Karri Kaiser, MSW

Joined Mission Hospice: In the early 2000s. I left for about a year to do geriatric care management, but felt compelled to come back.

What led me to Mission Hospice: When I moved back to California from the East Coast, I was primarily interested in family systems and therapy – working with people in their own environments – not in hospice. But a practice interview at Mission Hospice showed me that hospice was all about families, relationships, and working with patients in their own environments.

I wanted to see people in their homes – where they could be their best selves – rather than in a clinic or hospital. Over the years, I’ve come to love the intensity and purity of hospice work. At the end of life, the every day fluff starts to fall away, and we have the opportunity to work very authentically.

Mission Hospice in three words: Rewarding, human-centered, partnership

Desert island album: “Apricots of Eden” by Djivan Gasparyan

Passions: Dance, history & archaeology, travel, gardening (i.e. growing tomatoes successfully in Half Moon Bay)

Reading: A New History of Orkney (in preparation for an upcoming trip)

Pets: My husband and I have enjoyed many generations of rescue guinea pigs. Right now, our one pet is a rescue kitty who has slowly transitioned from being a rough and tough feral cat to being a loving and sociable indoor/outdoor cat.

Favorite food: Mediterranean

Little known fact about me: When I lived in Boston, I ran a Middle Eastern dance company.

On my bucket list: To go back to Armenia, where my mother’s family is from. I’ve been there once, two years ago (see photo), and it’s hard to get there!