House of Love Can you imagine what life and death were like before there was hospice? Hospice came from England to America in the 1970s. In 1983, Wings of Hope Hospice was formed in Allegan County. Ever since, Wings has been in the non-profit business of recruiting, training and organizing people to serve the dying […]

A Torch of Honor I recently read Gallup research published in the Washington Post indicating that only 13 percent of people worldwide actually like going to work. I consider myself among that fortunate 13 percent. In some measure, my job satisfaction is due to what I do and who I work with.  A large part […]

The Wonder of Music in Wings of Hope Hospice Care Hospice patients, their loved ones and the staff that work with them often recognize a need for paths of communication and comfort care that go beyond the spoken word, the pharmaceutical and even the intellectual. Music may address some issues that become evident for hospice […]

Some of our conversations in life seem relatively trivial; some more noteworthy. Hear the story of a profound discussion I had with a Wings of Hope patient and his wife just two weeks before he died. I met Bill and his wife Doris in their niece’s living room. They had left their home in Byron […]

I amble down the hall at the Sunset Manor,* trying to make eye contact with the wheelchair bound residents lining the walls. Some return my smile. I make my way into the room of our Wings of Hope Hospice patient. Marty* is a white haired gentleman with wire rim glasses. He is a little slouched […]

This is how our Wings Home provided a place for reunion between a homeless man and his family during their last Christmas together.  He had called from a hospital in Ohio having been told he would soon die.  His sister from Allegan went with her husband to pick him up in their own vehicle, not […]