Angela Edward Honored as Jackson Magazine’s Health Care Angel

Thome PACE social worker Angela Edward (now Lovejoy) was honored last month as one of Jackson Magazine’s 2026 Health Care Angels. Angela was one of 17 honorees, chosen from more than 80 applicants from across Jackson County. Patients, family members, colleagues, and community members nominated these health care professionals to recognize the profound difference they make in their communities.

For the last eight years, Angela has served aging adults as a geriatric social worker (LMSW) at Thome PACE, or Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly, located in Jackson. A partnership between Brio Living Services and WellWise Services Area Agency on Aging, Thome PACE serves the psycho-social, medical, and supportive needs of nursing home-eligible adults, aged 55 and up, helping them remain living independently and safely in their own homes, with the help of PACE services. Since opening in 2016, Thome PACE has grown from 30 to 118 team members and has served more than 650 participants and their families in its service area which includes Jackson, Hillsdale, and Lenawee counties.

PACE’s interdisciplinary team of professionals provides participants with a “one-stop” shop model for all their healthcare needs, including comprehensive medical, occupational and physical therapy, pharmacy needs, nutrition and meals, health education, social and recreational activities, behavioral health, home care, and door-to-door transportation. Most participants are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and pay no additional fees for PACE services. 

In her role, Angela works with each participant, their family or caregiver, and the PACE interdisciplinary team to assess their needs and develop unique care plans tailored to each individual. “Thome PACE builds services around participants so they can stay in their homes as long as possible,” Angela says. These plans may include recreational, occupational, or physical therapy; seeing the clinical team at the PACE Day Center or other specialists in the community; services provided in the person’s home; and more.

“In my Pacific Islander community, elders are the pillars,” Angela shares. “Getting old is a privilege. Working with elders is such a rewarding feeling. I didn’t realize this would be such a huge part of my identity and my life.”

Thanks to a Foundation Scholarship from the UMRC-Porter Hills Foundation’s Team Member Support Services Fund, Angela has also become a certified end-of-life doula. As a doula, Angela helps prepare the person for this time of transition, whether by helping them create a legacy to leave behind, working on wills or advance directives, providing hand massages or other personal care, listening to music, or completing any final wishes.

“Being a social worker at Thome PACE is an honor because I get to work with people until the end of life,” says Angela. “It is the greatest privilege of the work I do. Knowing the people I serve are fully aware that their time with us is limited and that they allow me to spend some of their final memories with them is a priceless gift.”

Other Thome PACE health care professionals who have been recognized as Jackson Magazine Health Care Angels include Dawn Buchbinder, Social Worker Supervisor; and Cherilyn Brown, RN Case Manager.

Miranda Salazar Boyce, MSW at Thome PACE nominated Angela for this award. “Angela is one of the kindest, more positive, and genuinely uplifting people you will ever meet,” says Miranda. “She maintains these qualities even while navigating some of the most challenging situations in health care. Her dedication is truly remarkable.”

Learn more about Thome PACE and Brio Living Services’ other PACE centers and partnerships across Michigan. Or visit MyBrioCareers.org to pursue a meaningful career you’ll love in service to aging adults.