Willis Partington, Lead Bereavement Counselor, VNSNY Hospice

“At its simplest level, my role is about supporting our bereavement team in any way that’s needed.”

“My role at VNSNY is a bit complex,” says Willis, “but at its simplest level, it’s about supporting our bereavement team in any way that’s needed.” For example, due to the pandemic, he pivoted to using a webinar format to lead the most recent VNSNY Hospice Memorial Service—an annual tribute to VNSNY Hospice patients who have died within the past year. “Until this year, we’ve always held the service in person, usually in a house of worship,” he notes. “This year, due to COVID-19, we made it virtual, but we tried to keep the same spirit, with music, a slide show, and readings from representatives of our hospice program, including a Social Work Fellow.” The annual hospice service was the model for last summer’s poignant VNSNY Virtual Memorial Service, which Willis also led, honoring VNSNY colleagues and loved ones who died during the pandemic.

March and April were a harrowing and challenging time for Willis and his team. “In a short period there were so many losses,” he recalls. “A lot of our support groups stopped because of COVID-19, which only increased the sense of isolation. We really had to scramble to find a way to keep people connected. When we transitioned to Zoom and people could see each other again during group sessions, it was a great relief.”

With his naturally comforting demeanor, supplemented by master’s degrees in divinity and social work from Union Theological Seminary and Columbia School of Social Work, Willis has an innate ability to make people feel calm and safe when he’s interacting with them. “I’m a social worker with a spiritual foundation, and I’m a good listener,” he says, “so I think that makes me very attentive to the needs that someone is presenting to me at any given moment. I guess you could say that I try to give good customer service—both to our internal and external customers.”