At Compassus, our mission is rooted in compassion and connection. Each one of our teammates who dedicates their time to advancing well-being and quality of life for those we serve has an impactful story to tell. Hospice Care Consultant, Whitney Hutto, in Monroe, LA, shares what drives her to make a difference every day and why she is passionate about her role at Compassus.
Q: What personal values drive you in your role, and how does your work align with those values?
A: Adaptability is one of my personal values that I carry to work with me every day. Being able to adapt to the patients I come in contact with and being able to meet them where they are on life’s journey is very important. Also, compassion sprinkled with a sense of community is a major factor in why I get up every morning to do this job. The people I serve and try to help are our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and grandfathers. They are not a medical record number on a computer screen. I’ve often heard, “YOLO: You only live once.” However, the truth is just the opposite. Every day you get the opportunity to live. Truly, you only die once and it’s important that the journey is peaceful and one that doesn’t cause trauma to the patient or family.
Q: What was the defining moment that made you feel proud to be part of this team or field?
A: Every time I get to sit down with a family and learn about their life history, I find out what is important to them. These moments contribute to feeling complete in my career and why I am proud to be able to work at Compassus. It gives me such a sense of satisfaction.
Q: How do you feel your work makes a difference for the people we serve or the team around you?
A: I’ve seen a lot of unique situations in the years that I have been here. I hope my work makes a difference by allowing families to focus on being together and truly experience what it means to be a family. A spouse able to focus on being a spouse. A daughter free to simply be the daughter. While we take over more of the care that often tires the family out. I think it’s important to give families a sense of time to get to just be family and not family + caregiver plus having to work their own jobs. It’s too much to try to be everything for everyone so getting to just sit at home with mom on Sunday after church and spend time together without the extra weight of caregiving I feel really makes a difference.
Q: What part of your job gives you the most satisfaction or fulfillment? Why?
A: Being able to fulfill care moments that will often be a memory that will be passed down to the next generation. I often create hand molds of husband and wives. I just know that these hand molds will be passed on to children and grandchildren. I put the Compassus sticker on the bottom of the stand so that years from now, the family will know that grandma and grandpa had a good hospice experience.
Q: How has working here helped you grow or develop, personally or professionally?
A: Working here has helped me grow professionally by introducing me to many healthcare professionals. Additionally, I’ve experienced growth by learning more of the ins and outs of our healthcare system that are not taught in a traditional college. This has opened experiences for the opportunity to educate about hospice to medical students, nurse practitioners, nurses, etc. It has helped me to be creative when problem solving and navigate speed bumps, instead of seeing a roadblock.
Q: What motivates you to keep coming back, even on challenging days?
A: Knowing that many families still need help but remain unaware they qualify due to the lack of education from their clinical staff or because the benefit isn’t presented in a way that feels approachable. So many people are scared when they really don’t need to be.
Q: If you were to tell a friend or family member why your work matters, what would you say?
A: My work matters because most of the people that require our hospice services were once us. They looked like us, they talked like us, they worked like us. They don’t deserve to sit at home alone and suffer or feel alone. They paid into their hospice benefit their entire lives and they deserve to know that they are eligible to receive their benefit.
Q: What’s one story or interaction with a patient/client that reminds you why you’re here?
A: 22-year-old comes to mind. She was a referral from a competitor that just could not take her on as a patient because she was too complex for their staff and was a Medicaid only patient. Rebekka had a 2-year-old son. Her baby boy had no clue what was wrong with his mom. We created a hand mold, got a photographer to come in and take pictures of her and her son at no charge, and helped her write a letter to her son to read when he gets older. We were able to bring her home so her mom could take care of her instead of the ever-changing nurses who rotate every 12 hours and likely wouldn’t remember her a month later.
Q: How do you see your work impacting the larger goals of the organization or community?
A: Education. Education. Education. I want people to know the ins and outs of hospice and what the hospice benefit entails. I want to eliminate all fear surrounding the word.
Q: What’s one thing about our organization or mission that resonates deeply with you?
A: Care for who I am. I really enjoy this mission and learning about what’s important to these families. I enjoy learning who they have been and who they are now. This allows me to see them as a whole person and not a diagnosis.
Q: What aspect of your role do you feel is often overlooked but is important to your “why”?
A: Sometimes I walk into a doctor’s office and I feel as though I am the happiest person in the room. I feel it’s important to bring sunshine to the accounts I work with because moods are contagious. If one person shows up in a bad mood at work at that doctor’s office that day, it can bring the whole clinic down with them. I find that if someone else comes in and is happy, that is contagious and light always outshines darkness. I always try to check myself and my emotions that I am bringing with me every time I get out of the car.
Q: If you could share one thing about the impact of your work with the community, what would it be?
A: Being able to help families realize that they literally get to choose what their journey looks like when sometimes the situation feels hopeless. Some families get dealt a bad deck of cards, but there is always a blessing if we look for it. Sometimes that blessing might be getting to be surrounded by loved ones and getting to choose what their last words are to someone. Others might receive a phone call saying, “Sorry, your mom died in a wreck,” with no opportunity for final words to be shared. In those moments, you can only hope you said everything you wanted to the last time you spoke with them.
Q: How does being part of this team contribute to your sense of purpose or direction?
A: Getting to love on the people that are in my community. My community is important to me, and I care deeply about ensuring its members are well cared for. I will go beyond the stars to make sure they are helped in any way possible. I will find a way or make a way. My prayer is often, “Lord, help me help 1 more!”
