Barfield is Wilson OHA Healthcare Worker of the Year

SIDNEY— Angela Barfield, Chaplain of Hospice Services, is Wilson Health’s Healthcare Worker of the Year nominee for the Ohio Hospital Association’s (OHA) 2020 Albert E.

Dykes Healthcare Worker of the Year Award.

The Albert E. Dyckes Healthcare Worker of the Year Award is given each year to one Ohio caregiver who personifies a leader who gives back to the community, routinely goes beyond the call of duty and has overcome odds to succeed. All nominees were honored at the virtual OHA Recognition Banquet in August.

Angela Barfield currently serves as Chaplain for Wilson Health Hospice. She touches members of the community from before birth to end of life by leading hospice grief support groups, as well as infant loss support groups.

In 2019, Angela implemented Rachel’s Gift, a non-profit program that helps parents grieving the loss of an infant, into Wilson Health Birth Center’s outreach program. She continues to lead this monthly Grief Support Group. Angela also helps support the annual Hope Launch at Wilson Health every October. This event helps to honor and celebrate those infants that have gone too soon.

Angela earned her Master’s in Family Ministry from Winebrenner Theological Seminary in Findlay, Ohio, where she also worked. She earned her Chaplain certification while volunteering for Henry Medical Center in McDonough, Georgia, and volunteered for a local hospice, as well as for the Atlanta Rachel’s Gift program.

Angela’s oldest daughter, Meredith, now a Pediatrician, is a survivor of childhood Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Three years after Meredith was diagnosed with leukemia, Angela was diagnosed with breast cancer. After a lumpectomy, chemo and radiation, Angela is now a Breast Cancer Survivor. These life experiences as both parent and patient have given Angela a special understanding of the process and importance of care and support, and the criticalness of caregiver’s roles.

When asked about her nomination, Angela commented, “I have the privilege of helping others at their most vulnerable time. Whatever I can do for grieving patients and families, I will do.”

To read Angela’s full nomination, visit www.wilsonhealth.org.

PICTURE THIS – Seven kids sitting on the curb watching the Oktoberfest parade and then seeing them some 15 years later doing the same thing. Here they are – same group, now adults, watching the Oktoberfest parade in front of Boeckman’s Auto Center. Left to right – Kelli (Kemper) Bensman, Lisa (Kemper) Schmiesing, Courtney (Wente) Gilberg, Marcus Wente, Zach Stueve, Jessica (Stueve) Hock, and Dannielle (Wente) Welling. Thank you, Dave Kemper, for sharing two of your favorite Oktoberfest memories.