Hospice chaplain experiences compassionate care as patient
Genuine, steadfast, honest, empathetic, steward, comforter.
These are the words that come to mind when Charlene Slavens describes her late husband, Larry Slavens.
The couple first met on a fifth-grade field trip, and then reconnected in high school when Larry asked Charlene out on a date. Shortly after graduation, they were married and began 52 years of life together.
In 2014, Larry began working as a MultiCare chaplain, spending his last seven years with MultiCare Home Health & Hospice, where services are often provided at no cost thanks to MultiCare Foundations donors.
From his first day, case manager Tina Lewis, RN, saw Larry put patients at ease with his calm, gentle spirit.
“He was so wonderful … and always present with everyone,” she remembers. “People just absolutely loved when he came and visited them.”
Charlene knew her husband had found his true passion.
“He loved working for hospice … he was called to come alongside,” she shares.
Role reversal
In 2023, Larry developed rectal cancer and soon needed hospice care from the very team he worked with.
Charlene remembers Larry returning for his last day of work, right after he’d been put on hospice, so he could say goodbye to his current patients and colleagues.
Larry Slavens, former hospice chaplain and MultiCare patient, with his wife Charlene
“When he came home, he dropped on his knees and wept,” Charlene recalls. “Not because he was a patient, but because it was his last day as a chaplain. That’s what impacted him the most.”
Larry was invited to choose his own care team, and began receiving services from Lewis, social worker Angela Hass, MSW, comfort therapy coordinator Lisa Gainey, LMT, pastoral counselor Jennifer Hansen and aide Amber Hofer.
“Larry knew he’d get excellent care and that it was more than a job for these ladies,” Charlene shares. “It would be a family coming alongside us.”
Finding comfort and compassion
Led by Melissa Chubbuck, MD, the MultiCare hospice team is comprised of specially trained health professionals who provide whole-person, compassionate care to patients and their families, honoring their wishes and ensuring dignity and comfort through the end of life.
“It’s individualized and it’s interdisciplinary,” Lewis explains. “We make sure however many days are left, it’s going to be comfortable, it’s going to be respectful and we’re going to do everything we can, as a team, to make sure a patient’s goals are met.”
From the moment Larry began hospice, Charlene could always rely on someone visiting the house and being by his side each week.
“Our family loved the co-workers that came in and how they all just embraced us,” she says. “They cried with us, laughed with us … and it was genuine and such a relief and a burden lifter.”
For Lewis, the honor of serving at Larry’s request never wore off, nor did the emotional weight of caring for a beloved colleague and friend.
“There were several times … we’d drive away and have tears in our eyes,” she remembers. “Larry was always so grateful, and we wanted to give him permission to be the person, not the professional.”
From pain relief to physical comfort to emotional, mental and spiritual support, the hospice team’s above-and-beyond care left an impact on the entire Slavens family.
“They were holistic,” Charlene shares. “It wasn’t, ‘We’re coming in and we’re going to heal you,’ it was, ‘We’re coming in and we’re going to comfort you holistically through this journey.’”
Leaving an inspiring legacy
On May 5, 2023, Larry passed away with his family by his side. Amidst those final goodbyes, daughter Julie was left with a lasting perspective on her father’s vocation.
“I had never been more proud of the job my dad had — watching those final hours, and realizing that it takes such care, vulnerability, sensitivity and love to do what those women did,” she recalls. “It’s really a testimony to an organization that will carry their job all the way through to meet the needs of a family and the loved ones.”
Every November, MultiCare Foundations honors friends and family no longer with us by inviting the community to make a donation to MultiCare’s hospice program through the Light Up A Life campaign. Each gift is represented by a shining light on the Trees of Remembrance at MultiCare Tacoma General and MultiCare Good Samaritan hospitals.
Donor generosity helps alleviate financial, physical and emotional burdens on patients and their families. For Charlene, any gift to the hospice program is a moving tribute to Larry, who always valued being a good steward by sharing with those in need.
“What better way than to donate toward hospice, which is going to help someone else through their journey and support them through all aspects, ensuring they have people who will come alongside them,” she shares.
