Anita Kent
Wednesday evening, November 7, Oakey’s Hospice Caregiver of the Year Award was given to Anita Kent of Good Samaritan Hospice. Congratulations Anita! The event was held at Oakey’s Cremation Tribute Center and included the 2017-2018 monthly award winners and their guests.
Anita received the August, 2017 Oakey’s Hospice Caregivers Award. All monthly award winners from the past year were eligible for the Hospice Caregiver of the Year Award.
We received letters nominating Anita from two sisters whose Father was in hospice care and who Anita cared for. The following are the letters:
Letter 1
Everyone from Good Samaritan Hospice was wonderful – but there was an exceptional level of kindness from Anita Kent. Her gentle soul is by nature suited to the care she gave my dad. She came every other day to wash his body – she did this in such a respectful, caring way each time. I imagine this job can be thankless at times. She is a tiny thing but has the strength both physically and mentally to do her job with better than an A+ rating in my opinion.
My father enjoyed her company as did I. I will admit, I was extremely protective of my father but Anita quickly put me at ease by just being herself.
My family and I – and I’m sure my dad, will always be grateful to Anita for the exceptional care she gave. I can’t imagine anyone else doing a better job.
Letter 2
I have known Anita since January 2017. I heard about this award from my sister.
I met Anita in January when she came to work with my father. I live out of state and was able to come home to VA to spend the last two months with my father as he transitioned from the amazing father and man we love and relied upon to the man who relied on us. Anita became part of that team and truly part of his joy. He looked forward to her visits which early on were only once per week, but as things progressed she was able to change her schedule to come every other day to allow him to keep his dignity and continue to feel clean and as comfortable as possible. Now I realize that this is the Aide’s job, however Anita was so much more. She knew that my father wanted his dignity and made sure she scheduled extra time to be able to allow him to do things for himself. My father is from Korea and dignity and respect are very important. She was so thoughtful and gentle with him. She learned some of the Korean words we used to make him comfortable and put a smile on his face every visit. His bath days became like a spa visit and a special joy for him. Anita worked with my sisters and me to know our father as a person and make his remaining days so special. Not only did she do this for him, but her presence gave all of us some laughter and memories that we will cherish.
Anita is a humble and very unassuming person who would be the perfect recipient for an award like this to recognize her amazing attitude and true love of her job. She really gets it. Her patients are not just patients, they are people, with families….going through very difficult times and she was just amazing at making things feel just a little bit better and brighter.
I sure hope I am lucky enough to have an Anita when I am in the same situation. A caring, thoughtful individual who is not in this type of role for a check or to just get through the day. She is there to make a difference for everyone she meets. I hope you get to meet her too. She is most likely one of the kindest people I have ever met.
Please choose her for this award and let her know just how special she is. How she makes a difference and how deeply she touched my life as well as my whole family. I have never experienced Hospice before and I will tell you that she, as well as all of the folks at Good Sam sure made this journey just a little bit better. I had a completely different idea in my head of what they did and what it was about until I met these folks and saw them in action.
Congratulations Anita and all thank you for all you do. Thank you to all the hospice caregivers who give so much of themselves to help others.
As stated on the National Hospice and Palliative Care Website, Hospice provides compassionate care for people facing a life-limiting illness or injury, hospice care involves a team-oriented approach to expert medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support expressly tailored to the patient’s needs and wishes. Support is provided to the patient’s loved ones as well. At the center of hospice and palliative care is the belief that each of us has the right to die pain-free and with dignity, and that our families will receive the necessary support to allow us to do so.