HPCCR Celebrates Mercedes Espinal-Lujan, Mecklenburg County Community Social Worker of the Year

We are so proud of our very own Mercedes Espinal-Lujan! Mercedes just earned Mecklenburg County's Community Based Social Worker of the Year award yesterday!

Nicole Wolfe (left) poses with Mercedes Espinal-Lujan (right)

As a hospice social worker (MSW, LCSWA) on our Lake Norman team, Mercedes adds LIFE to the days of our hospice patients. Not satisfied to simply assess for psychosocial needs, assist with needed paperwork, or provide assistance with community resources, she consistently thinks "outside the box" and implements interventions targeted to the unique nature of each person/family. There are so many examples of Mercedes' ability to creatively exceed her patient and family's needs, but here is just one example:

While there are many pieces of her work that impact the community, Mercedes consistently seeks to individualize and create lasting memories for her hospice patients and their families, consistently going beyond what most consider to be average expectations of a social worker. One element of Mercedes' practice that stands out from the crowd is her passion for giving family members tokens of their loved ones. She evaluates every family for their desire to have fingerprint mementos and follows through with appropriate memory-making planning. Beyond this, she has gone well beyond the call of duty in traveling across two counties (at 5pm, no less!) to ensure that a family had their last minute wish for fingerprints fulfilled.

Thank you for all you do for our patients, their families, and our community!

Congratulations, Mercedes, on your well-deserved achievement!