ALLEGAN, Mich. — This month’s Pay It Forward Spotlight Person of the Month has made a big impact in a relatively small amount of time.
The winner of this month’s Healthcare Spotlight Award is Traci Augustyniak.
After more than 30 years in healthcare, Traci is working for the first time in hospice care.
"That's what your job is, is to make sure they go with as much peace and dignity and comfort as they can," explained Traci.
She says she’s there to support the patient, respecting their decisions and facilitating what they want for the end of their life.
Traci is a registered nurse and case manager for Wings of Hope Hospice in Allegan.
The team is led by Theresa Lynn.
"It's about life. It's about living as well as you can in the time that you do have left," Theresa told FOX 17.
But Traci pulls double duty in every home she visits.
“We're also taking care of the family, we're making sure they're educated, and there's, you know, so they're not fearful," said Traci.
She helps families like Shenda Arndt’s.
"They scheduled, you know, the appointments to make sure that they, you know, coincided with my schedule, and they did everything. I literally had to do nothing," explained Shenda.
The logistics are important, but it's the emotional support that can be most critical.
"She's really been a backbone for me, a lot of support,” said Shenda. “I've cried, she, you know, has encouraged me."
It’s for all these reasons that Traci was nominated and selected as the Pay It Forward Spotlight Person of the Month.
"Tracy is warm, and deep and poetic and knowledgeable and I'm going to cry. She's pretty amazing. She's very strong, very strong woman," said Theresa.
Shenda nominated Traci, saying she’s caring, honest, and understanding but that she would nominate the whole Wings of Hope Hospice team if she could.
"Honest, compassionate. There's just so many so many words that, I mean, you just, you can't describe how wonderful everybody is," explained Shenda.
Every month we honor a different category in our Pay It Forward Spotlight Series. Next month we'll select a person working in law enforcement.
If you know a law enforcement worker who deserves to be highlighted, nominate them for a FOX 17 Pay It Forward Spotlight Award!
Know someone who should be our next Pay It Forward Person of the Month? Nominate them here.