Our Way of Caring: The Vantage Hospice Podcast

Our Way of Caring: Vantage Hospice Podcast [Episode 7]: A Heart for Hospice with Edwin Gomez

• Vantage Hospice & Palliative Care • Season 1 • Episode 7

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Finding Passion in Hospice Care: Edwin Gomez's Journey


In this episode of our podcast with Vantage Hospice, we talk to Edwin Gomez, a dedicated RN case manager, about his 12-year experience in hospice care and his journey to becoming a nurse. Edwin shares how a 'happy accident' led him to hospice, his love for caring for older adults, and the essential role he plays in providing emotional and practical support to patients and their families. He also discusses the misinformation surrounding hospice care and the importance of educating the public on what hospice truly means. The conversation highlights the strong community and sense of belonging Edwin feels at Vantage Hospice, which has kept him passionate about his work for nearly nine years.


00:00 Introduction to the Podcast

00:02 Meet Edwin Gomez: A Journey in Hospice Care

00:56 How Edwin Became a Nurse

01:36 The Happy Accident: Transition to Hospice

04:47 The Role of a Hospice Nurse

07:00 Why Vantage Hospice?

08:23 The Importance of Hospice Education

09:05 Final Thoughts and Invitation

Vantage Hospice & Palliative Care

Our Mission

Vantage Hospice, LLC is dedicated to providing individualized hospice care with services specially tailored to the physical, social, psychological and spiritual needs of patients with life limiting illness, their families and the community, by delivering high quality and compassionate care.

We strive to create a culture dedicated to meeting the needs of our patients, families and employees based on the principles of dignity, respect and compassion.

Hospice recognizes dying as part of the normal process of living and focuses on maintaining the quality of remaining life. It affirms life and neither hastens nor postpones death through a multidisciplinary team approach. Hospice is not a place. It is philosophy.

Nicole Knight:

Welcome back to our podcast with Vantage Hospice. So I have with us today, Edwin Gomez. He's one of our, our in case managers, and he's going to, we're going to talk about Why you love hospice and how you became a nurse and all those wonderful things.

Edwin Gomez:

Good, Will. So,

Nicole Knight:

tell me a little bit about yourself.

Edwin Gomez:

I've been doing hospice for probably about 12 years. I worked for a couple of companies before having the fortune to land in this advantage. Which is a company that I love and I've been working in Vantage for probably eight years and it's going to be nine years in August of this year. That is unbelievable. And I still feel like on the first day, full of love, embraced a company that I really feel like I belong and I just love working here. Awesome. Yes. So how'd you become

Nicole Knight:

a

Edwin Gomez:

nurse? Well, you know that I, I am, I came to this country about 16 years ago and a healthcare is always it's something I love doing. It's something that is part of me and when I came a over an opportunity, it kind of opened up for me to a register a, I mean, to get into a nursing program. So I got into the Houston Community College and then I graduated there and then from there I went to the UT Houston and got my bachelor's degree and that's how I basically became a nurse. Awesome. Awesome.

Nicole Knight:

So

Edwin Gomez:

what led you to hospice, Edwin? At first it was kind of like a very happy accident. Isn't that the way it always goes? Isn't that wonderful? Like it

Nicole Knight:

chooses us, we don't necessarily choose it. I

Edwin Gomez:

was Like most of us very focused on getting a job in a hospital, a big, large corporation in a hospital. But for some reason, nothing really clicked. Nothing really actually got it translated into nothing. And then one day I got a call from a friend who knew a friend who knew another friend that needed some hospice nurses. I didn't have any experience in hospice, but I just gave it a try. And, and it was, so they hired me as a PRN because on a PRN basis, just could kind of see if it was going to work out or anything. And it was love at first sight, it was just wonderful experience from day one. And ever since I've been a hospice nurse proud and happy. Yes. So how

Nicole Knight:

long have you been, 16 years, is that what you said, or you moved here in? I moved

Edwin Gomez:

to the States in about 16, 18 years. Oh, okay. Yes. So you've been a hospice nurse for about 12 years. 12 years. Okay. Wow. I know, right? We don't, we don't want to think about age and time. No, absolutely not. What,

Nicole Knight:

What do you think changed your mind from wanting to be, I mean, we know it was a happy accident, but what do you think changed your mind from really pursuing the hospital based? She's really falling in love with hospice. What is it about it that you like? There is

Edwin Gomez:

something I have always liked and loved, which is like, all, with all due respect, all people, advanced in AHA people, I love talking to them. To me is a way of a, just getting in touch with, with a little bit of a history getting their wisdom, getting a, It's just the stories with the stories, the humor, everything is just lovely. And I really, really gravitate towards that and towards just talking with them, engaging with them. Now after that happy, happy accident well, sadly, most of our patients are actually like advanced in age people. And I found that this is the time of most need for most of them in which they are very vulnerable. They need a lot of support and one of the things that I noticed is that there is a lot of misinformation and miseducation about end of life and death.

Nicole Knight:

Very true.

Edwin Gomez:

And I, I found that very inspiring for me to actually do something and educate people, facilities, families, and even patients what truly is a dignified end of life and what truly hospice mean and is. And it's very and that is extremely fulfilling every time I get to do that and, and do it. Yeah.

Nicole Knight:

So what, what is a RN case manager or hospital center should do? Million things.

Edwin Gomez:

A million things. Yes, a million things. It's a hard, loaded question. So the way I like to explain to my families is that I like to take the burden of having to reach out to all those sources for healthcare. They used to be before me. They have to go to the pharmacy to get the medications, they have to go to their primary physician to get one thing, they have to go to the specialty to get another thing, they have to go to the equipment provider to get another thing, so it's like these families. Before they get to us, they have to go in, in, in so many, to so many places to get what they need to provide. And I think the sicker they are, the more places they have to go and seek. So, when I come on board, I basically tell them, it's like, that is no longer the case. I'm going to become your only source of help and support for that mom or whoever. And so you don't need to go to a pharmacy, you don't need to go to the doctor, you don't need to go to the specialty. Everything just reach out to me. I do whatever is need, is needed for, to get it done. To to get what you or him or mom or pop needs at that moment, at that point. That's what I do. On top of that is that little part of education, support, and a lot of what I do also as well is that emotional support at that time of need in which they, they need somebody who's been in that place, who know what it is to lose a loved one. And, and and I do that. So in so many places, I actually kind of become their family and I'm fine with that because that's what they need. They need somebody who is that close to them or they feel is very close to them so they can actually open up and cry and laugh and eat and do whatever just to celebrate those last moments with mom and dad, brother, sister, anything.

Nicole Knight:

Awesome. So, what is it that drew you to Vantage and why have you stayed here for so long? Not that I'm complaining at all, because we love you.

Edwin Gomez:

Vantage to me is my family away from my family. I came to Vantage because I was invited by Brandy, one of my good friends. That I long, I known her from previous experiences. So she brought me over, she invited me over we interviewed the three of us. Absolutely. And I think it was another one of those instances, which I think it was love at first sight. Thankfully. Yes. So, but to me, what, what really means a lot to me is the people advantage. I agree. And that's what I love. I love you. I love Brandy. I love Tessa, I love Jennifer. I love all my aides, Anna all of them. And love my social workers, my chaplain. I mean, it's, it's, I know the thing is love and I am overusing it, but that's, no, I think that's great. True. What it really, truly is is, is that love relationship that I have with my, with my colleague. That really inspires me to come work and stay in Vantage all this time, all these years. Awesome.

Nicole Knight:

Is there anything else that you can think of that I haven't asked you yet?

Edwin Gomez:

No, I think it's, it's I love hospice for a reason and I would love for people to kind of like, educate yourselves into what hospice truly means and what really is hospice. Yeah. That hospice can bring into the care of our loved ones that need that extra support at the end of life. That's, that's basically a big invitation. It's just educate yourselves. Don't whatever stigma or things that you've heard before. It may not actually be true. And it just Just, just reach out if you need some extra support or any extra education, I or Nicole or any one of us would be more than happy to, to play. Absolutely.

Nicole Knight:

I think one of the things that is a common theme with hospice, people that are trying to choose on, decide on hospice, I should say, is the fear. It's like the fear prevents people from even like Googling the word a lot of times. And it's, it's not scary. And that's, I mean, that's one of the things that. I mean, we have the most amazing people that work here, right? I mean, we have the most amazing nurses, the most amazing aides, chaplains, social workers that are just here to support. And I mean, it's a difficult time. We know that. But they do so much to waylay any of those fears that you may be having or any questions you might have or what's coming next, what to expect. And it's just every time that I have ever spoken with a family after they have lost somebody. The running theme is always, I wish I had known about hospice sooner. That's what I always hear. So as Edwin said, don't be afraid. If you have any questions, please just pick up the phone and call us because anybody I hear can answer those questions for you. Yes. All right. Well, thank you. for inviting me.

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Nicole Knight, FNP

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