SIDNEY— Angela Barfield, chaplain of Hospice Services, is Wilson Health’s Healthcare Worker of the Year nominee for the Ohio Hospital Association’s (OHA) 2020 Albert E. Dykes Healthcare Worker of the Year Award.

The Albert E. Dyckes Healthcare Worker of the Year Award is given each year to one Ohio caregiver who personifies a leader who gives back to the community, routinely goes beyond the call of duty and has overcome odds to succeed. All nominees were honored at the virtual OHA Recognition Banquet in August.

Barfield currently serves as chaplain for Wilson Health Hospice. She touches members of the community from before birth to end of life by leading hospice grief support groups, as well as infant loss support groups.

In 2019, Barfield implemented Rachel’s Gift, a non-profit program that helps parents grieving the loss of an infant, into Wilson Health Birth Center’s outreach program. She continues to lead this monthly Grief Support Group. Barfield also helps support the annual Hope Launch at Wilson Health every October. This event helps to honor and celebrate those infants that have gone too soon.

Barfield earned her Master’s in Family Ministry from Winebrenner Theological Seminary in Findlay, Ohio, where she also worked. She earned her chaplain certification while volunteering for Henry Medical Center in McDonough, Georgia, and volunteered for a local hospice, as well as for the Atlanta Rachel’s Gift program.

Barfield’s oldest daughter, Meredith, now a pediatrician, is a survivor of childhood Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Three years after Meredith was diagnosed with leukemia, Barfield was diagnosed with breast cancer. After a lumpectomy, chemo and radiation, Barfield is now a Breast Cancer Survivor. These life experiences as both parent and patient have given Barfield a special understanding of the process and importance of care and support, and the criticalness of caregiver’s roles.

When asked about her nomination, Barfield commented, “I have the privilege of helping others at their most vulnerable time. Whatever I can do for grieving patients and families, I will do.”

To read Barfield’s full nomination, visit www.wilsonhealth.org.