Tom Cassidy took a bookkeeping class his junior year of high school and accounting his senior year. He studied financial accounting his sophomore year at then-College of St. Thomas in St. Paul and soon realized he was “over my head and needed to choose a different career.”
Cassidy studied cabinet making at a technical institute and later worked as an accounting clerk before he was “let go” after one year, followed by sales for a lawn service. Through the example of his sister-in-law, who was a hospice nurse, he found his passion.
Cassidy, a parishioner of St. Joseph of the Lakes in Lino Lakes, recently described his nearly 35 years serving in hospice nursing at Our Lady of Peace in St. Paul during an interview with “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley for a program debuting at 9 p.m. July 7 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. First a nursing assistant for three years, Cassidy spent the last 32 1/2 as a registered nurse.
He said his career is a result of “God’s calling to me,” and one that has been rewarding and fulfilling. “It’s a very humbling experience knowing that I am one of the last few people that will see them before they make their transformation, their journey into heaven,” Cassidy said. As a nurse, he provides comfort and dignity to patients “so they can make that journey home to God, and also to support their … family and friends as they’re going through this very difficult time,” he said.
According to its website, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne founded Our Lady of Peace to provide free care for terminally ill cancer patients with no means of support. Today, its multiple services include a 21-bed residential hospice that was recently renovated to provide each patient with a private room, in-home hospice care and home health care services and its mission now includes “non-cancer patients.”
With the private rooms, each patient “can rest in peace in a sacred place,” Cassidy said.
Cassidy said that “so many good people” work at Our Lady of Peace and it’s been “amazing” to be with patients and their families, too, hearing their struggles “and how they dealt with it.”
“I just see every day as a gift from God,” Cassidy said. He takes nothing for granted, as he sees “how things can change in an instant.”
“I’m just here as God’s instrument,” Cassidy said, working to provide “the best possible care I can so that they die in peace.”
To learn more about Our Lady of Peace Hospice, visit ourladyofpeacemn.org. To hear the full interview, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. July 7 and repeats at 1 p.m. July 8 and 2 p.m. July 9 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes an interview with Father Jon Vander Ploeg, director of spiritual formation at The St. Paul Seminary, who provides insights on grieving; and Vaunae Hansel, president of Elevate Life, who discusses recent Minnesota abortion legislation and how it impacts pregnancy resource centers.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.
