Denise Pike-Lehrke
Denise Pike-Lehrke was one year into a career change, having left the marketing field to become a certified nurse assistant at Angela Hospice, when COVID hit. She could easily have left, going back to the safety of marketing without a second glance. But instead, she volunteered to work on the COVID unit at the Angela Hospice Care Center.
Why did she do it? For the same reasons she goes to work every day: because she enjoys caring for people, and it is what she hopes someone else would do for her, if she were in need.
“I like just knowing that we’re giving the utmost care that we can possibly give…to every patient while they’re here, for however long that is,” she said.
And she knows the value her work brings, not just to the patients she lovingly cares for, but their families too. Denise took care of her own parents on their journey with Alzheimer’s – in fact, it is what inspired her transition to working in health care.
“Families get overwhelmed,” Denise said. “I know what that feels like.”
Now on the other side of caregiving, it’s an emotional job she said, taking care of patients at the end of their lives, and grieving families too. But, “You can’t just go ‘Oh, that’s just so sad,’” Denise said. “It is sad. You have to say yes, it’s sad, but it still needs to be done. Somebody has to do it.”
Megan Bjerk
Megan Bjerk has been answering that call since she was just 17 years old, and began taking care of her grandmother. Megan always knew she wanted to go into healthcare. Her grandmother had been a nurse aide as well, and encouraged Megan to look into hospice.
“Taking care of people at the end of life is one thing that I like, because it gives me fulfillment that I can help people that are passing on, give them the care they need,” Megan said.
Since joining the Angela Hospice team three years ago, Megan has enjoyed getting to know her patients, and loves being able to put a smile on their face. Often they’ll be surprised that she takes the time to paint their nails or do their hair, but Megan is grateful to be able to show she cares.
When she has a hard day, like when someone she had grown close to passes away, it’s that gratitude that keeps her going.
“I’ll go home and just sit for a little bit and think about it,” she said. “And then the next day, I come to work, and I say, ‘You know what, I’m glad I got to take care of that person. And I’m glad the family got to have the experience of a happy time…’”
April Cameron
For Megan and her colleagues, it is an honor to take care of someone in their last moments. April Cameron has experienced this many times over as Angela Hospice’s most senior nurse aide. She started at Angela Hospice’s Livonia Care Center just one month after the facility opened in 1994.
A couple times, she said, she even had patients die in her arms.
“It’s just really knowing that they’re at peace,” she said. “I know that we did everything we could for them, that they weren’t in pain…”
For April, this work is about treating people with respect, and bringing peace and dignity. “Treat everybody like they’re your family members,” she said, patients and their families.
It’s something she shares with Megan, Denise, and so many other kind souls who have dedicated themselves to caring for others.
“I love caring for people and helping people out any way I can,” April said.
Interested in being a part of this compassionate team? See open positions, including openings for hospice aides, on our careers page.
