Juan Feliciano Is Honored With The Hospice Program Excellence Award from VNS Health Personal Care

This award goes to a Home Health Aide who’s shown outstanding service to a Hospice Care patient at the end stages of life. Hospice Care aides must be compassionate, considerate, and deeply caring. This year’s winner is Juan Feliciano, who has been working as a home health aide with VNS Health since 2010, and loves his job. “I love working with people,” he says. “I hold their hand and I like to be there for them.” In his years with VNS Health, Juan has been by his patients’ side during good times and hard times. “I had a very special patient with special needs who lost his mom, and he started calling me ‘Juanny’, which was his version of “Mommy,” he recalls. “I love working with adults and kids who have special needs. It is the most rewarding because they give so much back. We listen to music together and it just fills my soul.” Besides taking care of his patients’ immediate needs, Juan tries to make a connection. “I like getting to know the person I am taking care of. I want to know what they like—what they eat, the music they listen to,” he explains. He remembers how one client used to dance to James Brown’s music and then spend the day working at a bank. “Everyone.” Juan says, “has a story.”