Honoring the Best – Vilma Barrios

At our annual dinner, before a rapt audience of more than 2,000 healthcare CEOs and practicing clinicians, we announced the winner of our 2011 Schwartz Center Compassionate Caregiver Award®.  She is Vilma Barrios, a certified nursing assistant at Circle of Caring at Hospice of the Good Shepherd in Newton, Massachusetts – the first CNA and hospice caregiver we’ve ever honored.

We were thrilled to be able to recognize someone like Vilma, who is one of the many unsung heroes in our healthcare system and represents a critically important and growing sector of healthcare:  in-home care. 

Vilma is a native of Guatemala who came to the U.S. when she was just 16.  Within a short period of time, she married, became a citizen, and started a family.  Vilma worked in manufacturing for about 10 years, but says she never found much meaning in her work.  When her company announced it would be moving out of state and an employment counselor suggested she become a CNA, she jumped at the chance.

“I began to notice older people in grocery stores and shopping malls,” she says.  “Helping them gave me great joy.  The problems of the elderly soon hit close to home when my mom had a stroke.  Caring for her made me realize my true calling.”

Vilma says that people in need of hospice require special care and understanding.  “The patients and their families are suffering, knowing that a lifetime of experiences and relationships will soon end,” she explains.  “I try to give them comfort and support.  For some, our time together may last only a few days, for others it may stretch into months.  No matter how long we are able to be together, I try to make our time as pleasant, pain-free, and happy as possible.”

According to Hospice of the Good Shepherd social worker Peggy Brown, “Vilma is able to talk to our patients and their families about end of life issues in a personal and meaningful way that respects the values of our diverse patient population and the choices people have made about their care.”

In addition to her work with terminally ill patients, Vilma also cares for younger individuals with disabling chronic conditions.  As a result of this experience, she volunteers on the weekends for a nonprofit theatre group that integrates artists with and without disabilities in the arts.  She describes herself as someone who loves to sing, dance, and write.  She has written poems for her patients and often sings to comfort them. 

Vilma describes compassionate care simply.  “I listen,” she says.  “I speak very softly.  I do not rush.  If it takes an hour to convince someone to bathe, I’m in no hurry.  I want to make my patients’ last days as comfortable and painless as possible.  My job is not easy, but it has taught me to value life even more.”

The Schwartz Center Compassionate Caregiver Award is made possible in part by the generosity of AstraZeneca, a leading pharmaceutical company.