 I'm Jackie Mates, a registered nurse with the Mid-Michigan Home Care Hospice Program. People often ask me why I became a hospice nurse. My most common reply is that I take it as an honor and a privilege to enter a patient and family's home during this transition to help make the dying process as comfortable as possible. I was inspired to be a hospice nurse myself when several years ago my own dad passed away under the kind, compassionate care of the Mid-Michigan Home Care team. And I just take it again as a privilege and an honor to do the same for others.