You don’t have to have everything figured out.

That’s one of the most important things HopeWest hospice and palliative care staff want you to know, if you aren’t sure if you’re old enough, sick enough, or (speaking frankly) dying enough to qualify for their services.

That’s someone else’s job — you just have to call and talk to someone like Kelly Goodin.

You might already know Goodin from her work focused on connecting and keeping animals and humans together, emphasizing quality of life.

Her work as the first executive director of Second Chance Humane Society for more than 17 years was in the spotlight — advocating for animals and fundraising to build the program and facility for the nonprofit.

Goodin’s current job is just as focused on quality of life and caring for others, but it’s more behind-thescenes, a navigator for one of life’s most challenging times. She returned to her roots and now works as a clinical social worker for HopeWest, a regional nonprofit helping patients and families with hospice and palliative care.

Her own personal experience with her mother’s death last year led her to this latest chapter in her career, a return to her social work roots she built long ago working on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in New Mexico.

The experience with her mother’s sudden decline and death in a state where hospice care wasn’t available until the very end of her life was a valuable lesson to Goodin.

“They had to be actively dying (to qualify),” she said. “We were kind of navigating blindly through the whole process, and being able to do that differently here is wonderful. And being able to be the folks that walk families through the whole process can really have a magnificent impact.”

Goodin said the experience shifted her relationship with death and dying. She had already decided to go back to social work and serendipitously received an email inviting her to apply for the social work job, matching the job with her resume skills.

For Goodin, her work at HopeWest for the past eight months has parallels to her previous job at Second Chance. It’s still about connection, about improving lives.

“Part of the goal is to have folks not feel alone in the process,” she said. “And you know that was really what the human-animal bond was about, too.”

HopeWest, based in Grand Junction, started serving patients in 1993 and expanded to serve Ouray County in 1995. There are currently eight patients receiving in-home services in Ouray County, Goodin said.

Her job is about meeting patients where they are, providing support as part of a team from HopeWest that not only helps them access palliative services and end-of-life care but also helps their caregivers and families. Goodin is one of the staff members who helps these patients obtain help, whether they live at home or in an assisted living center in a neighboring community, since Ouray County doesn’t have any of those facilities.

Maybe someone needs help starting private caregiving in their home, so they can age in place, staying in their home longer. Or maybe they need a higher level of care – a skilled nursing facility or memory care. Goodin can help with that, too.

Often, patients qualify for services much earlier than some people would think, and they receive services for months or years, not just at the very end of their lives.

“You don’t have to figure it out,” said Jenni Neil, HopeWest’s vice president of regional operations. “You don’t have to have a cancer diagnosis.”

“We’ll have patients call us who have said, ‘We were told we need to know you before we need you,'” Neil said, and that’s just fine.

“Folks think they have to be actively dying to receive services,” Goodin said, which is not the case. “In Colorado it is a lot more realistic and accessible to do that earlier.”

In some cases, HopeWest can help patients who may need a higher level of care that can’t be managed in their homes. Ouray County patients are eligible for stays at the HopeWest Ferris Hospice Care Center in Grand Junction, which offers support for not only endof- life care but also for those who might need more help with pain management and getting stabilized.

If patients go to the care center, there’s a new program for their loved ones if they need a place to stay in Grand Junction. The new Carolyn’s House Fund, established through an anonymous donation, helps pay for lodging for families who are out of town, visiting loved ones in the care center.

Family members are also eligible for bereavement services and grief support after a HopeWest patient dies, whether it’s through a grief group, in-person counseling or virtual sessions. These services are also available to community members who did not have relatives in HopeWest.

HopeWest’s services are available to patients in its service area regardless of their ability to pay. Though services are usually covered by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance, other options are available.

Visit hopewestco.org or call 970-241-2212 for more information.