Ora “Lee” Wooster, III knew Samaritan. He grew up alongside Samaritan professionally, witnessing their Circle of Services increase from hospice only, to adding palliative care (Palliative Medicine), home-visit physicians, and more. As a licensed funeral director with his family’s business, he has witnessed Samaritan nurses’ “compassionate ministry” firsthand. He hears constantly from families he has served about the excellent care
Samaritan provided, inspiring him to become a volunteer with Samaritan. When the time came for his mother, Doris Wooster, 96, to receive care, Ora knew he could count on Samaritan.
You would be hard pressed to find a bigger Phillies and Eagles fan than Doris. She was a tough, but loving Christian woman, who left a lasting impression as a schoolteacher in Clementon, New Jersey. Lee hears frequently from his mom’s former students, “She was the best teacher [I] ever had.” Doris became housebound as ailments from aging led to frequent falls. To meet this need, the Wooster family began searching for an at-home primary physician.
After two months of difficulty, Lee, reading up on Samaritan’s Circle of Services, made the decision to reach out to their Chief Development Officer, Chris Rollins. Immediately, he was put in touch with Theresa, Nurse Coordinator, at Samaritan’s Access Center. Shortly after, Samaritan’s Home Visit Physicians Team had scheduled a health check visit to meet Doris. Lee was amazed how quickly the team met their needs, came in for a primary care visit, and provided the family with medical supplies to ease Doris’s care at home.
Doris’s family knew she was advancing and that she would eventually need end-of-life care. Lee understood that Samaritan’s full circle of services would provide a smooth transition from at-home primary care to hospice end-of-life care when the time came.
An emergency hospitalization revealed that Doris had developed painful kidney stones. The family reached out to her Samaritan Care Team, and they immediately made an assessment. It was determined that Doris had advanced and would need hospice care. Communicating and coordinating with the Wooster’s, Doris was moved to Samaritan Center Voorhees for hospice care and 24/7 monitoring. Lee reflectively shared, “From there, the story is just beautiful.”
Doris’s family spent a week in the Voorhees Center’s home-like environment observing what they describe as, “top to bottom excellent care.” Emphasizing that “from the staff changing her bed and cleaning her to the nurses caring for her, everybody was excellent.” They were moved by the special touches of care provided, from the Chaplains who offered words of comfort, to the melodic tones of the Threshold Choir who sang so beautifully to Doris at her bedside. And above all else, Samaritan’s nurses’ compassionate care put the family at ease. “Until you personally witness all they do, you just can’t appreciate their care and be thankful for that,” Lee shared with emotion. Seeing that Doris was being well taken care of, the family was able to concentrate on the precious moments they had left.
As a co-owner in the Wooster family funeral business, Doris was no stranger to advanced planning and arrangements. She had made sure her loved ones knew just what she wanted. As she began to decline, her family started to finalize these details, so they were ready to honor her. Doris had been non-responsive for a few days, but when Lee, his wife, Bonnie, and their daughter, Kaitlin, were sitting with her, Kaitlin gently told her, “Mom-Mom, we’ve got all your plans in order, you can let go.” A small tear fell from Doris’s eye, they kissed her goodnight and left the Center. As it turned out, it was just what Doris needed to hear.
Leaving Samaritan that evening, Lee and Bonnie turned on the car radio and heard Knocking on Heaven’s Door, followed by Stairway to Heaven, which felt like a poignant message. A little while later, Lee received a call from the Center, informing him to come back, as Doris had passed on. As he returned to the Center with Kaitlin, this time professionally to transfer Doris into their care, Kaitlin shared that she had heard the song Spirit in the Sky on her ride home that evening. It all seemed like heavenly signs letting them know that Doris was at peace.
“Samaritan nurses,” Lee declared, “are angels on earth.” Experiencing Samaritan as a caregiver gave Lee a new level of appreciation. From the moment the family reached out, to the continued support offered by the bereavement team, he was impressed. For Lee, it reinforced that over the 40 years of care and expanding services, Samaritan’s driving mission of compassion continues to be the Heavenly star.