Annette Kalt was assigned to see a female patient at her home to address a catheter issue. The patient lived with her elderly, debilitated husband, adult son, and home caregiver. The other caregiver approached Annette as she began care on her patient to request assistance with the patient's husband, who was too weak to operate his stair lift chair.

She discovered the patient's husband had no heartbeat and was not breathing. Her calm, gentle demeanor guided each step that followed. Clarifying the appropriate resuscitation response, providing information to EMT, and most importantly, giving updates and emotional support to our hospice patient while her spouse of over 40 years was in a critical medical crisis under the same roof, but might as well have been miles away as the patient was bedbound and unable to actively participate.

There were many conversations going on, from the sheriff to the MR, the paramedic, the funeral home, and the adult son. Annette was a strong, kind advocate who consistently redirected these conversations to include her patient, a new widow with significant communication and comprehension challenges.

In her skilled, stellar fashion, Annette proceeded with the biggest act of kindness on an evening fraught with hardship: providing the deceased gentleman with a lavender bath, a custom observed by Whatcom Hospice caregivers to offer patients and families a final act of respect and a sweet ritual marking an important transition.

This entire community is fortunate to have someone like Annette on the Hospice Team.