Courtesy Photo A Hospice of Michigan social worker is embraced by a patient.

ALPENA — “I graduated with my master’s (degree) in ’93, and since then I’ve always been in social work in a health care setting,” Karen Wagner, a social worker with Hospice of Michigan’s Alpena team, said. “But more specifically, I’m hitting 11 years this week with Hospice of Michigan. I’ve done inpatient hospital, behavioral health counseling, inpatient rehab, but hospice – this is where I will stay. This is where I will retire from, for sure.”

Wagner is a social worker, a career path that is being celebrated in March for National Social Work Month. She said that her line of work is amazing and that she appreciates the recognition this month brings to help the profession gain respect.

“You’re required to have the education and the licensure,” Wagner said. “I think that this month is really important because it recognizes that we do a significant job. We serve people generally as not just hospice, but also counseling, child advocacy, and all sorts of others. Our mission is to help the vulnerable.”

Wagner said that, as someone working in hospice, she learned that working as a team is one of the more important aspects of hospice care.

She said case managers and nurses focus on patients’ physical symptoms and need to create a calm, comfortable environment to get the work done.

“We have aids that work on personal care, we have a host of volunteers that are amazing and providing companionship and caregiver relief,” Wagner said. “The team really needs to understand people as a whole — mind, body, and spirit is how I think of it. Not only for the patient, who is physically going through the end of life, but also family, friends, and caregivers.”

And while hospice work is incredibly important, Wagner said that every line of social work requires particular skill sets.

She said that it’s important to know what those are and to understand which work will utilize your skills the most.

“Some social workers do what would be called care coordination, which is hands-on referrals like Meals on Wheels,” Wagner said. “This job allows us to use the clinical skills that we’re trained for, as well as counseling education and really advocating for the patient and their wishes.”

Hospice of Michigan needs one to three volunteers in each community for Posen, Rogers City, Presque Isle, and Millersburg.

To get involved, visit hom.org or call Kathy Lietaert at 231-779-5409.

“I think hospice just draws a certain compassion from people,” Wagner said. “What makes the team so amazing is that we’re all there with the same intent to be present and keep people comfortable — to make sure that their wishes are met. Everyone has the same goal, overall, just coming from a different lens.”