Margaret Wickham smiles as she recalls a friend asking her about all the projects she undertakes as a Hackley Visiting Nurse Services and Hospice, Inc. volunteer. “My friend said, ‘but Margaret, do you get paid for that?’ I told her that the people I work with and the satisfaction I get from doing my work at HVNS give me more than money could ever buy.”
Married to Tom Wickham for 42 years, Margaret says she always loved the  medical field. Her mother was a nurse and that’s the path Margaret thought she would take. “I took nursing assistant training when I was young,” Margaret explained, “and I worked as a nursing assistant for about a year. But then I got the opportunity to become the secretary to the director of pulmonary services at Northwestern University Hospital and that’s the path I stayed with until moving to Muskegon.”
Tom and Margaret and their son Tom, Jr. moved to Muskegon more than 30 years ago when Tom’s parents passed away. They moved into the family home and Margaret continued to work in the secretarial field while raising their son. But her love of the medical field did not abate, and after Tom grew up she began to volunteer at Hackley VNS in caregiver respite. “I would go into the homes of patients and relieve their caregivers for up to four hours. This volunteer service allows the caregiver to get out, shop, see friends or take in a movie, and he or she comes back refreshed and ready to resume caring for ill family members.” Margaret also worked off and on in the HVNS office assisting with clerical duties, but about 10 years ago Tom was diagnosed with cancer, and Margaret devoted herself full time to Tom’s care and recovery.
Tom did recover, and Margaret returned to VNS after a chance meeting with Nancy McCarthy in the supermarket. “Nancy asked me, ‘When are you coming back?’ and I decided it was time,” Margaret explained.
Margaret cheerfully goes about many important tasks at HVNS, freeing up the administrative staff for other duties. She helps Pastor Jon Rager by sending out follow-up “bereavement mailings” to family members of deceased Hospice patients and makes telephone calls to them as well. She also sends out questionnaires to the families and physicians of Home Care and Hospice patients to assure a high quality of customer service.
“I am learning a new computer program, and I want to learn it so I can help get everything ready for the move into our new building. I hope I get to do more,” she says with excitement in her voice, and a dedication that is indistinguishable from that of any paid member of the staff.
Because of volunteers like Margaret, HVNS Home Care and Hospice patients can get the topnotch care they need within the limits of their insurance reimbursements. To volunteer your time with HVNS Home Care or Hospice, call (231) 726-5025 or 1-800-499-5025. |
