With 15 years in the industry under its belt,
Compassus as a whole practices a holistic approach
to provide personalized support for each
client based on its three core values – compassion,
integrity and excellence.
Volunteers remain an integral apart of
Compassus’ care with services ranging from pet
and music therapists to lawn care volunteers.
However, their skilled team of case managers,
nurse aids, social workers and non-denominational
chaplains round out the team to address each
client’s individual needs.
Together, they become a second family for the
client and their loved ones to rely on, helping celebrate
big birthdays, home graduations, marriages
and even following the family for 13 months after
a patient’s passing.
“Something as simple as ‘how are you doing’
can completely change the way somebody
grieves,” Cross said, adding that Compassus will
continue to check in on families in the grieving
process, especially during the first anniversary of
passing.
While hospice was not originally on Cross’ “radar”
when beginning her career in the healthcare
industry, she quickly drew to the idea and has
been in the field for 10 years now. It’s not a job
for the faint of heart, but to Cross, it’s rewarding
to support people in the most vulnerable time of
their lives.
“You definitely have to have a heart for it, it has
to be your calling,” Cross said. “If you come into
this job and think of it as just a job, it doesn’t work.
We have to have that emotional and spiritual connection
to what we do.”
“It’s taboo to talk about death, it’s taboo to talk
about end of life for most people … nobody really
thinks about that, but that’s one thing we can’t
get away from. So to be able to be a part of that
conversation and educate in a way that’s different,
I can’t see myself doing anything else,” Cross said.
“Nobody wants to lose a loved one and nobody
wants to lose their life, so to me it’s a ministry and
it’s an awesome opportunity to make a difference
in a way that no one else can … Once I got in it,
I knew this is what I want to do for the rest of my
career.”
“It’s taboo to talk about
death, it’s taboo to talk
about end of life for most
people … nobody really
thinks about that, but
that’s one thing we can’t
get away from. So to be
able to be a part of that
conversation and educate
in a way that’s different,
I can’t see myself doing
anything else.”
HUNTSVILLE LIVING | FALL 2020 | 17