“Brandi Perry’s leadership in the field of hospice care has yielded many accolades over the years – from her superiors, staff, patients, and their families, and we couldn’t be happier that she’s joined us as the administrator of our newly launched hospice service. As Administrator, Perry will be responsible for the overall operation of Hospice in Harmony and is currently involved with hiring hospice personnel.”
– Amy Koch, Executive Director of Charles Ford Retirement Communities of New Harmony
“In order to establish ourselves as a leader in hospice care, we believe our most essential task will be finding the right caregivers to carry the Charles Ford culture into a broader service area,” Koch said. “Right now, we’re in the process of selectively recruiting staff that have excelled in the hospice field. We’re basing those efforts on how experienced hospice personnel communicate and how they care for people. We believe that by offering wisdom and comfort during a transitional time, our staff will provide inspiration on how to live well,” said Koch. “We’re staking the Charles Ford reputation of delivering high-quality, compassionate care on this staff doing the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons all the time. That’s the Charles Ford Retirement Communities way of doing things, and we want our hospice service to model that culture as well.”
Perry, a registered nurse, was selected because of her twenty-plus years of nursing and hospice experience. She was most recently employed as a Case Manager at Deaconess Gateway Hospital. During the previous ten years, she was executive director of Curo Health Services (now Kindred Hospice) and the co-owner of Soul Selah.
Summarizing her highest priority, Perry said, “Hospice is about deciphering what each person needs to get them to the greatest appointment they’ll ever have in life. The goal is to walk through that journey with each patient and their family, living and loving them in the difficult moments, which may include doubt or fear. As a hospice caregiver, when you enter a patient’s home, they become the only person who matters. The care we provide is adapted to the patient and their environment. The primary objective is to understand that the process should be pain free. Hospice nurses and other staff work to assure each patient that they are the only one who matters in the time we spend together, always striving to bring calm, comforting care into the home of the persons involved.”
“Realistically, we acknowledge that we labor into this world and we labor out,” said Koch. “It can be messy, yet beautiful. No one birthing experience is the same as another. It may seem odd that even individuals with deep spiritual beliefs still want to keep living; few people want to deal with the reality of death. Yet, offering wisdom and comfort to those dealing with loss often provides inspiration for how to live.”
Perry continued to emphasize the importance of hiring a competent, compassionate hospice staff. “At the close of the journey, hospice staff are present in that little strip of time when you know death is near. Sharing that intimate connection hurts with each final goodbye, but when a kindred ship is offered with sincerity, it can be among life’s final and most precious gifts. People will forgive us for not having an answer to every question, but they won’t forgive us for not showing how much we care.”
For available positions with Charles Ford Hospice in Harmony, contact retirenewharmony.com or call Brandi Perry at 812-287-6790.
