Celebrating the Heart of Hospice: Our Social Workers

In honor of National Social Work Month, we’re spotlighting the incredible social workers who bring compassion, expertise and humanity to our hospice team at Cascade Health.

At Cascade Health Hospice, our social workers play a unique and invaluable role in guiding patients and families through one of life’s most profound transitions. Their work is deeply meaningful, dynamic and holistic—no two days are ever the same. As they walk alongside individuals nearing the end of life, they bring comfort, dignity, and even moments of joy. We talked to four members of the social work team to find out what makes their work so fulfilling and impactful.

The Tapestry of Hospice Social Work

Ask any of our social workers what makes their work fulfilling, and you'll hear a similar theme: no two days—or even two visits—are ever the same.

"Sometimes you're the shoulder to cry on. Sometimes they need help, sometimes you need to be a comedian," explains Kelly Conner, MSW. "You show up and it's different every time."

This diversity is precisely what makes the work so engaging. In a single day, a social worker might help a family navigate complex paperwork, facilitate difficult conversations about end-of-life wishes, play a game of Yahtzee with a patient, or simply sit in companionable silence, offering presence when words fail.

"The biggest portion of my work is to just provide presence and support throughout the end-of-life process for everyone involved with that patient," Kelly shares.

Patient-Centered Care

In a health care system that can sometimes feel impersonal or rushed, hospice stands apart as a model where the patient and family truly direct the journey.

Julie Sage-Lauck, MSW, describes hospice as a "reclaimed space that's safe for the whole family.”

This patient-centered approach means meeting people exactly where they are—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Some days that means addressing practical concerns like advance directives; other days it means simply being present while a family processes their grief.

“I want to empower people to embody their full end-of-life experience in whatever way fits for them,” says Lisa Ashley, MSW, “whether it's with tears and laughter, or they want more solitude, or they want a community of people wrapped around them.”

The Holistic Ideal

Our social workers consistently point to the holistic nature of hospice care as one of its most rewarding aspects. At Cascade Health, we don't just treat symptoms—we care for the whole person and their entire support system.

"In the hospice model, I think you get the very best version of a system," Julie reflects. "Everybody's able to show up with their very best self and draw in the best of the other disciplines for support."

This collaboration between doctors, nurses, chaplains, aides and bereavement counselors creates a safety net that catches what might otherwise fall through the cracks.

Kelly puts it this way: "It's the most potential we have to look at someone holistically. It's not just the person in the therapy office—it's the whole shebang. It's the family, it's the medical situation, it's social determinants of health."

Celebrating Life’s Closing Chapter

Perhaps most profound is how our social workers view their role in honoring life's final chapter. In a culture that celebrates births but often whispers about deaths, they help reclaim the sacredness of life's end.

"Sometimes it's just holding space for their family at end-of-life, or sometimes it's making space for life review," Kelly explains. "They're alive and they deserve the whole breadth and depth of their life while they still have it."

Heather Serafin, MSW, sees a beautiful symmetry in her work: "As a mother experiencing life in the beginning, hospice is just this beautiful full circle where you see both sides of the human experience."

Called to This Work

What draws someone to hospice social work? For our team, the paths were as diverse as the work itself.

Julie's journey began in the Peace Corps in Nicaragua, which introduced her to a community where both birth and death were honored in deeply connected ways. Later experiences with death, combined with becoming a parent herself, led her to see "the preciousness and the sacredness of the dying process."

Lisa returned to school for her Master of Social Work at 48, after raising children who had to navigate systems that weren’t built for them. She never imagined working in hospice—until she met a young boy on hospice care, and everything changed.

"When I started social work school, if you had asked me, would you ever be interested in hospice, I would have said absolutely not," Lisa admits. "But something just transformed in me."

Kelly followed in her father's footsteps to become a social worker, later pursuing her master's degree during the pandemic. With experience working with older adults and having witnessed death and dying in her own life, hospice felt like a natural fit.

For Heather, the journey began with a single inspiring class that changed her academic path from journalism to human services. "Hospice seemed like just the perfect fit for me," she shares. "It's just such a vulnerable time for people and not many people get to see what the end-of-life is like."

Honoring Our Social Workers

As we celebrate National Social Work Month, we’re deeply grateful to Julie, Lisa, Kelly, Heather, and all the social workers who bring their whole selves to this crucial work. Their ability to navigate complex emotions, advocate for patients' wishes, and find moments of light in what can feel to families like dark time makes our hospice program what it is.

They remind us that end-of-life care isn't just about managing symptoms—it's about honoring whole lives, celebrating meaningful connections, and treating each transition with the dignity and respect it deserves.