Please take a minute to read our first APA member profile of 2024. Read on to learn about Jill Grissom, Hospice Liaison – Queen City Hospice.

APA: Describe what your business provides to the community and how you do it.
Queen City Hospice provides symptom management for people with a limited life expectancy. We can not cure the diagnosis but we can work with the symptoms that arise so the person has the best quality of life possible.

APA: It’s often said that we can learn a lot from our elders. What’s the most important lesson you learned from an older adult in your life?
I have always said that by sitting at the feet of an elder, listening to their experiences, you will hear the best life stories. My Aunt Nora, I called her Aunt Norie, never had children of her own and she was the youngest of six or seven siblings – all of whom had different personalities. When she told me stories, she would usually preface by saying, “I will tell you about your uncles and aunts but I want you to promise you will not act like them!” That would intrigue me even more!

APA: How long have you lived in Ohio?
I have always lived in Hamilton, Ohio. Hamilton is where I was born, raised and married. I live in an area of Hamilton called Fairfield Township.

APA: Thinking about your professional life, what are you most proud of?
I am most proud of providing 35 years of Hospice education in many roles. My grandchildren sometimes don’t get it. They often skeptically say, “When you talked about what you wanted to be when you grew up, did you say ‘hospice educator?’”  I laugh and then share with them that life takes many twists and turns and I landed where I needed to be.

APA: If we were to ask your best friends about you, what would he/she say?
I hope they would say I am a caring, compassionate person that likes to help people and that I’m trustworthy, truthful and fun to be around!

APA: Share one thing that may be surprising for others to learn about you.
Prior to starting with Hospice, I taught tap and jazz dancing.