Contrary to the widely accepted norms of today’s professional world, business isn’t always business in a few select industries.

And, believe it or not, there is at least one business right here in Southern Utah that actually provides “service with a smile” – accompanied by the occasional shedding of tears – with day-to-day operations focused on the heartfelt and compassionate care of others and not solely upon the company’s bottom line.

That business is Hospice.

Nearly seven years ago I was introduced to Hospice care when, shortly after graduating from high school, I was offered a job as a courier with a local Hospice agency. My responsibilities ranged from delivering and retrieving orders and other forms from local area physicians to attending community events where we showcased our services. However, the business of hospice quickly changed in my eyes as I attended weekly interdisciplinary or IDT meetings with the nurses, certified nursing aides (CNA), social workers, chaplains, volunteers, and physicians who rendered daily care to the patients and families who had requested our services. It took no time at all to realize that Hospice was a profoundly unique business unlike any other with which I had previously worked.

Of course, earning a suitable wage and providing for oneself and other dependent family members was a concern, but it was one that my Hospice co-workers dealt with after hours; for, the business of Hospice is truly a matter of life and death. Once the workday began, the attention of our staff turned to providing quality care to the patients and families we served – unique individuals who had been diagnosed with life-limiting illnesses who needed our assistance.

Hospice is unique, as I say, for many reasons; but, the two reasons that initially impressed me and continue to do so are the actual services Hospice provides and the special individuals who administer them.

For many of us, Friday is the end of a busy work week and the beginning of the weekend. Monday then comes and we resume the work we left a few days prior. In Hospice it doesn’t always work this way. Yes, Friday is the end of the week but it is also the beginning of an on-call weekend often filled with un-planned visits to patients and families in need. When Monday arrives, the work we did Friday never really left as we concerned ourselves with it all weekend. And while many of us moan and groan when another painful Monday begins, Hospice teams often shed tears as they gather to hear reports of the weekend’s happenings; the loss of patients who have become friends brings tears of sorrow while tears of joy are also cried as friends and loved ones are remembered and celebrated.

Hospice care is administered to patients who have been diagnosed with life-limiting illnesses and have elected to receive comfort or palliative care as opposed to curative treatments. Hospice provides care for individuals who are nearing the end of life. Services rendered at such a significant time are done so by a group of very special people – nurses, CNAs, social workers, chaplains, volunteers, and physicians who love and are devoted to what they do.

Hospice patients are cared for on all levels: mind, body, and spirit, or mentally, physically, and emotionally. Ironically, Hospice team members – those caring for Hospice patients and their families – are involved in a work that drains them in those exact same areas. It is for this reason that Hospice workers are special. For them, Hospice is a labor of love; because, if they did not love what they do and the people they serve, they would have changed professions long ago.

I am grateful for Hospice. I am thankful for the opportunity to get up in the morning and come to a job where I enjoy what I do and know I am making a difference. I am honored to work with special individuals who are truly engaged in a labor of love for unique individuals who stand in need.

Cortney Mathews works as an educator for Zion’s Way Home Health & Hospice. For more information regarding Home Health, Hospice, and other Medicare- and Medicaid-funded benefits, please contact him at 435-688-0648.