Spencer Nolen is our Hospice Community Liaison from Suncrest Hospice and hosts the Sommerset Neighborhood Men’s Group once a month along with hosting games in Memory Care once a month. When the Sommerset Staff learned of the Yo-yo activity set for Memory Care on National Yo-yo Day, they also found out that Spencer had some amazing Yo-yo skills himself to share! The staff excitedly decided to add more yo-yo activities to the calendar for the entire community, not just exclusively for Memory Care. And it was a hit! Here is Spencer’s story as to how he got into the Yo-yo in the first place.
“My name is Spencer Nolen with Suncrest Hospice. My mom was a hospice RN and my dad built cars for General Motors. I’m a blue collar boy from Tennessee who was divinely led to Oklahoma through God and the hospice industry in 2018. My passion and work ethic for hospice began during a tough transition from 5th to 6th grade. I struggled to keep my grades and often fell behind the achievements of my peers. Every summer, right before school started, my dad took me shopping for school clothes. I saw a man yo-yo’ing at the mall selling yo-yo’s. I begged my dad to buy it for me. He kindly reminded us we were shopping for school clothes, not toys. But, he agreed to buy it after making a deal: all my homework must be done each day after school before I could play with it. It was a great incentive in addition to the hardworking examples my parents set for me. I finished middle school winning the school’s Science Award in 8th grade, a 3.4 GPA in high school, 3.5 in undergraduate, and a 3.9 in graduate school, earning a MBA degree in 2015.
As a child, my mother took me around her patients and senior communities. My dad took me on tours to his plant at Saturn Corporation, and to visit the elderly who couldn’t make it to church on Sundays. I’ve witnessed our seniors transition, caroled to them for Christmas, and heard about my mom being the only family they had left. By seeing how hard my parents worked, and how their employment made tangible differences in the lives of society, it instilled values of honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness to serve others in every capacity I’m able. We all need healthcare and transportation at some point in our busy lives, and we all need someone to advocate for us when we reach various stages of life. Hospice is a vessel for our souls, for both quality healthcare and soul transportation, to assist our transition from this life to the next in a dignified and peaceful manner. Sons and daughters of those my mother cared for still call or visit her today to thank her for the angel she was for their family. She still renews her nursing license each year on paper stating, “I’m not gonna let a computer stop me!” Both my parents turned 81 this year. They are blessed with the health and strength to tend their garden and lawn together.
I use my quality upbringing and education every day in my field of expertise in hospice care. I advocate for the lives of those closest to transitioning from this life to the next. It all started with my parents. As a Life Advocate, I get to educate our Oklahoma community on the benefits, rules and regulations, laws, principles, and guiding philosophies of high quality hospice care. I get to explain what it is and what it is not. I get to highlight the Suncrest Difference. With double the state average in visit frequencies last 7 and last 3 days of life, in which last 7 and last 3 is a regulatory statistical measure, our visit frequencies ensure more accountability and documentation for clinical staff providing hospice services to the patients and families receiving the benefits. This improves quality and satisfaction overall. Of over 150 hospice provider licenses in the state of Oklahoma, I think the proof is in the pudding with Suncrest Hospice because we visit our patients more than our competitors do.
My parents’ hardworking sacrifices and this little yo-yo story, which has become notorious for turning my life’s tests into testimonies, anchored my dreams of making a difference in the lives of others into my present-day reality by representing hospice care for Suncrest.
Death is not the end. Everyday we get to be alive, no matter our struggles, ailments, diseases, and infirmities, life is a life well worth our best living, one day at a time. When you understand the power of your words, you won’t just say anything. When you understand the power of your presence, you won’t just be anywhere. Those are both strong reasons why I believe in Suncrest Hospice’s mission and values. Suncrest Hospice deeply enriches the soil of my story’s roots. My story is the fruit of the tree, planted in me by my parents long ago, as I am honored to be called to this work today. I’m grateful for each day God provides me the opportunity to serve our Oklahoman senior community, for the power that passes through me to do this work is His alone, and I humbly acknowledge all I’m able to give was first given to me by God. He takes care of my needs along this journey. He sustains me to do His bidding everyday.
Who would have thought a simple yo-yo man could do the trick for this Tennessee country boy? Through excellent examples from my parents, and the willingness to do something uniquely different in the hospice industry, I am privileged to bring about real life-change within our entire Oklahoma community by sharing my experience, strength, and hope with those in need. Today, there are no limits to the miracles we get to see and believe.
God bless each of you, my fellows,
Spencer”
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