Hospice of Hilo has brought on four new individuals to be members of its home care team.
Hospice of Hilo has brought on four new individuals to be members of its home care team.
Janelle Todd was brought on to be the organization’s new Clinical Home Care manager and Shawnie Kawachi, Kiko Kanai and Amanda Moss are Home Care RNs.
Prior to coming to Hospice of Hilo, Canadian-born Todd served as the clinical director of Hospice Maui. She also started the palliative care program and was on the leadership team of the oncology program at Maui Memorial Hospital.
“I really think I can bring some of the skills that I had on Maui and some of the skills I’ve had for the past 15 years working with people that are walking on life’s mysterious last journey and hopefully I’ll be able to support and mentor my team,” Todd said.
Kawachi brings five years of experience from the Hilo Medical Center working in the areas of pediatrics, surgical and cardiovascular.
Moss has been a nurse for 11 years. Most of her experience is in home care nursing, and she has had opportunities to work closely with Hospice of Hilo nurses.
“The hospice philosophy was something I always believed and I’m grateful to be able to continue serving the community in this way,” Moss said.
Kanai has 13 years of experience as a nurse, primarily in trauma and ICU.
“I didn’t know what to expect in becoming a Hospice of Hilo Home Care nurse. It’s just wonderful to walk into somebody’s house and to see pictures and the clothes and whatever they were raised with,” Kanai said. “It’s their home and that’s where they are going to spend their last days, and to just think about that is so wonderful. I was so used to the sterile hospital environment where everything is white, alarms are going off left and right, telephones are ringing, people are being paged, people you don’t know are coming in and out of your room.
“But at the home, the patients are surrounded by their own things, their pets, family members and neighbors.
“They can look out of the window to see their garden. It is such a wonderful place. It gives me such satisfaction that this is what I get to help them do. It is a huge, huge change and I love it.”
Todd added being open hearted, genuine and authentic is probably the best tool they have.
“I think all of our medical knowledge has a big impact, but for nurses to continue to have an open heart and to operate from the place of their heart and not their head, to allow for what families need and to allow patients to have their own unique experience is where the gifts of being caregiver come in,” she said.
“I’m so grateful to all of our staff and I’m so happy to welcome on board these great new members and thrilled that we can all share in the pursuit of their vocations,” said Hospice of Hilo CEO Brenda S. Ho. “Everyone is here because of their passion for the field.”