Brandi Stover

I attribute my success to a deeply personal experience that reshaped my purpose and direction. After witnessing my mother's poor hospice experience when she passed away at only 55, I made the decision to pivot my career to become a stronger advocate for patients. This experience fueled my passion for ensuring others, especially those in rural areas, receive compassionate and informed care. I'm committed to helping patients and families better understand hospice options so they can make empowered decisions. My authenticity allows me to connect with people on a meaningful level and build trust during vulnerable moments. People know when you're talking to them if you're just making it up, so I always speak from the heart. I also embrace a lifelong learning mindset because I love learning new things, and when I set my mind to learning something new, I really put my all into it. I don't ever want to feel like I don't know what I'm talking about when I'm speaking with people. I'm a chatty Cathy, and I like talking to people and connecting with them authentically. My ability to connect, educate, and advocate has become a defining strength in my work. Through purpose, empathy, and dedication, I've created a path that turns personal loss into meaningful impact.

The best career advice I've received is to be myself and always speak from the heart. Even though I'm new to the field, I feel a deep sense of belonging and purpose in my work. I understand that authenticity is essential because people know when you're talking to them if you're just making it up. They can feel when you're just speaking out of nowhere. This advice has helped me build trust and connect more meaningfully with those I serve.

I would ask them, why do you want to do it? Are you in it for the right reasons? You have to be in this industry because you're passionate about it. If you are doing it just to make money, it's not going to work. You have to be passionate about helping people and wanting to know that people are taken care of at the most vulnerable time in their life. You can't come just because you need a job. You come here because you want to. This perspective was also the best career advice I've received and continues to guide my path. By leading with purpose, I believe they can build meaningful and fulfilling careers.

I recognize that working in rural areas presents unique challenges, particularly due to different community dynamics and limited resources. I've been given the wonderful task of going out to more rural areas, and I'm not from a rural area myself. Smaller country communities can kind of have that good old boy mindset where they just stick with what they know, and then here comes this outside, not country girl, trying to build these relationships. Building trust and awareness in these communities can take more time and intentional effort. I'm not going to lie that it is a little nerve-wracking. Despite this, I see it as a meaningful opportunity to make a deeper impact where services are often underserved. I think I'm going to do okay with it because I remain confident in my ability to build strong relationships and connect with people in an authentic way.

I value compassion, empathy, and respect as essential principles in both my work and personal life. I believe these qualities guide how I support others, especially during important and sensitive moments. Respect for people and their life is so important to me. We all have been on different journeys in this life, but we all deserve to have respect at the end and not be just sold an offering. Family is also a top priority for me as a devoted wife of 22 years and mother of two amazing kids. Life can be short - my mother was very young when she passed away at only 59, and I'm 37 now. I want to make sure I have these moments with my family. Having previously worked weekends in ophthalmology, I learned firsthand the importance of work-life balance and the need for time to rest and recharge. I worked a good amount of evenings and every single Saturday, and you only have that one day off at a time. As a woman, I'm spending that one day off cleaning, doing grocery shopping, doing laundry, instead of just being like, let's go have fun today. I now prioritize creating space for both my professional responsibilities and personal well-being. As long as we have each other, that's all I need. I'm super happy if I'm just home with my family.