August 13, 2024

Expert Care and Comfort at Life's End: Meet Jo Heidt

Jo Heidt has served EveryStep Hospice patients in Mount Pleasant for more than a decade. “My job is not really a job — it’s a privilege,” says Jo. “It’s an honor to help people at this point in their journey. I am just a little part of the bigger picture, but an important part for our patients, families and communities.”

With an original plan to follow her father into retail sales, Jo found a different path after a friend asked her to help provide care for a dementia patient. “I fell in love with the dementia unit and the people.” Jo became a certified nursing assistant (CNA) in 1992 and after working at a facility in Wisconsin, she moved to Mount Pleasant and started working as a hospice aide for EveryStep Hospice (then called HCI Care Services) in 2013.

A typical day for Jo starts with her farmer chores and then jumping into her “mobile office.” She spends a lot of time driving from patient to patient, providing care wherever they call home. The EveryStep Hospice team in Mount Pleasant provides care in eight counties. Each visit generally lasts an hour, and Jo and the rest of the team typically see four to seven people each day.

“My hours are a bit flexible, which is wonderful because I can customize my schedule to meet our patients’ needs,” says Jo. “One of the best things about EveryStep is that I get to spend one-on-one time with a patient for a whole hour.”

Jo is affectionately known as the “fingerprint queen” for the EveryStep Hospice team in Mount Pleasant. She uses ink to capture the fingerprints of patients on special commemorative cards. “I think it’s important that we leave our fingerprint for the rest of the world. I’ll also ask if I could do a hand picture,” says Jo. “If these hands could talk, what stories would they tell us? How many children have they cuddled? How many cookies have they made? How many fields has this farmer driven in? Sometimes our fragile patients really do need validation their life was well worth it, and the hand pictures and the fingerprints bring them a little pride and a wonderful memorial for their family.”

Jo says the best part of her job as an EveryStep Hospice aide is getting to know the patient’s family members and care partners, and the ability to provide comfort and care to her patients. “One of the best rewards is that simple twinkle in their eye or the gentle squeeze of a hand — a sign they are comfortable as their life ends.”

EveryStep Hospice’s local hospice teams work with you and your family to create a customized plan for your care, which is covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurance policies. The EveryStep Foundation provides hundreds of thousands of dollars in charitable care each year, assuring care is available to everyone who needs it, regardless of ability to pay.

For more information about EveryStep Hospice, with teams in Des Moines, Centerville, Mount Ayr, Mount Pleasant, Osceola and Winterset, along with Kavanagh House hospice home in Des Moines, click here. To find care for yourself or a loved one, click here and fill out the easy, confidential online form. An EveryStep staff member will then contact you to offer support.