Robert DiLella Jr.. The Center facility at one time if you have several years back my friend's mom who Kind of half raised me because he wasn't she they were in the neighborhood so she did a lot for me and growing up and she was in her last stages and I went to visit her and it was Probably I knew it wouldn't see her much more after that But she was so worried she jumped right up and she was like my hair my hair It wasn't like it you so worried about her and but she had a she was real spunky and just like came alive that night I remember that vividly because my friend was like wow it was he saw his mom not Just kind of this last hoorah. She was really excited.
Robert DiLella Jr.. So I went to leave I said goodbye I gave her a hug and there was a woman who was down the hall as I was on my way out I could hear her. She was sort of moaning a little bit. She was saying something I didn't understand what she said, but there was nobody around so I peeked my head in the room and she said peaches peaches I said what and She said I want some peaches so I Didn't know who she was and I just knew that she wanted peaches and where she was and so I asked the nurse if it's okay If I got peaches for it when guys got her some peaches. So I went to the store.
Robert DiLella Jr.. And bought her It was at night so it was like a convenience store happen to have canned peaches Near there the gas station. I think it was I brought the canned peaches back and fed them to her. She was just. Incredible like it was like she was so enjoying that time and We didn't talk much to each other. We're just fed her the peaches and I Said good night left them when I came back the next day to see my friend's mom She had passed overnight, but her family was all there and I told them what our night was like together. Yeah, and they were like peaches were her favorite Yeah.
Robert DiLella Jr.. And they were great with me, cuz I didn't know her but they were they were accommodating to me to like Let me do that for her. Yeah I bet
Annalise Smith. Her family really appreciated that some families, they are rushing here from out of state or whatever they can Get there in time or in some cases they just step out to take a break and sometimes The patient waits until that happens. Yeah, because they don't want people around. Yeah, I think everybody goes on their own terms and. Yeah, we're there to make sure that happens So.
Robert DiLella Jr.. That was exactly how my my grandmother was there as well And when she's when I said my last goodbye to her that was when she after I left the same way. Yeah, her terms like she was ready to go then. But that place has been very and not only in. In the facility, but also outside my father my mother Here.
Annalise Smith. Were they all cared for here?
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, really At a time that you just don't know which way is up. Yeah, it was always so comforting and so Special, made the send-off special. Yeah So I appreciate what you do Thanks very much. So and you have How many under care right now.
Annalise Smith. About five hundred and sixty? Well five hundred and sixty in Collier and Just under a hundred in Lee Hendry and glades County just in March of this year. We expanded our service area and Applied for what they call a certificate of need and league lades and Hendry counties. And have been able to expand for the first time in our history, which is really it's really exciting time there were two existing providers in that market already and the state uses a complicated formula to determine what how many providers are needed based on population and a variety of other factors and In calendar year get this right calendar year 2024.
Annalise Smith. It was determined that there were more than 1800. Patients that should have had hospice but were not served by the hospices that were already there And so that triggered this certificate of need process where the state opens it up and invites other applicants to apply to serve the area of how applied and were selected and in March of this year 2026 we began serving the area. So something we were waiting for for a long time, with it being a contiguous Geography to us. It was a natural place for us to expand we weren't really interested in expanding just for the sake of expanding.
Annalise Smith. But That Benita Springs line, you know that separates Lee in Collier County many people don't even know where it where it is there wasn't a sign at the side of the road and we have a lot of staff and community partners who live in that area and know of our reputation here in Collier and Have wanted us to be there for for a long long time And.
Annalise Smith. So we're really happy to be there But we only have about a hundred patients in that area currently and no hospice house So people that need that level of care would still need to come to Collier County We're in the process of leasing beds With the hospital and with a local nursing center in that area until we can build a hospice house of our own Oh, okay, which will take a few years and that's why my job is secure. I'll be fundraising for the next few years to be ready.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, and the one in Naples has been there. How long
Annalise Smith. Broke ground a 1991 June of 1991 So quite some time Almost 30 years.
Robert DiLella Jr.. So In for in to be in Lee County Or to qualify they just a residence is anybody qualifies
Annalise Smith. It's based on the where where you live so, prior to us as having a license in Fort Myers It wasn't unusual for someone in Fort Myers to know somebody in Naples and say can I come stay with you? I want about to be my provider we just can't provide care in a in a location that is The location where we're providing care has to be within the boundaries of our licensure. So a patient that was living in Fort Myers before we couldn't deliver care in their residence. Okay, but they could have come here to receive care here.
Robert DiLella Jr.. So how for people who don't know What is hospice because sometimes people get so scared of it like oh it is the end and What is it for people?
Annalise Smith. Yeah, so hospice isn't isn't brink of death care. It shouldn't be Hospice is a Medicare was actually developed as a Medicare benefit in the early 80s And it is designed to provide care for people who are in the last six months of their lives. So.
Annalise Smith. It is for people who are no longer pursuing aggressive treatment or curative treatment For people who are willing or ready to let nature take its its natural course And that a doctor would certify or determine that if that happens their life expectancy would be six months or less Now we don't have a crystal ball so, we don't know for sure And if someone is under our care and they get to the six-month mark and they haven't yet passed away We don't kick them to the curb and say enough for you. You're done.
Annalise Smith. You're six months are over So long as the doctor continues to be able to say and document that they feel if life takes its natural course We still have this person's life expectancy is six months or less. My own father is on hospice care now He's doing quite well He has congestive heart failure. He was admitted in November of 2024 so we're coming up on two years with him His health has steadily declined over that time his congestive heart failure So he's never going to recover for that. It's not curable and Because he has a steady decline That's that we can document and the doctor still feels that it is likely that he will Pass away within the next six months.
Annalise Smith. He continues to be recertified We have to by regulation recertify a patient every 60 to 90 to 90 days depending on how long they've been with us We have to document very carefully and there are occasions where patients hit a plateau and they for a period of time Don't continue to decline or they seem to in some cases get a little better When they receive a lot of care and a lot of services and support sometimes they do appear to get better And in those circumstances we do have to discharge a patient and say sorry you don't meet criteria anymore We follow those patients very very closely after we discharge them.
Annalise Smith. Because inevitably it won't be long before Another decline is documented and we can bring them back under care again But the long and the short of it is hospices for people who are no longer Pursuing aggressive treatment and are ready to let nature take take its course and they have a terminal condition that Will not improve without medical intervention our job is to keep them comfortable and Make sure that they have a safe environment and have the care and resources that they need to have a dignified and Pain-free death.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, I remember vividly The impact it had on me because I didn't know what those stages that they were going through were and there was a lot of Education that were really great about keeping the family informed as to what was happening and why and how and Just. So many questions. We all had that were we were just put at ease by having that. That guidance.
Annalise Smith. Yeah, not everybody's been a caregiver before care givings hard work Yeah, because the majority of the care we provide is at home we're almost always working with a family caregiver or a close friend or in some cases a private duty agency or some other professional care provider, but. It is an important role that our staff play in educating Those other people in the home and the patient on what to expect.
Annalise Smith. So that when things change You know, you have tools in your toolbox and you know how to respond without Calling 911 every time, because we that is something we definitely want to avoid most patients who come to us have had a series of Hospitalizations prior to their selection of hospice and that's one of the deciding factors. They say I don't want to go to the hospital anymore I just want to be at home I'm tired of going there and having them poke and prod and tubes and everything else and I still don't feel better let me just. Free myself of that and let nature take its course, but. Yeah that education component is really really important.
Robert DiLella Jr.. What's that like for you for all these years? working in A place like that I it just I Mean I know it's part of who you are but to be there for all those years in a place that Is sad it some people look at it as like a sad thing. But how do you how do you do that?
Annalise Smith. Yeah, it's funny I interview staff for jobs and I always Wonder if they're nervous that it's gonna be a sad place to work and it's not I mean, I'm a crier. So my my colleagues will listen to this podcast and they'll say how is she not cried yet? I'm holding it together today. Pretty well. I'm a crier by nature.
Annalise Smith. But Certainly we see and we hear sad things, nobody greets death with with a Celebration although, we celebrate children when they're born the beginning of life We should celebrate the ending of life just just as much It's a little scarier because we don't know what happens after Yeah, But avow is not a scary or sad place to be Our facilities are beautiful Our staff are just amazing kind generous thoughtful People yeah, and we really I feel bring light To a family at a very very dark time
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what it did for us And
Annalise Smith. It's incredibly rewarding., I get in the car at the end of the day and I drive home and I know that I've been a part of Something really special. Yeah, and It feels good to help people Like In their most desperate hour, yeah, and, I wear my badge when I go to the Publix on my way home from work And inevitably people stop and they say oh my gosh, you're an angel, you're an angel on earth I always have to correct them and say I don't do any of that care part, I'm a fundraiser.
Annalise Smith. But even still, working with donors We see gratitude all the time many many people make their first gift to avow as a gesture of gratitude Because we've cared for a close friend or a family member and it's their way of thanking us for for providing that care. But then subsequent gifts come after that. I think people who have experienced our care realize what a very special part.
Annalise Smith. Of the community of ours not every not every neighborhood or every community has a Hospice like about in it, here we have people coming from all over the country spends season here the winter season here and Frequently we hear people say that they've had an experience with hospice elsewhere and it's not nearly as Experience they then have with the vow. You know, we just do everything sort of at an elevated level To really set ourselves apart from from the others Many hospices don't have a free-standing hospice house. That's not a requirement. It's a required level of care. But many hospices just lease beds in a hospital or in a nursing.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Oh, really?
Annalise Smith. They don't have a free-standing hospice unit and That in and of itself is something very very special. You've been there and seen What a beautiful facility it is. And, some people don't have Equipped caregivers there are times when we have elderly people who the spouse maybe needs just as much care as the patient does And having the hospice house is a reasonable backup for those people when they can't provide care at home. Yeah is really helpful.
Robert DiLella Jr.. I didn't realize that there were Weren't those type of facilities everywhere because I've only been here. Yeah, knowing that it's here
Annalise Smith. Please don't take it for granted because it's not like that. It's not like this everywhere I mean Naples is a special place. Yeah, say that about everything the shopping the beaches the restaurants Hospice falls into that Elevated category as well. Yeah, which is strange to think about but it does.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah. Well, it's yeah It is how maples does things. Yes, it does it the right way in so many ways
Annalise Smith. The other thing is that we do so much more than hospice at about You know, we have palliative care which is completely different programs Separate from hospice and our community grief programs are really special too, all hospices provide some level of bereavement support for the families of the patients they serve. But at a vow again, we take it one step further and we provide community grief support So whether an individual has a loss.
Annalise Smith. Through a patient cared for at the house by the hospice We can they can participate in our individual and group support program So if your mother dies in Ohio and you live here You can still come to support group or have individual counseling if you need And it's all free. So that's one of the Areas of greatest need that we raise money for we spend over a million dollars a year on grief and loss programming.
Annalise Smith. Last year we cared for about 400 adults and more than 500 children through our about kids program We have a designated space for about kids, too So it's a it's a house called aunt Janet's house and it's designed for children We do a lot of art and music Play therapies to help children to express their difficult emotions and develop coping healthy coping skills. So that they can mature and Develop into healthy and productive and happy adults.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Wow, I didn't realize you did all that. Yeah, the counseling or the grief counseling. Can you tell me more about that? Like who's that for?
Annalise Smith. Yeah, so On the adult side of things we're primarily working with people who have experienced a death loss So death of a spouse a parent a child a sibling a close friend We go to workplaces. There have been occasions where there's been a death in the school in a school Maybe it's an educator. Maybe it's a student. But we can go to the school and do group counseling for depending on this the circumstance with groups. People who have had a death of a loved one in most cases are gonna want to do individual Therapy first or counseling first so we have bereavement counselors.
Annalise Smith. They come and they sit in a room just like this They do talk therapy most cases We're seeing adults just a handful of times before we refer them to a group Group counseling is really really effective for adults. Because they are able to sit with people that are experiencing similar situations to themselves so we follow a program called the cycles of change and through the individual counseling sessions our bereavement counselors can help match the client with the group of people that are at the same stage in their grieving cycle as The as the others. So they follow this curriculum then Together through the various stages.
Annalise Smith. We don't want someone that's in the first stage of grief starting at the same point in time As somebody who's maybe been through a couple of the other components already. We want to start them and move them through the process together. So But people find a lot of great camaraderie and support. And rapport with people that are like I say at the same stage in the grieving processes They are in fact Friday.
Annalise Smith. We had a we call it a moving moving on ceremony And it's for the people who have finished the full curriculum of our grief program And they come and we sort of celebrate that they are now moving on and almost all of them elect to stand in front of the group and Make some comments about how the programs change their lives and how they've made such a wonderful new network of friends That they now in some cases call family Through their time together in support group and like I say it's curriculum based It's all evidence-based we follow a.
Annalise Smith. Certain set of different activities and things that they do with the counselors all of our counselors are masters level social work type credentials various levels and They do really amazing work.
Robert DiLella Jr.. I had no idea that there was that much there and Necessary that is too. There's no there's no handbook Right
Annalise Smith. Well and then for people do who do have a patient with a vow we do all sorts of other outreach so not everybody's willing to jump right into support group right away after they have a loss, so we actually have a prescribed cadence in which we do phone calls and Snail mail we still do a lot of snail mail outreach and even a text message outreach program. To just touch base with people and let them know that we're there and that if they need resources or Whatever that they can can reach out to them We follow people for 13 months after the death.
Annalise Smith. So that we can help them through all of the first the first anniversary the first Holiday season the first birthday all of those things that oftentimes are Difficult in that first year. Yeah, so like I said we follow people for 13 months to help them through all the.
Robert DiLella Jr.. First Remember I think we did a butterfly release a few times or had gone for a butterfly reason
Annalise Smith. Oh good Yeah, we do that annually so the butterfly release in Collier is in the spring We're gonna start doing one in Lee County in the fall So they'll actually be twice a year, but. Yeah the butterfly release is a really nice community event where we invite people to come and. It's a public memorial service and folks can register a name in advance And we read the names during the service and then at the end we release the butterflies into the park.
Robert DiLella Jr.. It's really pretty yeah, it was Butterflies sort of a symbol of our mom who Tied at 57 too young Wow and so whenever my sisters See butterflies. That's it's our mommy. Yeah How Did you End up at a vow I mean what was your background like that you got there?
Annalise Smith. So I have always worked in health care my entire career and a vow was actually my customer Before I became an employee I worked for the pharmacy partner pharmacy provider and Got to know leadership and many of the nursing staff folks through that relationship and when that job no longer served me I looked for a change and just It's sort of everything fell into place I ran into the former CEO Karen at an event and we got to talking I was between jobs and she was looking for someone to do business development at that time and established like a sales team or marketing team and The cards just sort of fell in place and that.
Annalise Smith. So I came to a vow doing a dip much different job than I'm doing now.
Robert DiLella Jr.. And you were already in Naples then yes Yeah
Annalise Smith. At that point I had been here for Yeah 10 years From Move here from the Tampa area. I'm originally from Massachusetts. I my car
Robert DiLella Jr.. What happened how'd you lose that?
Annalise Smith. My all my family's from Pennsylvania. So my mom and dad didn't have an accent at home and I so I never put up, Pennsylvania Allentown area, oh, mountains.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, we would go well, we would go to the Poconos anyway, but yeah, but they have an accent to I guess
Annalise Smith. Maybe I was just confused by it all kids the kids and the teachers at school had a Boston accent Yeah, I don't know. I just never picked any of them up. Thankful. I'm okay with that.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Usually I can hear especially somebody who's even from Philly if there's just certain words they can't say Water.
Annalise Smith. Oh, yeah.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, wash The car Yeah, so you Northeast is where you were and Siblings what was your family?
Annalise Smith. Yeah, I have a younger brother All my family my parents and my brother live here now. They're all here.
Robert DiLella Jr.. So we're the first to come here
Annalise Smith. No, no, so my parents came here when I was little I When I was eight they bought a place in Pelican Bay Pelican Bay was brand Yeah, and they rented their place seasonally, but we were able to come for a holiday and that sort of thing. So as a kid, I came to Naples and then my folks moved here permanently in. 2001 And My husband and I relocated here right after they did. It was right after 9-11 and I wanted to be close to my parents. I had a brand new baby and So, yeah, we moved here in 2001. Mmm, it's a great place to live.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah. Yeah it is Yeah, it's like hearing the stories how how people ended up here because it is Whether somebody's been here five years or 20 years or 40 years or whatever it is. It's Naples this. Yeah Well, you raised your family.
Annalise Smith. Yeah. Yeah, my youngest daughter was my youngest child was born here And, even on the hottest day it still beats. Oh, yeah a snowy day. Oh, yeah 100% The snow only looks pretty for a short time.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, that's it. It looks good on TV.
Annalise Smith. I'm a shovel sand Right
Robert DiLella Jr.. For sure me too So your parents are here Yeah, and dad's getting care but he's he's still here and yeah, he's hanging on
Annalise Smith. Hanging in Hanging in one day at a time.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, what's your mother's name?
Annalise Smith. Diane?
Robert DiLella Jr.. How would she describe you?
Annalise Smith. Oh Boy that's a great question. I don't know you should ask her she just turned 80 on Friday I Think she would probably describe me as driven I was a handful as a young person But I'm yeah, I'm I'm a pretty driven person I Know what I want and I go for it a hundred and fifty percent and I Think she would say I'm a good daughter, I Were very close we live only a mile away from each other and spend plenty of time together and. Yeah I. Don't know. I'll have I'm gonna ask her that question though how she would describe me. I've never Thought about that
Robert DiLella Jr.. About Brent. How would he describe me?
Annalise Smith. Oh gosh, well Brent would describe me as a workaholic Yeah, he would describe me as a work probably yeah, I put a lot into into avow and And you even mentioned it earlier like it's part of my identity So after being with with a company that does the type of work that we do for as long as I have It has become part of my identity. Yeah, but I'm. Okay with that, and when people need help they they're not afraid to call me and ask And if it's not something that avow does because I worked in health care in this community for. So long I have a lot of connections and I'm able to, help them get networked with the right people or or Organization that can get them what they need.
Annalise Smith. And again, I'm a helper So that feels good to be able to do that.
Robert DiLella Jr.. What was somebody growing up that had a big influence on you?
Annalise Smith. Well, I mean my father to some extent Is the reason why I'm in health care. He was a podiatrist and when I was young he Made house calls to patients who couldn't make it to his office during the week And. So I would oftentimes on the weekends accompany him on these house calls and we drive in rural Massachusetts to really some really old houses to see some really old people and I really enjoyed that. I love to hear their stories I love to see all their chotch keys and knickknacks and stuff around their house and ask them where they came from and they talked about their travels and the things that they did and They always had cookies in their cookie jar.
Annalise Smith. Because they knew that the doctor's daughter was coming along, So I always had a cookie, but I developed a real love for older adults through that and so. Everything that I've always done in my career has been somehow looped back to the service of older Americans Hmm
Robert DiLella Jr.. What are some of the Biggest challenges that you deal with right now at work
Annalise Smith. So one of the really Big challenges that I have at work is recruiting And retaining Staff You Know Naples is sort of at the end of the road There's no place to recruit west East is the Everglades and, the commute from Fort Myers anymore is just brutal I've in the last couple of years. I've lost some really good fundraisers who didn't want to make that drive anymore and Because we're in the business we're in the high touch Business working remote isn't doesn't work as great for us, it's that very personal Relationship that we're developing with people whether it's through providing care or working with the donor or whatever.
Annalise Smith. So anyhow, I think across our organization, recruiting good Clinicians recruiting enough physicians and social workers chaplains Music therapists Recruiting and retention is one of our our greatest challenges Funding, we rely very heavily on Medicare As I mentioned earlier, it's a huge component of our revenue You know every year we're wondering how is Congress gonna change the hospice Medicare benefit if it goes away That's a that's a pretty big problem For not just a vow but for our community Because if a vow goes away, that's that's there's 560 patients today that suddenly don't have the care that they need and that's a lot of people.
Annalise Smith. So funding is a big deal for us No, we've our organization's more than 40 years old We've had very responsible boards of directors that have worked hard to accumulate some reserve funding So if Medicare went away tomorrow We would have a little bit of a buffer to give ourselves a year or so To be able to provide the care as we provide it today Without having to charge people for it But a year isn't a very long time for us to figure out what would happen next. Yeah, so, I think funding is a big issue Just not having enough hours in the day I think a lot of people say that yeah, there's a lot of work to do and only so many hours in the day and We don't do today.
Annalise Smith. We'll finish tomorrow.
Robert DiLella Jr.. How do you? Stay so inspired Passionate about what it is that you do because you've been doing it a while. So how do you keep that going?
Annalise Smith. Yeah, again, it's just helping helping people being a good neighbor I want to make sure that if I was here for me Hopefully not for another 30 years, but that's a long time does it sustain To sustain programs and. So, I've made it my goal to do my part to raise the money and Make sure that we have what we need to Have about here 30 years from now and I need it.
Robert DiLella Jr.. What's your favorite part?
Annalise Smith. I think my favorite part of my job and the place I work is the culture. It's just a really supportive vibrant Kind place You know there's you read all the time I mean I'm not on social media as much as I used to be because there's so many mean people out there, you somebody makes a simple text and says the sky is blue and you've got somebody coming out making comments that no It's not there's, there's a shade of green up there or whatever, people are just looking for for negative things to say and Just our culture is really strong. We live our core values and I'm I'm just really proud. I'm proud of what's been built. Mmm And I'm proud of what the future holds.
Annalise Smith. Yeah, and it's not sad. I'm crying. I'm just yeah, it's pride. Yeah I'm I'm really proud To be an employee at about
Robert DiLella Jr.. Hmm That's awesome
Annalise Smith. And I'm so glad when people like you show interest because So many people just think it's, hospice. It's sad. It's death. It's dark and it's just not it's so hopeful And there's there's. So many special wonderful things that we do for people in those final days we just Actually, I saw my paper towel from the bathroom Since.
Annalise Smith. You have such a great production person that's gonna cut all of this Yeah But We just Recently, we were at the Florida hospice and palliative care association conference and every year we submit award nominations for our teams and One of our teams the hospice house team was actually nominated this year when Wicked the second wicked movie came out Whatever it was called. Yeah last November we had a patient who was in the hospice house and She had bought pre-bought tickets for her children and her granddaughters To go to the theater to see The film and they had been waiting weeks and weeks to for this event and.
Annalise Smith. So here As luck would have it she had a turn in her We had been caring for her for a while at home and she had a significant change and she was suddenly needing the care in the hospice house. Because she was in having pain and symptoms that were tough to manage at home and so her family all assembled at the bedside and they were just Broken-hearted that they weren't going to be able to go to this. Showing of the of the movie And so the hospice house team got with our it department and our communications department and somehow they streamed The film into the hospice house room that night. I don't know how they did it.
Annalise Smith. Because it wasn't available on tv yet or whatever They popped popcorn And they had a special film screening at the bedside in the hospice house and I mean those are the happy wonderful memories that we're creating for patients and their families in their final days and. For those are the types of things that Fill my my heart and make me so proud about Where I work and what I do and, I'm not providing the direct care. But Through my work as a fundraiser.
Annalise Smith. I'm working with other people in the community like me Who know how special about is and realize how important it is for us to take responsibility For making sure that it's available to the next generation and many generations that come after them.
Robert DiLella Jr.. It's so Not what I expected because I remember brant sharing about you were driven. I knew you were driven you were work you worked hard But To have the level of passion and drive that you do with heart on top of that It's a really special combination. Because you've got the heart that Is what I know? Hospice to have, it's something that I know touched our family's life in So many positive ways through the most difficult times of our life.
Annalise Smith. We're one of the only Organizations, I feel like nonprofit organizations That probably is positioned to touch every single life in this community At some point, everyone's gonna lose Someone yeah, a friend a neighbor a colleague or a family member And everyone At some point is going to die themselves, and not all of us want to think about that every day naturally, but we even do a lot of work with people and talking about their bucket lists or Helping them have hard conversations with their family members, We have patients who come to us on palliative care and they're going to live for many years.
Annalise Smith. But some of them have very specific preferences about how they receive care and we're all about honoring the patient's preferences and making sure that The patient drives the plan of care and sometimes the family has a different Thought about what that should look like, it's not uncommon that we have A patient who wants to forgo treatment and the children say don't give up right? Well forgoing treatment is not a sign of giving up at all. It's a choice of Taking back control of.
Annalise Smith. Of decision making a good decision making and an autonomy and some patients feel worse by by pursuing aggressive treatment Chemotherapy, for example, therapy is really rough it might solve one problem. But in some cases it creates a whole lot of other sets And some patients just say no, I don't want that anymore. I'd rather have five quality days. Than five brutal weeks Of feeling lousy and not being able to enjoy anything that's happening around me. Yeah, and our job is to help people be able to make those decisions and help their families understand.
Annalise Smith. Well, maybe they don't understand the decisions but respect the decisions And honor the decisions so that the patient can Can live their life the way they choose to live it and it's about living not dying That's the other thing.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, how is palliative care different? What does that mean?
Annalise Smith. Yeah, so palliative care is different in that Our palliative care patients in many cases are still pursuing aggressive treatment but they have chronic or life-limiting illnesses that cause a lot of pain and symptoms that diminish their quality of life, so I can give you some examples someone who has parkinson's disease They may live with parkinson's disease for 20 years before they become terminal from the parkinson's disease. But over that time they're going to have a whole bunch of incremental changes in their Physical abilities maybe in their mental capacity Lots of changes in their physiology and stuff over that time.
Annalise Smith. So in palliative care, we work with those patients and their families to anticipate those changes So that when they occur They don't have to race off to the hospital. Because they're in crisis we try to help them To prepare for those things and manage pain and symptoms before it gets Difficult so that they can enjoy a better quality of life. So Back to the chemotherapy patient. We have lots of cancer patients on palliative care. They're having chemo. They're having radiation, but maybe they're also struggling with nutritional deficits because they've got nausea or vomiting or those sorts of things.
Annalise Smith. They're not able to maintain their weight We can work with people on nutrition some people have Pain related to a radiation site. We've had patients that we've done really great things with wound care or other Interventions so that they don't have so much pain related to those things I will never forget one of the first stories I heard about a patient that had congestive heart failure And He was so debilitated he was retaining fluid in his legs Despite being on low sodium diet and that sort of thing but he had a lot of swelling in his legs because of the congestive heart failure and he couldn't walk to the mailbox anymore And that for him was a quality of life issue.
Annalise Smith. He wanted to be able to walk to his own mailbox. And so his doctor was sort of At his wits end he had given him all of the cardiac medications and put him on the cardiac diet and everything else and Still couldn't get his mobility. So that he could walk to the mailbox. So he referred him to palliative care And the palliative care nurse went to his home To make a first visit and to do a home assessment to see, was there something maybe? Supportive equipment that he could have in the home or whatever and when she walked into his kitchen he had campbell soup.
Annalise Smith. Cans stacked all across his kitchen counter and they weren't the low sodium type And the nurse immediately realized that he was eating a diet full of Salt and he didn't even realize it And his doctor despite asking over and over again Are you eating a low sodium diet? The patient didn't really know what that meant And he didn't realize that by eating campbell soup three meals a day He was creating his own problem, And. So it was through that home assessment and that nurse being just observant and talking with him and doing some nutritional counseling Within just a couple of weeks that gentleman was walking to the mailbox again And. So it's quality of life.
Annalise Smith. Things that the palliative care team is doing Like the hospice team. They also work in an interdisciplinary way. So we have nursing social work and chaplain Disciplines so that we want to look at the whole Person not just their diagnosis And sometimes for people that have a lot of chronic ailments, sometimes the cardiac doctor isn't paying attention to what the pulmonary doctor is doing and they create problems Within the patient's care plan.
Annalise Smith. Because of contradictory things or things that are overlapping or what have you and so Again, the palliative care team looks at the whole picture And they look at the physical the psychosocial the spiritual needs of the patient to really address all of the Things or needs that they have to live a good quality life Hmm. And it's all outpatient So most of our patients come to the clinic. it's a doctor's office Just like you and I go to when we see the doctor but we do offer home visits. Because many of our patients are again having lots of aggressive treatments and.
Annalise Smith. Some are are highly immunocompromised and are needing to avoid any kind of Crowds or where other people are so we will do home visits As needed but most most patients are coming to the clinic in the clinic They can see multiple disciplines in one visit which is really nice. So they can see the nurse and the social worker at the same time, which is very efficient for the patient and for a vow the challenge with palliative care is like with hospice.
Annalise Smith. Palliative care we do bill insurance Unfortunately insurance pays just a small fraction of what it actually costs us to deliver care So for, a visit that costs us $250 to deliver we might get paid at $89 And so again, that's another program that we raise a lot of money for to cover the gap Between what our what we expect in reimbursements and we know what we know it will cost to deliver the care the medicare doesn't pay for chaplain visits at all. They don't recognize spiritual care is essential And many of the social work visits are not billable to medicare as. Well. They don't recognize that as an essential service So yeah.
Robert DiLella Jr.. So how So that's something that you have to supplement To pay for that you've got to raise funds for that.
Annalise Smith. Yep This year we need to raise about a million and a half dollars to cover the gap Between what insurance will pay and what it costs us to deliver care
Robert DiLella Jr.. So, how do you do that and how can we help
Annalise Smith. Well do you have your checkbook right? so lots of ways we this year will raise about five and a half million dollars we have many many people who list a vow and their obituaries so We are in many cases the last charity that comes in contact with the patient and their family and again as a gesture of gratitude Many times people list us in lieu of flowers and their obituary.
Annalise Smith. So many times a first gift is a last gift, people see an obituary of someone they went to school with or Was in church with when they were young or whatever and they'll make a small one-time gift in lieu of flowers and then Other in other times it's it's families or friends that again Make a first gift that way and then continue a legacy of giving for years after that we have many family foundations who support us. We do we write grants For institutional funders. We have a couple of banks in the area that support us We do do some fundraising events Not a ton of them.
Annalise Smith. We're not a huge event heavy Fundraising operation the return on investment for events is a little tougher. There's a lot of employee time that goes into a fundraising event That's hard to recoup.
Robert DiLella Jr.. I didn't realize it's kind of a general rule for fundraising that it's Events
Annalise Smith. Events are yeah, they're expensive. Yeah, they're expensive. Yeah, and a lot of a lot of time for staff that You know if we spend two hours on event prep versus taking a donor to lunch And having a really good conversation like you and I are having today that might inspire a one-time gift That's five or six figures Time is better spent on the lunch Developing those relationships, especially in this community where we have. So many philanthropic people people with means who are looking to Support organizations like about.
Annalise Smith. And then we do plan giving as well So we work with a lot of people who again their spouse has passed away with a vow Or their parent has passed away with a vow and now their estate plan is going to change and they incorporate a vow into that estate plan with the philanthropic gift. So we do we work really hard in that area because of the way that. Generational wealth is transferring now with so many of the baby boomers coming up To being closer to end of life.
Annalise Smith. A lot of people are thinking differently about their estate plans and people who maybe Are concerned about outliving Their resources now Are more willing to leave a planned gift to charity in the end because, once they're gone and they know that they've They've been able to use their money to take care of themselves. They then want to leave the remainder to charity. So we do a lot of plan giving work as well. I think we're pretty We have a good well-rounded fundraising operation that allows us to work with people at whatever giving level they're at.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Well, if there's ever anything that an event or not even an event that we can support you with yeah, thanks. Whether it's just Maybe Giving some pampering to some people who need it. Yeah staff or somebody on your team.
Annalise Smith. Yeah, I'm glad you brought that I brought we have a fashion show coming up in the fall. November 7th I brought you some collateral on that. So we're looking for in-kind gifts. We have a silent auction Oh great. Yeah, so that sort of thing. That's a great way for a business to contribute. We also have a corporate partners program That we actually launched pre-covid but when covid eliminated Events for a while we were especially happy to have the corporate partners program and a number of businesses Jumped on the bandwagon with that and that's a straight cash gift philanthropic gift.
Annalise Smith. We have a number of different levels We offer a variety of marketing benefits for the business. So, our their logos on our website with a Link to their own website. We do shout outs on our social media. We have a pretty good social media following in a variety of other types of marketing benefits, so We have Three dozen or so corporate partners that are part of that program as well, which is great. So yeah
Robert DiLella Jr.. I didn't I didn't realize it was locally based. It's it's a Our our hospice is local. It's Abort everything. It's local.
Annalise Smith. Everything is local. All of everything is local. We are we only serve southwest florida We are part of a provider network, we Are members of a number of different? consortiums or sector Organizations, I mentioned earlier the florida hospice and palliative care association, for example, that's our state organization. But we are we are not an affiliate of a larger company. We don't have sister hospices anywhere else Avao only serves southwest florida and we're governed by the single board That has fiduciary responsibility Over our work.
Robert DiLella Jr.. And do you have to is there a monthly board meeting?
Annalise Smith. We have we have six board meetings a year We have quarterly regular quarterly board meetings and then we have a couple extra board meetings in the fall where we do budgeting. So we work off of a calendar fiscal year January to december and. So we do our budgeting and in november.
Robert DiLella Jr.. What's preparing for one of those like It's a lot of work to get a lot of work. Yeah.
Annalise Smith. Yeah. So we start the budgeting process in july And our final budget is usually approved the first week in december. So we're right now in september. I'm still waiting I've put in all of my budget requests For my departments and I've got I haven't gotten my first draft back yet.
Annalise Smith. We usually go through to At least two rounds of drafting So yeah, it's a lot of work, but It's really important to plan ahead and we always we have always have a little bit of contingency, but we've I've I've gotten very good for my departments at planning and predicting and knowing what I'm going to need and I also have goals personal goals around making sure I meet my budget and Do what I need to do to stay within those parameters now being a fundraiser I'm very Budget conscious too. I don't like to see any and we don't have a lot of waste in our organization at all. But, I always ask questions if if there's something that I feel like, can we do that cheaper?
Annalise Smith. Not not we don't want to cut corners. We want to do everything the right way, but yeah, we don't want to just be We're not We don't have an open pocketbook So sometimes my My boss says I'm a penny penny pincher But that's because I'm the one that has to go out and raise
Robert DiLella Jr.. More, to bring in Yeah, yeah, exactly. I know $20 million.
Annalise Smith. Wow. Could we build it for 18 instead?, But, the facilities are are important. They're not every it's what happens in the buildings that is important But if we don't have a really good building First it's hard to provide good care If the building around you is falling apart, you know what I mean? I think too that, In my career I visited a lot of nursing homes And if I walk up to a nursing home and all the plants are dead in the along the sidewalk I wonder how can they possibly take care of the people inside this building?
Annalise Smith. If they can't take care of these few plants along the along the sidewalk And so I take a lot of pride in that in our buildings too and on our campus We have 23 acres on our campus. A lot of people don't realize that either and it's a big space but do a lot of work there And it's important for us that we look great from the curb Because if we're not if we can't take care of the trees in front of our building There's no way people are gonna trust us to take the people take care of the people inside
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, that's a great Great point. I heard that before when I about a airplane tray when you're in an airplane and if the tray is broken When you're gonna put it you hope that the same guy who maintains the engines isn't. Yeah, right For. Sure it's critical how are you doing zach doing all right? Okay on On the we have this new thing here that I Get to look at
Annalise Smith. Your teleprompter.
Robert DiLella Jr.. It is it gives me some stuff. Yeah, here's what I was looking for. Yeah Oh, I know because I did want to ask especially a driven person Ai Are you using love it?
Annalise Smith. Love it so ai is tricky Ai is tricky for me because I work for health care organization and so we are super cautious about privacy as we should be we need to protect the privacy of our patients and families and all that good stuff, but. Right now I'm working on my Fundraising plan for next year and my team and I Had a brainstorming session. We use those big like note pads that you can stick on the wall like giant sticky notes and With the sharpie markers and rope things all over the walls and everything for two hours all these great brainstormings. Well, somebody's got to sit down now and type all of that and make sense out of it. So Just this morning.
Annalise Smith. Actually, I'm so glad you asked this question just this morning I took pictures with my cell phone of the pages I put them on my office wall took each one of them And I plugged them into ai And asked it to write the sections of the plan for me and within an hour I had a 12 page document with all those notes Compiled compiled now I'm gonna have to go back and certainly Make some edits to that. But boy what a time saver it was just to take the handwritten notes and at least have them in the right sections So that I can sit down and start doing the editing without having to type it off. It's amazing and I do a lot working in my job.
Annalise Smith. I do a lot of communications related stuff, too so writing cases for support and Social media announcements and even event invitations, how many times does it say please join me for the fashion show, just refreshing language. So that it Sounds new and interesting. Yeah, there are certainly pitfalls it you gotta you can't just plug something in and cut and paste the answer and put it in an email and hit send you've got to read it carefully and make sure that it accurately reflects what you wanted to say I think that tone and. Like Education level are things that I'm really attentive to too.
Annalise Smith. I want it to sound genuine like it's using vernacular that I would normally use in an in-person conversation I don't want to have crazy References to things that I'm not familiar with that somebody might ask me about later and I say oh jeez I need to ask ai what that meant, that doesn't make sense I think we need to use it wisely, but I think there are lots of really great ways that ai can help refine our work and make it more efficient. Safely Yeah without compromising privacy.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah. Yeah Yeah, it's fascinating to me every day what it can do and what it does and just You know if it does Replace someone it only replaces that person so that person can do more. Yeah enables them to do more. Yeah, because yeah, take care of people Instead of just always on the computer right like do that work for us.
Annalise Smith. Absolutely. And, I said earlier what? What do I wish I could change? I wish I could have more hours in the day But ai is giving me some of those extra hours, you know what it would have taken me Probably five hours to try to type all of those notes and now I got them in an hour And that leaves four hours for me to do something else.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, it's really good. just Even meetings that we have that to remember everything that came out of the meeting, it just it can it we record the meeting on purpose when everybody knows it so that we can, have some notes after. But it always it never forgets who's supposed to do what? Yeah, which is great. Yeah, it sends it out to everybody Are you're supposed to do this by this date? You're supposed to just. Yeah The ai can be the jerk.
Annalise Smith. If only it could follow up in five weeks and touch base with everybody and make sure they
Robert DiLella Jr.. Did what they were supposed to do Actually, I've written that into an app that we have that literally it will Follow up it sends them a text cool and we'll ask for update on that. So that we're still kind of toying with it but it's For them too. It's good for them. I know I use it for me for to remind me of What I need to do like it'll it'll trigger.
Annalise Smith. We one of the projects I worked on this this year was with our it department. We created an app It's an it's actually an avatar a Fake person that you talk to yeah, and he's a dude on the screen. His name is ben e fits benefits And we taught him everything in our employee handbook and a couple of policies and procedures like The dress code policy and the pto policy and that sort of thing We trained him all of the frequent stuff that employees were calling or emailing Our hr staff asking over and over and over again. Because they were too lazy or couldn't find the employee. Yeah.
Annalise Smith. And so now we coach employees when they are asking questions about those things to ask ben And they've got an icon on their phone or on their desktop straight to ben where they can log in and ask those questions And then ben tells them the answers.
Robert DiLella Jr.. That is awesome.
Annalise Smith. It's really really cool.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, that's great
Annalise Smith. So, we're teaching ben new stuff all the time and trying to increase his knowledge so that he can ask more and more questions and The hardest part is really to just get staff into the habit Of remembering to go to him instead of sending that email or making mccall.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Because they'll get instant answer too if they get it right away.
Annalise Smith. Yeah Yeah, and they don't have to worry about feeling stupid or yeah, asking something that they've already asked before Didn't listen the first time. Yeah, it was a cool project
Robert DiLella Jr.. We Were doing something similar but not for the back of the house. I have to do that for the back because I'd really like that we Have fed it phone conversations when people book appointments and we record those and Fed it to ai to say this is our tone. This is how we respond to certain questions, we gave it like 7 000 of these transcripts and It then learned our responses to certain questions and then it built its own Bot which we named her grace Yeah, nice that people can talk to at two o'clock in the morning and ask Who the best stylist for them is or what if there's a problem with their hair or who's the Best stylist with blonding who's the best with pixie cuts?
Robert DiLella Jr.. Who's the Do I have an appointment? When can I get an appointment? Are you available and it answers in our tone? Yeah which, I was amazed at how many people actually use it That are on there at two o'clock in the morning and have questions like that They'll just ask away and they talk to it like it's a regular person. We can see the whole Transcript and it gives them great answers because it learned from us.
Annalise Smith. So yeah It's it's funny. I was just talking with a co-worker last week working on an ai something nice. I catch myself I'm so polite. I'm a polite person in general But I use please and thank you in my prompts to the ai and I catch myself I'm like reminding myself you're talking to a computer. You don't need to do that But I do sort of think by doing that though. We're training ai to adopt some of our own unique human traits and I hope that will come through when it's writing things for me It will use the same Politeness, yeah in the things it's writing.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, that was something I was really concerned about with it responding to people because When we have to tell somebody no We want to say it in a way that there's no with an alternative. Okay, we have an option for you Yeah, we hate to say no and. Yeah And it has gotten really good because initially it didn't do that. It was sort of blunt like no, there's no appointments But well that location is like this past week that location is closed, but I have appointments for you at the other one Which initially it didn't we had to train that like you gotta you gotta think outside the box here you gotta do a little bit more. But be.
Robert DiLella Jr.. The please and thank you and the, have the courtesy side of it too, which is which is why I think people because it's interesting the conversations people are having because they'll When I watch what they type they type like they're talking to a human the please and the thank you in just a minute Let me check this and yes So it It's More we do because I don't always I'm not always super nice to it when I talk to it Like if I get frustrated like if it gives me some hallucination I'll Say get a little annoyed with it with it and it'll come out.
Annalise Smith. Scratch that start over. You're totally off And I, it has the thumbs up and thumbs down feature. I don't I haven't I don't use that very often But I probably should research that because there might be something Related to that would help us train it better if we were using that tool. I don't know.
Robert DiLella Jr.. I Yeah, I need to which which one do you use more than others?
Annalise Smith. So right now I'm I'm old school. I am using in the chat gpt. Yeah most frequently. We have a couple of that are specific to fundraising that My team uses and avao is moving towards co-pilot because we're on an oh Oh, yeah 365 yeah, oh 365 based. So we're moving towards a co-pilot You know again, the work that I'm doing is not I'm not using any proprietary information Everything that I do is all community or public facing anyhow. So I don't have a whole lot of Concern about sharing something that's problematic.
Annalise Smith. Although I've written performance evaluations I use ai to help me do performance evaluations and I'm very cautious about not using the employee's name Or their actual title. Because I would suspect there would be possibility that someone could obtain information about how I'm. Evaluating you yeah in your specific job if I had done so yeah I don't know.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Well, it's also very good at reminding me if I Say something that's a little sensitive Are you sure you want to ask me that are you sure you want to put that out here? Are you sure you want to? Give me that. Yeah, so I give it passcodes To Log into certain things like return amazon packages like I hate doing the returns We order so much from amazon and I don't like to go through the click the whole click process of why you're returning it Is it packaging? Yeah, do you want to drop it off at whole foods or do you want to,? whatever it is. So now I've got it to just say return my whatever and it will just print out a label for me and Tells me really?
Annalise Smith. I'm gonna have to try that.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, it's it's convenient I have another problem with amazon too that it helped me with was I'll return something in amazon, but I don't Take it to a place where I signed for it And amazon will say a month later. Oh, we never got that back, here we're gonna charge your card again for whatever it was. I had a bird feeder with a camera in it.
Annalise Smith. Oh, I got one of those first somebody for christmas. You almost said who I'm glad it didn't because this is being recorded I got it at our thrift store. Oh, no kidding. Did you not like it? This could be a
Robert DiLella Jr.. Problem I couldn't I couldn't I didn't have the patience to hook it up
Annalise Smith. Get it to work. Yeah I'm gonna give it to a young person. So yeah, you should be able to figure
Robert DiLella Jr.. I wanted to but I was just like I couldn't I didn't want to run a wife a cable out there. So I didn't but I But I Really liked that it what it did for me was when it when I was returning this item. Anyway I got the charge back and I didn't want to go on I know if I go on chat with them that they'll probably give me a refund. But I just asked I said hey I know I returned this go on chat and talk to them about it and it went on behind the scenes Came back and said the refund has been issued An apology and here's the and they just talked to their chatbot the whole time.
Annalise Smith. Wow So what platform do you do that with
Robert DiLella Jr.. So that I was using clod? Okay Claude co-work, which is what did that but there's another one now. grok bot which is really really good Which is owned by? Elon also, he has grok, but then grok bot is another version of it and that one is more Agenic they call it. So it does more task type things for you Like it will now we stayed we did a little staycation at the four seasons, which was really amazing this past weekend and nice need to see and we wanted a late checkout and. I don't like making phone calls.
Robert DiLella Jr.. I'd rather email or text and so I they don't have any other way to do it So I asked the grok bot I said, can you ask them if we can have a late checkout and it made a call. In a voice to them to say can he have a late checkout at this time and concierge said yes And then it talked back to me and told me it was okay.
Annalise Smith. Oh my gosh. So are you on paid versions of those?
Robert DiLella Jr.. So grok bot I think I'm still in a trial. I have enough of a trial Okay, that I don't need to do the paid version yet It's 20 a month if I do and it's really been. Well worth it so far like what I've seen because it's not as I'm sure it could do a lot of the projects that the other ones do and answer a lot of those questions, but it's more like. They'll all do this I know that too, but it'll Go through all my email and tell me what I missed which a lot of them do anyway, It tells me what, what's what I have to follow up on.
Robert DiLella Jr.. But it will also we have a instead of using teams we were using slack before Oh, yeah, I'm familiar with that And it was 400 a month for us to use it for 50 60 people. So a I built an app just like slack internally so We have our own Teams, I guess that way But what it will do is go in and look at the chats and see it'll look at the conversations and see What I'm supposed to follow up on what I didn't follow up on what's hot like an if a client Emails or if a phone call comes in where somebody's upset it will send out a message to everybody urgently like a this needs attention Right away. You need to follow up with this.
Robert DiLella Jr.. So it's just kind of integrated a lot into my I just keep finding problems that like oh this could solve that problem, like wherever the problems are that it's been.
Annalise Smith. It's so great that you have an open mind to trying and I feel like so many people are Just afraid of it that it's yeah that it's going to ruin the world. I know I know and I think you definitely need to be aware and cautious in some circumstances. But not paralyzed by fear that it's going to like of course take down the universe. Yeah, there's so many useful Oh, yeah things that it can do to help make your life easier.
Robert DiLella Jr.. And I've just seen how much it can Free up our team To be able to take care of people to be able to do what they're here for and not have to Be bogged down with a lot of the minutia or the work that it can do It's designed to do machine work and let it do it right and then you can. Give the guests more care and take care of people more. Because in that way so Yeah, I know I hear people a lot of times say oh, it's going to take jobs and it'll never take a hair stylist job I mean.
Annalise Smith. I don't know right it'll never take a professional caregiver's job either. You can't give someone medications or Change their clothes or give them a bath. No with ai.
Robert DiLella Jr.. No, yeah, that'll never happen. So Just there to support us and help us and right I agree. Yeah, I'm obsessed with The finding new ways that it can, just I mean We've our timekeeping program There's another 300 a month that we had to pay which we don't have to pay anymore. Our phone system, just a lot of things that it's Helping, hoping it's save money and save time and, the rest of it's nice to hear you're embracing it too, you're like, yeah, yeah, and some companies are have gotten so restrictive about it too where you can't they don't want people.
Robert DiLella Jr.. A friend of mine works for a tech company and they just got bought out by a bigger tech company and He was using Claude and And chat and now the new company is on teams too. So they're just using Oh pilot co-pilot and gemini. Yeah, I think gemini is the other one Which is real limiting for them because they, he was he's a writer and claud is really good for writing He does marketing and, claud was really Better at that than the other ones are. But they're not letting him, he can't use them for that because the. And I get there's guardrails. They have to have guardrails for stuff like that. So yeah, it'll figure itself out here
Annalise Smith. Yeah, and I think the policies will catch up eventually we had to create a policy too and it's it's pretty stringent But I think it's going to relax a little bit more as time goes on. Yeah We'll have to adapt.
Robert DiLella Jr.. I like the idea of the Ben Ben
Annalise Smith. Ben Ephits
Robert DiLella Jr.. That's awesome. That's great
Annalise Smith. Just call Ben for short Yeah, he's doing cool stuff
Robert DiLella Jr.. So when you're not at work or not being driven by something at work Outside of work, what's what's on your playlist for music?
Annalise Smith. Oh, So I I think I was listening to Mariah Carey on the way here. so housework hits is my favorite channel on Spotify Which one is housework hits?
Robert DiLella Jr.. What is that?
Annalise Smith. It's just Probably 80s and 90s Songs that are upbeat like if you have to dust your house or yeah clean your toilets. Okay beat. Yeah sing along songs counting crows are one of my favorite bands maroon five. I like So 90s early 2000s music Brent and I are going to see smashing pumpkins. Oh really in a few weeks where the second time in Tampa?
Robert DiLella Jr.. Okay fairgrounds I
Annalise Smith. Think it's an indoor place. It better be an indoor place. Yeah, I'm gonna have to reconsider if I'm right No, it's at the hockey.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah. It's at the hockey. Oh nice
Annalise Smith. Yeah, so we're doing that and I think we've got richard mark's tickets to see out at the amokalee casino Which we've never been to a concert there before you haven't either We saw We saw another 80s band recently brent likes to go to concerts it's fun.
Robert DiLella Jr.. When We have a playlist a playlist of anybody who's been a guest we had some few songs from whatever So the counting crows have to be on there if they're not already, but I don't think they are. So. Yeah Have to be on there. I like the counting crows.
Annalise Smith. Yeah Did they tour have you yeah, we saw them a couple years ago We've seen them a few times the last time we saw them. We weren't super It wasn't the best show of theirs. they're Lead singer guy. I don't know his name He likes to do his own thing. And so he sang every song that night like off off Not at all like it was sung on the album. They were a lot of Yeah Funky twists to the regular and I kind of just wanted to hear the album.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, that's what brings back the rush of memory.
Annalise Smith. Yeah. Yeah Yeah, but we saw them two other times and it was really good. So we just maybe ran our course with that one So it goes but
Robert DiLella Jr.. What's something most people? Don't know about you but should
Annalise Smith. I'm an open book I Don't have too many secrets. I don't know I'm An open book. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I just I'ma say it like it is kind of person Try hopefully in a respectful way. I mean, I don't want to insult anybody. But Yeah, I don't I don't know that there's anything that I. Can't think of anything.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Do you have a hidden talent?
Annalise Smith. I don't know. My husband says I can whistle Pretty good. Yeah.
Robert DiLella Jr.. There you go.
Annalise Smith. That's one Put me on the spot. I'm not gonna whistle on the podcast No, I mean I was a majorette in high school so I know how to twirl the baton. But I haven't done that for a long time.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Be like riding a bike though, wouldn't it? Let me get right back to it
Annalise Smith. Maybe yeah I don't know
Robert DiLella Jr.. Just don't have one in your garage that you can go
Annalise Smith. No, since my daughter since my daughter is no longer a teenager we got rid of all of those She used to want to do that every once in a while, but no I mean I do like I'm I'm a thrill seeker. So I love a roller coaster. I'd bungee jump if given the opportunity I'm I like I'm willing to try anything once I. Yeah, I like have.
Robert DiLella Jr.. You done bungee jumping
Annalise Smith. I have not bungee jumped but I did a weird jump thing in In North carolina near our lake house one time where I jumped off of a Platform I like did a free fall off of a platform and my whole family stood back and let me go first. Because They were like, well, we're not so sure about this and when I got to the bottom I fell flat on my face. It was super embarrassing, but I was so proud that I did it myself I would probably not do that one again. It was super scary. But like I said, I'll do it. I will do anything once I'm I'm brave about trying new foods and drinks And I've never tried before And I like to learn from my mistakes.
Annalise Smith. If it if it was a bad choice to do it the first time then I learned from that and I don't do it again But I like to try new things and I really like a challenge. So I like to You know if we go someplace on vacation and there's a hard a hard Set of stairs to walk or a hike or whatever. I'm willing to give it a try if I can See great view from the top or, whatever.
Robert DiLella Jr.. If you could go back to your 10 year old self, is there anything you would tell yourself?
Annalise Smith. No, I wouldn't change anything I've I've lived my life with no regrets I Know I was a I was a screwball when I was in college the first time I I was in a sorority and I didn't focus too much on my studies. But I had great experiences and all of them led me to where I am today I feel like if I went back and changed any of them, I might not be the person who I am today And I'm pretty happy with the person I am. I'm happy with my life.
Robert DiLella Jr.. What would you want people to know about? avow hospice
Annalise Smith. But it's not a scary place And that if you don't know anything about it, you should find out about it now because Sometimes people don't learn about avow until it's really late in the game and, our average our average length of stay is or our median length of stay is under 10 days. So the majority more than half of people that come into contact with avow Live with avow for less than 10 days and it's intended to be a six-month benefit for hospice. So people are coming to us really late in the game They're treating hospice like brink of death care And it's a shame because a lot of people could live like my dad for the last two years.
Annalise Smith. No pain being very very well cared for Not going in and out of the hospital back and forth a hundred times and really enjoying great quality of life so I would tell the people who don't know about avow to find out about it. Because Chances are you're going to need us sooner than later And you should access us sooner than later when the time is right and if you don't know what it is Or what it's about you're missing the boat.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Last question The big one. What do you love about your life?
Annalise Smith. I Have everything I have a great life I have a We live in a beautiful place I have an amazing spouse. I have a wonderful family. I have children who Are no longer on the payroll But I Take pride in that because not because I don't want to pay for anything but because I've raised them to be capable responsible young people I love where I live. I have an amazing home Getting ready to go to paris So I get to travel and I work, I have like the work hard play hard mantra So I work like crazy, but I also really enjoy my time off No, I get to golf on the weekends and. I have a I'm not living paycheck to paycheck.
Annalise Smith. I'm really grateful for that because I know a lot of people that do Do that? but I think a lot of that again is because I've made good choices And saving and I think I'm happy about everything. I ever I'm really blessed Yeah, I have a really great life.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, I can tell That's awesome I love brent. I mean, I love him. He's
Annalise Smith. Yeah, he's a good guy. Yeah, he's a good guy.
Robert DiLella Jr.. So I'm just kind of cool that I get to See who he's been talking about For the whole time. I knew him anyway to meet you and See what you're about.
Annalise Smith. Yeah, he's a good guy Yeah lately. He's he's been in touch with Some of the old people he worked with at salon centric That are with different companies and they're they've talked to him about trying to go back into the business again I don't know. I don't think he's too eager to do that.
Robert DiLella Jr.. No, he's not.
Annalise Smith. No, it's tough business.
Robert DiLella Jr.. He was, for many years we had We had our own private label line and then we had Used a different color brand and he Would stop by and I always treated it was never nice to people who were I mean not not that I'm proud of that. But if we're busy in the middle of the day and somebody comes.
Annalise Smith. In Yes a sales guy, right?
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah but he was so It was so cool how he did I'll never forget because he he wasn't like oh I need to see the owner I wasn't he he would bring them a nice gift And he would just be available for people. He just was A kind way most of them are like here's all the product brochures and all that stuff Not at all. He was just there to say I just want to get to know you guys Not intrusive not at all. No, not at all resource 100. Yeah, that's his whole way was to be a supportive resource it was really. A big breakthrough for me and in relating to, just just how he did it, but it was also like wow There's so much value there that I could be missing from people.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, he's trying to contribute Yeah, and I was so grateful that he was persistent. Yeah, he didn't give up Yeah, when he easily could have easily could have but he didn't he was And had a big impact on our business Had a really big impact we made a lot of changes through everything we went through from his persistence Yeah, he wasn't so I'm always grateful to him for that. Yeah, he was a big deal in our in our history and our years of being in business, it was a line that got drawn after Post-brent that was yeah.
Annalise Smith. Oh, he'll really appreciate hearing that's really yeah.
Robert DiLella Jr.. I love him We've had some good good talks together and good times together and always appreciate the impact He's had on my life. So I appreciate your impact on him and you as a couple that you guys have. Raised a beautiful family and are a beautiful part of our community that we're grateful to have you and thank you. Yeah, thank you.
Annalise Smith. We're all in it together. Yeah, we are. Yeah, we really are There's too many people out there not being kind Yeah, it feels good to be the be on the on the good side. Yeah that equation. Yeah, And it's so easy to make somebody's day better and too many people spend time making others days.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, yeah, it's like they're they're committed to that.
Annalise Smith. Yeah Yeah, but thanks for having me.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Of course. Yeah, it was an honor. Yeah.
Annalise Smith. Thank you. Did I answer all your questions?
Robert DiLella Jr.. Absolutely. Yeah, it was great. I just wanted you and you were you
Annalise Smith. Hard ones Hard enough to go back and ask my mom. Yeah, she would describe me. Yeah That was a real stumper.
Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah All good, but thank you for your authenticity. That was great Oh marina will get a hold of you too because you get up Not that you need a makeover, but you have a makeover waiting for you of whatever you'd like.
Annalise Smith. Oh, how cool How nice? Okay. Yeah in the in the folder that I brought I brought you a fashion show invitation that says when it is and everything if you are willing to donate a package or something We would love to have it, but I please don't feel no.
Robert DiLella Jr.. No, no, no, it's we're we're we want to support Great organizations that are doing great things for our community and that have done great things for me personally So whatever we can do always it's a standing offer. And we will and.
Annalise Smith. Yeah, we do it We're gonna do a pam