generosity makes that possible. Today, I’m asking you to help ensure those families continue receiving the compassionate care our community has made possible for generations.
Your gift helps Victoria Hospice care for patients and families today while ensuring that the knowledge, compassion and expertise built over decades continues into the future. It helps provide the time and expertise to sit beside a frightened family, support someone through difficult conversations, care for a patient at the end of life, and help children and adults navigate grief. I’ve spent much of my career learning what compassionate care looks like. Now, one of the things that gives me the greatest confidence in the future is seeing that care take root in nurses like Alana. Watching her care for patients reminds me that the heart of Hospice can continue from one generation to the next.
For Alana, one of the most important lessons has been that no two patients are the same. “Each person has their own priorities, wishes and hopes for the time they have left. I seek to understand their desires and help make them possible.” I couldn’t agree more.
You can help make sure that remains true for every family who turns to Victoria Hospice.
Please make your most generous gift today, and it will be doubled! Thanks to an anonymous donor, all gifts will be matched dollar for dollar up to $100,000 until December 31, helping provide twice the impact for patients and families in our community. The families who will need us tomorrow may not know us yet. We don’t know their names or their stories yet. But we know they will need compassion, expertise, and someone by their side.
Your gift today helps carry that compassion forward, so Victoria Hospice can be there for the families who need us next. Please click here to give. Thank you for believing in this work, and for being part of the community that makes it possible.
With care and gratitude,
Adrienne Rogers, LPN Unit Nurse, Victoria Hospice
P.S. The need for compassionate Hospice care doesn’t stop. Every day, another patient or family reaches out for support. Please make your most generous gift today to help ensure no one in our community has to face end of life or grief alone.