Fighting back tears, Sara Mattillion cracks a big smile as she describes her late mother, Mercedes Woodworth, who died in October 2025, after a lengthy battle with cancer.

“My mom was a firecracker,” says Mattillion, a registered dietitian at OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, Illinois. “She was definitely very spunky and quirky, full of life, love and energy for everyone.”

The 75-year-old Woodworth spent a year in OSF Hospice until she died October 17 of this year. She was living alone at her home in Burbank, Illinois, following the sudden death of her husband, Gary, in January 2025.

“It was one of the most awful things I've experienced in my lifetime,” Mattillion says. “But we felt supported by hospice. Everybody that surrounded my mom was also surrounding my brother and I. Taking care of somebody who's dying, and you know they're dying, is hard. It's emotionally taxing, mentally and physically.”

Mattillion and her brother Andrew made frequent trips back to the Chicago area to care for their mother, but the care from the hospice team at OSF HealthCare Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Evergreen Park, Illinois, proved invaluable.

“We’re there throughout the entire time,” says Barb Johnson, an OSF Hospice manager. “I always say that we walk beside the family and the patient, we don't go in and take over. We provide a lot of education, not only on what the disease is, but how that family member is going to take care of their loved one."

A care team, which includes a physician, nurse, social worker, chaplain and volunteers, also focuses on the emotional aspect of dying. Volunteers can help by sitting with patients or assisting with errands or chores around the home. Most importantly, they provide support for caregivers and loved ones.

Hospice is a program that focuses on the entire being of the patient, meaning physical, emotional, environment, as well as their family,” adds Johnson. “We provide as much attention to the family as we do the patient. Because the family is the one that is really taking care of the patient, and we're asking these people to do things that other people have gone to school for. To administer medication and to help them go to the restroom and change their clothes. For many of our families, this is a brand-new area that they're encountering.”

Mattillion says she and Andrew appreciated the clinical and emotional support from hospice. It gave them “peace of mind” during the difficult days. She adds that her mother, too, was overwhelmed by the care and compassion she received for nearly a year.

“She said that she didn’t know what she did to deserve so many angels around her,” Mattillion says. “She really appreciated everyone who was visiting her. How personable they were, and just how real everyone was being with her. She was able to connect with each person that came into the house.”

A month before Woodworth died, she and her family gained some closure thanks to participating in AARP’s Wish of a Lifetime®, a program that fulfills the dreams of older adults, often due to financial or health situations. Woodworth’s lifelong wish was to visit the Grand Canyon, which she did with her two adult children.

For four days, Woodworth and her children soaked in the beauty of the Grand Canyon – laughing, sharing stories, eyeing the majestic sunsets and gazing at the dancing stars.

“My mom said that it gave her a sense of peace and a renewal of energy that she needed to keep going for the time that she did,” Mattillion says. “It was fantastic.”

While hospice won’t change the eventual outcome, the true benefit of hospice is the support the patient and loved ones need during those crucial last days, weeks or months.

“It takes an emotional and physical toll on people to care for someone,” says Johnson.  “What we always tell family members is most important is that they take care of themselves first. Because if they don't take care of themselves, they're not going to be able to take care of their loved one.”

November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. For more information on hospice, visit the OSF HealthCare website. 

 

Sara Mattillion interview clips 

Barb Johnson interview clips 

On Wednesday, October 22, OSF HealthCare leaders and community members gathered for the unveiling of the Hospice Beacon of Light. The single beam, visible from dusk until 2 a.m., symbolizes comfort, peace and remembrance for patients and families served by the hospice home.

The light was made possible through a generous donation from the wife of a former patient, who wanted to create a lasting tribute to the care her husband received. Since its opening, OSF Richard L. Owens Hospice Home has served thousands of patients and families across central Illinois, providing medical, emotional and spiritual support during life’s final journey.

“Over 70% of patients would prefer a setting other than the hospital to spend their last few months of life. We would like to have a patient centered approach and share the options on how they can have their care delivered. Some may feel more comfortable in a hospital environment, but others may want to be home surrounded by family which can happen in our community hospice or hospice home,” says Sarah Overton, Chief Nursing Officer for OSF Medical Group, Home Care and Employee Health. “It can be scary journey, but it doesn’t have to be. Your doctor or care team can explain all the options and you can be in control of the care. At OSF we are here to support our patients and their families through that journey and studies show talking about it reduces patient anxiety.”

Ahead of National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) on Tuesday, April 16, OSF is launching new ways for patients and their families to be proactive when it comes to an end-of-life journey. The day is used as a way to encourage and educate the public and healthcare providers about the importance of advance care planning (ACP).

Resources patients now have: 

• Through OSF MyChart, an online system providing patients access to their electronic medical records, patients can now access tools and resources on an Advance Care Planning page fill out a “Patients Wishes” questionnaire.
• Through MyChart, patients also have the ability to upload any advance care planning documents, enter in health care agent information, and access free healthcare legal documents ahead of their ACP appointment to assist them in their advance care planning journey.
• Enhanced care from medical team to know, understand and respect the patient’s wishes at any time in the patient’s care journey.

OSF care teams will work to connect with the right patient populations and ensure patients, along with their families, take an active and easy role in clearly establishing their goals of care.

“We have started to move into a continuum approach. When we have patients that are identified at risk for illness, and risk for hospitalization, we want to have those informed conversations with the patients and families,” Overton says. “We call those ‘goals of care conversations.’ These would be our physicians and advanced practice providers talking to you and your family to make sure the patient understands their illness, finding out what their wishes are, and seeing how we as healthcare providers can honor them. The benefit is that now we can see that through their entire care journey.”

Steps patients can take:

• Identify who your health care decision makers are that can speak on your behalf when you are unable to speak for yourself.
• Be proactive. Express your wishes and have end-of-life conversations with your family early on and often – as it’s important and things change.
• Keep talking. Continue the conversation with those who may have a say in your health care. The more you talk, the more your loved ones can align with your beliefs, values, and goals for care.

“Naturally, we always think of caregivers as our spouse, parent, or child; but sometimes those people aren’t the right people. So, we really need to talk through what it is that we want with our families. Make it natural. This can be a dinner conversation,” Overton says.

Overton adds that research shows earlier conversations and referrals to palliative and hospice care both prolong life and increase the quality of life.

Video Interview Clips