Thank You, Community Health and Counseling Services Staff ~ New Hope Hospice and The Legacy of Pat Eye

Not long after I joined CHCS, I was made aware of an amazing human being; the fabulously creative, unceasingly hopeful, incredibly loving nurse, patient advocate and mother of our own New Hope Hospice here in Bangor; Pat Eye.
 
Recently, I have been privileged to spend time with Pat and learned that, even now at almost 90, Pat is as passionate for hospice and end-of-life care as ever.  Pat shared with me that the most important thing to her was that hospice caregivers truly LOVE each and every patient we worked with.  She felt that this was at the core of the job of all hospice workers.
 
I was thinking about this one morning after one of our staff meetings, and realized that that very morning, I had mentioned - and staff present had chimed in in agreement - that ours is a particularly loving team.  And I note it again; that I am so grateful to work with all of you – I find here more truly loving compassion and care from each of you for your patients than I have experienced anywhere from professional staff.  And I thought about this some more. . .  and I realized that Pat Eye has, indeed, left a great legacy to hospice:
 
Pat Eye’s conviction that truly LOVING OUR PATIENTS with all our hearts, devoting our skills and receptivity to their care, that putting PATIENT FIRST, advocating for, uplifting patient’s wishes at end-of-life – that this incredibly loving way of being present with patients IS PAT’S LEGACY.
 
I shared this with Pat – and how much I appreciated that her founding sentiment – loving our patients – had colored the entirety of CHCS hospice, and possibly that of hospice workers she has touched outside of CHCS as well. . . that her passion for Deep Care and Patient Advocacy WAS TRULY THE LEGACY SHE HAD CREATED AND WOULD LEAVE US ALL.
 
Pat shared that she felt LOVE was an even better legacy to leave than a physical hospice building.  I told her I agreed.
 
And so, today, I want again to thank you – each of you on our hospice staff whom I have begun to come to know – for the many ways you show or hold a LOVING presence in your active care for our patients.  And for being the caring individuals you most likely are in the rest of your lives.  I feel Pat’s legacy has trickled down, has called to it your service, has invited each of us into it’s flow – from Pat through our staff leadership, to each one of you, on our CHCS staff.  I am honored to work among you.
 
I share this story for several reasons;
 
1. I want to lift up the fabulous Pat Eye for anyone who might not be aware of the foundational building block she has contributed to hospice in Bangor and specifically CHCS New Hope Hospice, but also to Hospice everywhere.
 
2. I want to honor CHCS leadership for holding and maintaining Pat’s incredible legacy of LOVE going forward and the ways this legacy has influenced the inspired hiring of so many loving souls.
 
3. I want to remind each of us who are the soldiers on the ground, in homes and with access to the bodies, hearts, minds and spirits of real human beings – our patients, their families, and each other – that your love, skill and presence are so much more than we often give one another and/or ourselves credit for: We are – you are – carrying out a legacy of Love that is changing the way living and dying is experienced, every day, with every interaction.
 
THANK YOU, EACH OF YOU, FOR YOUR COURAGE, SKILL, AND KINDNESS IN OPENING YOUR HEARTS AS YOU DO, EVERY DAY. You may take this for granted, but it is an immeasurable gift you give.  And one that upholds our Pat Eye’s vision and passion so beautifully.
 
So yes, thank you Pat and every one of you, and may 2023 be the year that the love you give out returns to you threefold!
 
Amen, Aho, May It Be So.
 
Thank you.
 
Love,
Maya
 
 
(If you have not yet seen it, there is a brief documentary about Pat made by her granddaughter and presented at an award ceremony for Pat. You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYfUqcC2lqw )