Category: Change On Blog (Professional)

Meet Spencer Cahoon — Director of our Urgent Response Team, nurse by trade (also married to one), and dad to four kids who probably keep him busier than any shift ever could. Spencer's story starts in a Washington cul-de-sac, where campfire nights with neighbors taught him what community really means. It shows up again in nursing school, where he traded lawnmowing money for a cello and started playing for hospice patients — because sometimes what someone needs isn't more medicine, it's music.

Angie McAllister was three years into a college degree to become an art teacher when she took a semester off from school. Something about the path she was on didn’t feel right. Hoping to gain some clarity, she planned to work for a semester, then return to finish her degree. Instead, she found herself applying […]

“I’ve never felt more comfortable, welcomed, and like I’m going to be here until I retire, until now.” After years in hospital systems, Anita Kalogeropoulos, DNP, MSN, RN, Executive Director, Hospice, has seen the difference between a workplace that casually speaks about its culture and one that truly lives it. Lifespark is the latter. Here, […]

Even if you’ve never played ‘Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,’ you probably know the concept: take any actor, living or dead, and trace them back to Kevin Bacon in six jumps or fewer. Swap actor for health care professional and Mr. Bacon for Michele Murray, Lifespark Community Liaison, and you get a sense of the […]

“Working for a company that not only changes hundreds of clients’ lives on a daily basis but keeps the morale of the company high, is one of the most incredible gifts I get to be a part of,” says Nicolette Hart, Lifespark RN, LALD. And it turns out, Nicolette’s not the only one who feels […]

When Jill Eaton saw the job posting for Lifespark Community Liaison in 2022, she told herself, “Just go for it.” The role turned out to be a perfect fit, both professionally and personally. But more on that later. Jill started her career in 1994 as a licensed practical nurse (LPN), working in board and care, […]

“Weird” is the word Dillion Johnson, Lifespark Community Liaison, used to describe his career path to the health care industry. After getting a degree in information systems, Dillion landed a full-time job at a global company based in St. Paul. But six months in, he just wasn’t happy. “The job wasn’t scratching the itch I […]

Working in skilled home health is not for everyone, but for many of the nurses who’ve joined Lifespark Home Health after years of hospital and clinic nursing, it’s a great fit, said Kelly Stocke, RN, Lifespark Home Health Clinical Educator. What motivates a seasoned nurse to explore a career in home health varies from person […]

“I tell my clients all the time what a huge gift it is for me to have an entire hour to talk with them,” said Wendy Laine, MD, who joined Lifespark after 20 years as an emergency medicine physician. Nearly every day, these conversations uncover a long-standing concern, question, or need which the client never […]

Central to Lifespark’s mission to help people age magnificently is helping them stay healthy at home. For individuals with heart failure, the stakes are particularly high. According to the National Institutes of Health, heart failure in the United States accounts for roughly 700,000 inpatient admissions and is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. It’s […]