Osceola resident Sandy Mason, RN, CHPN, is a familiar face in the Osceola area. She has worked as a hospice nurse with HCI Hospice Care Services in Osceola since 2007. In her role, she provides education and support to patients facing life-limiting illness, as well as their family members. She visits patients in their homes – wherever they call home – throughout the five-county area the organization’s Osceola hospice team serves.
What inspired you to work in hospice care?
I was inspired to work as a hospice RN after taking care of a hospice patient at Clarke County Hospital. I had the opportunity to see the difference in the patient’s comfort and quality of life, and I found out how important end-of-life care is.
How many years you have you worked in health care?
I have worked as a registered nurse for the past 16 years. I started my nursing career in Fort Worth, Texas, then worked in the emergency room and acute care floor at Clarke County Hospital prior to joining HCI Hospice Care Services.
What is your educational background?
I am a certified hospice and palliative nurse, or “CHPN.” Hospice and palliative nursing is a very specialized field, and CHPN certification can only be earned if a nurse has 500 hours of hospice and palliative nursing practice and can prove her or his expertise by completing a very challenging exam.
What do you find most rewarding about your job?
What I find most rewarding about my job is helping provide quality of care to our patients. People often say to me they don’t know how I do what I do. It’s a deep feeling I have inside my heart that gives me the strength to help hospice patients to the last moment of their lives.
What would you like people to know about hospice care?
People often think of hospice as the end, and that there’s nothing more that can be done. With hospice, there is much that can be done. At HCI Hospice Care Services, we focus on providing care that meets the needs of each person. We celebrate life and help patients and families make the most of every day. We are on call 24 hours a day.
For more information about the services mentioned through HCI Care Services and Visiting Nurse Services of Iowa, call the Osceola office at 641-342-2888 or visit www.hcicareservices.org or www.vnsia.org."