“Each year we try to think of a special way to show our employees how much they mean not only to the company but to the lives they touched in the past year.” That was the stated goal of Caris Central Regional Vice President of Operations Christie Piland. For the 2016 Central and West Region Employee Appreciation and Awards Banquet – … it worked! Tears filled the room at the October 19 event in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, as Caris regional leadership paid a special tribute to patients who had been on our service this past year. Lead Me Home by Jamey Johnson played as each member of the regional leadership team held a symbolic leaf, with each leaf representing a Caris office. We listed the first name and last initial of each patient served allowing us to remember the lives touched and the lives lost. We acknowledged the grief Caris employees experience while taking care of patients at the end-of-life . In honoring these patients, we also demonstrated our appreciation to the Caris staff who provided care with such compassion, dignity and respect.

“The leaf tribute was a way to honor each office and the many lives they touched over the year. It was a visual representation for the teams to see the excellent care they provided,” Christie added.

“Caris employees work hard to provide World Class Service,” noted West Regional Director of Operations Sherry Pesicka. “It was nice to show them how much they are appreciated and how important their jobs are of providing Hospice Care with Grace.”