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Serving Central Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley and Southeastern Virginia with office locations in
Charlottesville: (434) 295-5501, Verona: (540) 885-4413, Newport News: (757) 873-3313 and Virginia Beach: (757) 466-1401
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Our Hospice Team
Our Hospice Team
Machelle Spear
Machelle Spear is a Registered Nurse and our Director of Hospice Care Services. She entered into the specialty of Hospice in 2016 with continuing education with recognition in Pain Resource Nurse Training in 2017. She is a current member of the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization. Machelle started her nursing career in 1993 as a Licensed Practical Nurse then received her Associate of Applied Science with Major in Nursing and graduated Cum Laude in 2015. Her 20+ years career includes Emergency Room, Outpatient clinics, Home Health, Private duty, Intake Coordinator, Pediatrics, Educator and Instructor at Tidewater Tech. She also presents Hospice 101 lectures at Hampton University as well as various Assisted Living Communities.
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Jennifer Fehrenbach
Jennifer Fehrenbach, our Business Office Manager, is currently pursuing her master’s in healthcare administration. She has over 15 years of experience in hospice care. Jennifer is knowledgeable with Medicare and Medicaid laws, regulations and guidelines helping our patients and families get the most out of their hospice benefits. Her primary goal is to walk our patients and families through the hospice process from start to finish, serving as a personal guide. Her biggest accomplishments in her life have been raising her daughter, supporting her husband in his Naval Career, and her career with Interim Hospice Team Virginia. She takes pride in knowing that our patients and their loved ones become a part of the Interim Hospice family, not just a number in our census.
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Vilma Kibaigan
Vilma Kibaigan, LPN, CDP, is a Hospice Intake Coordinator, licensed practical nurse, and certified dementia practitioner. Born and raised in the Philippines, Vilma has been a Virginia Beach locally for 30 years. During this time, she earned her Associates degree in General Studies, graduated as a licensed practical nurse, and became a certified dementia practitioner. In addition to her studies, Vilma also contributed her time to volunteering with Virginia Beach Rescue as an EMT-First Responder. Vilma's compassion for nursing and her drive to restore quality of life continued when she joined the team at Interim Hospice. Working with such a passionate environment and team members has inspired her to push she career even further by pursuing a Baccalaureate Degree in the Nursing Program at Norfolk State University. Once she accomplishes this, her goal is to hen assist the team as an interim Hospice Case Manager. While she dedicates a lot of time to her nursing career, Vilma also makes sure to prioritize her work/life schedule. In addition to being a nurse, she is also a mother of two children and her dog. She enjoys walks along the beach, travelling and exploring new places in the area and around the world, and most of all spending time with her family.
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Megan Rose
Megan Rose, our Client Service Representative, has worked in the hospice field for 7 years. During that time, she has assisted hundreds of patients and their families organize their end-of-life care with an unrivaled passion. Assisting with everything from scheduling visits with hospice staff to filing and organizing charts before the EMR age and all manner of tasks in-between; Megan has approached each task placed before her with dedication and compassion. The most enjoyable aspect of her job is getting to talk to her clients and providing them with the relief of knowing that help is a phone call away.
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Nicole Guns
Nicole Guns, has over 18 years of experience as a Registered Nurse. Her vast wealth of knowledge and experience amongst the life span has uniquely equipped her to care for different populations. She understands that while we all share many similarities, all people are not the same. Nicole believes in holistic nursing care, not just caring for the physical being but also the mental, emotional, and spiritual. Nicole has participated in several medical missions trips to Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania. Having provided care to the most vulnerable populations on Earth was a life changing experience that has helped to shape her world view. Recently, Nicole has served on the front lines of ensuring vulnerable populations in Norfolk received the COVID 19 vaccine. Nicole is a 2003 honor graduate of Hampton University where she received the Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. She is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity degree from Virginia Union University. Hospice work has provided an opportunity to merge her beloved fields of nursing and divinity. Upon completion of the Master of Divinity degree, she plans to pursue the Mental Health Nurse Practitioner degree.
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Brenda Cobb
Brenda Cobb is the Director of Psychosocial Team for Interim Hospice. Prior to joining Interim, Brenda’s work experience included twelve years of hospice care and approximately eight years of training at the Glennan Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology at Eastern Virginia Medical School. She has a Bachelors of Science in Human Services/Counseling and a minor in Gerontology from Old Dominion University and also completed her Master of Social Work (specializing in Gerontology) at Norfolk State University. Brenda interned at the National Institute on Aging and at Duke University Family Support Center. She did research in South Africa with People to People International with an interdisciplinary team focusing on Aging. Currently Brenda serves on the Senior Service of Southeastern Virginia Advisory Council and the Mayor’s Commission on Aging, City of Virginia. Her honors include: the National Sojourner Truth Award, Golden Key National Honor Society, the National Institute on Aging Emerging Scholar Award, the Community Heritage Award and Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia Volunteer Award.
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Darren Wiskow
Darren Wiskow, MD, M.A., was inspired to pursue being a hospice chaplain after the wonderful hospice service his own father received from 2009-2010 in Wisconsin. Darren has been an Interim Hospice Chaplain since Interim launched the hospice team in February 2011. As Darren often jokes, “They can’t get rid of me.” (and we never want to!)
Chaplain Darren’s background also includes humanitarian service for 13 years in a two-thirds world African nation, serving as clergy in a house of worship for 15 years, travel for work and/or pleasure to 47 U.S. states, and the most important trip he ever made – to Seoul, South Korea in 1991 to marry a dear lady from Korea (now a naturalized U.S. citizen). Darren and his wife have three children, two of whom are married and living with their spouses in Wyoming and Paraguay, South America.
Hospice patients and their families are the captain of the ship if they choose to have contact with Chaplain Darren and receive visits. What does this mean?
You as the hospice patient and/or family member tell Chaplain Darren what you would like him to do during visits. Be another pair of eyes to watch your non-verbal loved one? Simply be a good listener and friend? Watch a ballgame on TV or page through a colorful magazine? Look at the beautiful swaying trees through the window? Offer to pray a simple prayer or sing a song? Read from whatever is your religion’s holy book or play inspirational music from a YouTube site you choose?
Chaplain Darren knows that you know your loved one the best and will ask you what will comfort her/him the most during what is often a very difficult time of life. Chaplain Darren’s goal is to help give your loved one a degree of peace in whatever coping means your loved one prefers.
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Elisha Creekmur
As the Bereavement Coordinator for Interim Hospice, Elisha Creekmur, MSW has brought compassion and comfort to hundreds of bereaved family members. Knowledgeable about the grief process and its impact on families, she understands the uniqueness of each person’s journey. Following a caring assessment, she offers a personalized plan of grief education, coping strategies and supportive counseling. Elisha uses empathic listening, affirmation and a strength-based approach to help clients draw on their own resiliency to navigate through the pain of loss to a place of comfort and hope. Elisha has a Baccalaureate and Master’s degree in Social Work and has completed many hours of continuing education in the various aspects of grief and loss. She is a former board member of the National Association of Social Workers for the state of Virginia. She has over 15 years’ experience working with children and intellectually disabled adults. Elisha believes every person has worth, purpose, and the skills they need to overcome the barriers in their life. In her free time, she enjoys crafting and traveling with her husband of 12 years, Rob.
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Rasheedah Taylor
Rasheedah C. Taylor, MSW, LCSW began her studies at Tidewater Community College (TCC) where she received an Associate of Science Degree in 2012, graduating Summa Cum Laude. She is a graduate of Norfolk State University’s Ethelyn R. Strong school of Social Work, where she received a Bachelor’s of Social Work degree (BSW) in 2015 graduating Summa Cum Laude. Rasheedah then went on to pursue graduate studies in Clinical Social Work at St. Leo University, and received a Master’s Degree in Advanced Clinical Social Work (MSW) in 2016 graduating Summa Cum Laude. She most recently fulfilled all components of a two year requirement including passing the Association of Social Work Boards Licensure Exam to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the State of Virginia. This credential allows one to deliver clinical psychotherapy and other mental health diagnoses and treatments in an independent practice setting. Rasheedah has been a Medical Social worker with Interim HealthCare and Hospice for the past five years. Rasheedah specializes in providing personalized support to patients and families to help them manage the mental, emotional and social challenges of coping with a terminal illness. Hospice patients and families oftentimes require various interventions such as psychoeducation of disease process, crisis intervention, counseling, connection to resources, identification of support systems and an array of other interventions. Additionally, Rasheedah has facilitated Caregiver support groups in the community at the Greenbrier Library where she helped caregivers connect and shared resources to help them handle the unique challenges that caregivers face daily. Rasheedah has worked in several settings including Quality Control (Advanced Services, Inc.) Academic Advising/Counseling (TCC) and Community Based Mental Health Counseling (In Home Clinical Casework Services). Rasheedah is also the President of Azeez Affordable Housing, Inc., a Non-Profit 501©(3) Organization, founded by her and her father, whose mission is to help low-and moderate-income families in the state of Virginia secure safe, decent and affordable housing. Rasheedah utilizes a multidimensional approach to therapy, exploring each individual’s biological, psychological, social and spiritual needs. She desires to come along side others to assist them in healing from trauma, building self-worth, improving communication in their relationships and reaching their goals. Rasheedah is a humanistic therapist. Her therapeutic approach is to evaluate each person within their environment, identify their strengths, set goals and to provide unconditional positive regard while helping them reach self-actualization. Rasheedah is the wife of a loving, supportive and devoted husband of 24 years, and a proud Navy mom blessed with two beautiful twin daughters.
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Jennifer Williams
Jennifer Williams is a hospice social worker at Interim Healthcare in the Virginia Beach office. She received her Bachelor of Social Work degree from Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Jennifer has an extensive background as a long-term care social worker and case manager for community agencies and learned to be a strong advocate for her patients. These patients have included: chronically mentally ill adults, the physically disabled and at-risk elderly and terminally ill adults. Jennifer has always had a special affection and rapport with elderly and those experiencing loss, having experienced multiple personal losses at an early age. For 18 years, Jennifer has serviced the Tidewater area of Virginia as a healthcare social worker in a variety of settings with diverse patients, including both long-term and brief interventions. Through her work she is committed to helping families and patients cope with their medical challenges despite the diversity of the healthcare setting. In hospice, Jennifer continues to be “the helping hand” to calm, comfort, and connect patient/families to resources as they navigate the final stages of life. She draws from experience and education to create a tailored approach to provide an environment of compassion and support for each individual and situation. Jennifer’s guiding principle is “Not all wounds are so obvious. Walk gently into the lives of others.” When she is not helping others, Jennifer enjoys her daily walks. She loves the natural beauty of nature. Walking in the rain is the best! Especially barefoot. It is therapeutic and liberating!!
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Alexis Ferebee
Alexis N. Ferebee, MSW, has a demonstrated history of working in the Healthcare and Mental Health fields. She is currently under supervision for her LCSW. Additionally, she is a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and a skilled professional in Individual/Group Therapy, Crisis Intervention, and Behavioral Health. She has been a Social Worker for 7 years and a Hospice Social Worker for 3 years. She truly enjoys working with vulnerable populations and making new connections. Her multiple skills and talents have led her to hospice, where she helps patients and their families to navigate through end-of-life planning, understand their treatment plan and vocalize their needs and resources. Alexis believes that working as a Hospice Care Social Worker, is a challenging yet rewarding career. She is a dedicated and compassionate Social Worker, who is always ready to advocate for the needs of her patients and families.
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Diana Clukey
Diana Clukey, RN, was an “Air Force brat”, and traveled extensively for the first decade of her life Her family settled in Mount Pleasant (a Mennonite area) of Chesapeake, VA and have mostly lived there since then. Diana lived in Tennessee for two years and then Virginia Beach for a couple of years, but says that the rural area of Chesapeake is her heart. Diana is married, has 3 children, 3 grandchildren and a faithful boxer companion (Hope). She became a nurse later in life after focusing on her family, which gave her good insight into what field of nursing she wanted to pursue. Diana volunteered for hospice for seven years prior to becoming a hospice nurse. She says that she loves her current job and is passionate & honored to be providing comfort care and empathetic support to patients and their families during this most important and delicate phase of their life. Outside of work, Diana enjoys spending time with her family & friends, reading, gardening/nature, grilling, country music, hiking and camping. Diana also plans on traveling the USA extensively someday wherever the “lord” leads her.
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Helen Smith
Helen Smith, RN, graduated from nursing school in 2002 from TCC here in Portsmouth. Her intention she says “was to go further to NP but "Life" got in the way, and I never made it any further.”
She started her nursing career in cardHOLDiac Transplant. She did that for a few months but soon realized that she felt as the field was WAY out of her depth, so she transferred over to cardHOLDiac Stepdown. She made the switch to Hospice about a year later and have NEVER looked back!
She started as a Full Time Case Manager and did that for about 11 years then switched over to an on-call position. She did leave for a while to do a work at home job as a Care Coordinator, but she still did PRN Hospice at the same time.
She says she is drawn to Hospice because she has always loved the Psychosocial/teaching side of Nursing and just being able to support families through their difficult times makes her feel like she is making a difference.
Helen was born and raised in Wales, and moved here when she was 20 to work as a Nanny (she went to Nanny school in England). She left her family and started a new life. She never expected to end up staying here but that's how it turned out. She has 4 beautiful children, 3 girls and a boy. Her oldest daughter lives in Moyock, second daughter lives in Nevada, third daughter lives in Idaho and her son lives here in Chesapeake. She has 7 gorgeous grandchildren (6 boys and 1 girl). Her husband has 3 children and 4 grandchildren, so they are a large (combined) family. Helen loves to read murder/mystery books and she loves to make quilts (mostly baby ones these days), or any kind of sewing. She loves to swim when she can as well.
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Janice Pardo
Janice Pardo, BSN began her nursing career working in ICU after an earlier career in Early Childhood Education. Nursing was a long awaited dream. During her time working in ICU she also worked PRN at Eastern State Hospital in the acute forensic department. While still working in ICU she was encouraged to take on leadership roles and spent 20 plus years in management at Sentara Leigh Hospital mostly in cardHOLDiac Medicine. She had an award winning team there as they were the Sentara team chosen to be the TCAB Unit (Transforming Care At the Bedside) funded through the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation. This team was able to travel and share their innovations that created better experiences in the hospital setting for both patients and the team. Desiring new challenges she assumed the role of Interim DON in Long Term Care that extended to a year and finally led to her niche in Hospice. It feels really amazing to be welcomed into the homes of these patients and their families many of which are at the most vulnerable times of their lives. While some days are very challenging, it is rewarding in too many ways to count.
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Sherrice Ford
Sherrice Ford, Volunteer Coordinator & We Honor Veterans Coordinator Born and raised in a rural area of Spotsylvania County where being kind to one another, looking out for your neighbors, treating others the way you wanted to be treated and serving God was how we lived our daily lives. We were raised to be humble, understood how it’s better to give than receive and blessings come from doing what’s right even when it’s popular to do wrong. I am a tomboy and country girl at heart. Playing sports, cutting grass, or raking leaves and gardening with my grandfather were my favorite things to do. GrowHing up and well into adulthood, my favorite people were my grandparents, and a close second were the seniors in the community. Little did I know that the love of those elders would turn into a passion for working with seniors, especially those in need. Because I didn’t know my passion, I have a B.S. Degree in Business Administration from Mary Washington College. There were many other “jobs” before finding home with Interim Hospice. Each of those “jobs” taught me something useful. Past duties were a pharmacy technician (CVS), auto claims representative (GEICO), HR benefits specialist (Capital One), licensed insurance specialist (USAA), medical records manager (personal care co.), Adult Day Service Director (Primeplus) and administrative assistant (NCCAP). Outside of work I am a wife, mother of a son/baseball player entering college and actively involved at my church. Church duties are a Steward, Pastor’s Aide President, Missionary Society Secretary, finance team member and Young People’s Division Advisor. Past experiences with a grandfather and extended family who passed from dementia, intensified my desire to learn more about how this disease affects individuals and those caring for them. The last 10 years have been spent attending educational sessions and working with dementia specialists to be most effective in helping patients and their caregivers. As the Volunteer Coordinator I recruit and retain volunteers with kind hearts and willing spirits who are dedicated to adding value to the lives of our patients and helping relieve and encourage their caregivers. We are Hospice Partners in the We Honor Veterans Program and are committed to meeting the needs of our veteran patients and those in the community. I am thankful for the opportunities afforded me by the Haslup Family. They lead by example with honesty, integrity and the expectation of the same while giving our best to those we are entrusted to serve.
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Vernita Baldwin
Coming Soon!
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Sara Kruger
Sara Kruger, RN-BSN, is a registered nurse who serves as part of the PRN team. Sara has been working in hospice and palliative care since 2016. Sara came to nursing later in life, as a second career after training and working as a pastry chef for many years. She has experience working in both the home health and hospital settings, giving her a broad range of understanding. Sara is passionate about caring for her patients as a whole person, recognizing and listening to all of their concerns, making her job valuable to her in so many ways. A Norfolk native, Sara has lived in the area most of her life, always appreciating the natural beauty of the landscape here. Sara enjoys going to the beach, swimming and playing Pickleball in her free time. She has four adult children and two dogs.
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Louise Dalton
Louise Dalton, RN, has been a PRN nurse with Interim Hospice for the past 2 years. “I find it very rewarding work and a true privilege to support our patients and families as a part of our wonderful team.”
She graduated from nursing school in 2003 with an ADN. The first 10 plus years of her nursing career she worked on 2 units at Sentara Norfolk Hospital as a cardHOLDiac Stepdown nurse, Sentara Hospital Extended Recovery nurse and was then promoted to Nursing Coordinator. At times she collaborated with palliative care, chaplains, and other supportive staff which in turn inspired her to pursue hospice nursing. She then worked for a hospice company for 5 years as a full-time on-call nurse. Due to family needs, she then took a work from home nursing job with an insurance company as a Care Coordinator for 5 years. During part of that time she worked a second job at Riverside Hospital as a PRN nurse. She then became a full-time caregiver for her live-in mother-in-law with dementia and did PRN hospice visits.
Family is very important to Louise. Her husband, Craig, is an IT Security Engineer with Sentara. Her two daughters are both RNs, her oldest is engaged and works at a hospital in Richmond, her youngest works at SNGH and is attending a masters degree program at SEBTS. Her husband has a married daughter in Florida and also 3 sweet grandkids from his late son. Her favorite hobbies include anything outdoors such as hiking, kayaking, camping, bicycling, gardening, traveling, rescuing dogs, craft projects, and giving back to the community by volunteering.
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Ivan Monev
Coming Soon!
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