OZH VOLUNTEERS
Walking the Last Mile
BY DWAIN HEBDA | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES MOORE J
ack Butler served his country honorably in Vietnam, earning the Bronze Star for valor. But when his health started to fail, the veteran found himself in the great-
est battle of his life. “We were just running back and forth to Springfield and Mountain Grove and Willow Springs and Houston, Missouri, just everywhere trying to find out what was wrong with him, and nobody could give us an answer,” said Beatrice Butler, Jack’s wife of 11 years. “We went to see our primary doctor one day and he looked at Jack and said, ‘You know Jack? I have sent you to some of the best doctors I know, and I’ve done everything I know to do for you. I think it’s time you get on hospice.’
“We thought about it and thought OK, sounds like a plan because he didn’t want to go into a nursing home and I didn’t want him to. This way he was able to stay at home and live out his life here.” Jack died August 20, 2022, and while nothing erases the pain of a loved one’s passing, Beatrice is quick to point out how helpful and comforting Ozarks Healthcare At Home: Hospice was, all the way to the end.
“If I needed them, all I had to do was call, and somebody would be here,” she said. “I remember the first time I got re- ally upset about him being so sick, and I knew what his destination was. I called the social worker and she said, ‘I’m com- ing over. I’ll be right there.’ Her just being
here made me feel so much more at ease. It was about him, but it was also about me. It was nice.” It’s not hard to find many similar sto- ries about Ozarks Healthcare At Home: Hospice, a caring collection of medical and spiritual professionals who help pa- tients and their families deal with the fi- nal steps in the natural life cycle. “It’s a really rewarding job,” said Eric Bowman, hospice chaplain and pastor of Lighthouse Community Bible Church in Moody, Missouri. “I realize that people struggle. There are a lot of things undone. I just want to help them with those things. To me, it’s the personal nature of (hospice ministry), just having the opportunity to be one-on-one with somebody. “To tell you the truth, and I know this is
It’s a really rewarding
job. I realize that people struggle. There are a
lot of things undone. I just want to help them with those things.
- Eric Bowman - Hospice Chaplain
“ ”
Above: Eric Bowman, who has been a chaplain with hospice for the past two years, also serves as its bereavement coordinator and manages the organization’s We Honor Vets program.
30 | OZARKS HEALTHCARE | FALL/WINTER 2022
hard to say, but I have more of a blessing working with these people probably than they do with me. I’ve come to terms with my own death, so it makes it a little easi- er for me. That’s how I feel about it.” The hospice serves
a seven-county area across the southern border of the state. Volunteers and staff serve patients in their homes, reliev- ing families from many of the burdens that come with end- of-life care, from physical needs to
emotional and spiritual support. “There’s a lot of roles in that process,” Bowman said. “We help with bringing healthcare into the home — medicine,
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