Awards and Recognitions: December 2024

Organizations

• Banner Health has been recognized by Forbes magazine on its prestigious list of “America’s Best Employers By State,” ranking as the No. 1 employer in Wyoming.
  
  
• HPNA Announces 2025 Fellows in Palliative Care Nursing:  The designation of Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) Fellow in Palliative Care Nursing (FPCN) is bestowed upon HPNA members who have made significant contributions to HPNA, the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC), and/or the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation (HPNF), while also impacting the field of hospice and palliative nursing.
• Kristin Akers, MSN, ACNP-BC, ACHPN®, FPCN® 
• Meggan Mikal, DNP, APRN-FPA, PCNS-BC, CPNP-PC, CHPPN®, FPCN®
• Komal Patel Murali, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, FPCN®
• Shila Pandey, DNP, AGPCNP-BC, ACHPN®, FPCN®
• These individuals will be recognized at the 2025 Annual Assembly of Hospice and Palliative Care in Denver, Colo.
• The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation announces 2025 Emerging Leaders Award Recipients: Jarryd Blanchard, BSN, RN, CHPN®, CHPPN®; Alexa Bobelis, MSN, RN, CPNP-PC; Jessica Casey, MSN, RN, BS-Kin, CHPN®; Lei Cheng, PhD, RN; Leah V. Estrada, PhD, RN; Shena Gazaway, PhD, CHPN®; RN Kimberlee Grier, PhD, BSN, RN, CHPN® CHPPN®; Andrew Harte, MSN, AGNP-C, ACHPN®; Jacqueline Higginbottom, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, ACHPN®; Hannah Holbrook, RN; Savannah Horvick, BSN, RN; L. Alison Lyon, DNP, NP-C, ACHPN®; Natalie Marie Mansouri, BSN, CHPN®, RN; Joshua McCullough, DNP, APRN, AGPCNP-BC, ACHPN®; Ryan Murphy, MSN, RN, AGNP-C, ACHPN®; Hannah Murphy Buc, PhD, RN; Scott Nguy, DNP, FNP-C; Jyotsana Parajuli, PhD, RN; Arienne Patano, BSN, RN; Carlie Pierorazio, MSN, CRNP, ACHPN®; Emily Pupo, BSN, RN; Margaret Cannon Root, PhD(c), MSN, RN, CPNP-AC, CHPPN®; Lacy Rugaber-Williams, BSN, RN, CHPN®, CHPPN®, CCM; Christina Lynn Savage, CRNP; B. Elias Snyder, PhD, FNP-C, ACHPN®; Grace Tervin, MSN, RN, CHPPN®; Caitlin Tomko, DNP, FNP-C, ACHPN®; Brandon M. Varilek, PhD, RN, CCTC, CNE, CHPN®; Chava Vidal, BSN, RN, CHPN®; Kimberly Woodford, DNP, MSN, RN, CHPN®
  
  
• Trinity Health Ann Arbor has received recognition as a 2025 Best Hospital for Black America, recently announced by BlackDoctor.org (BDO), a national leader in Black health and wellness. This award recognizes hospitals nationwide that provide exceptional care to Black patients, an achievement of significance in today’s health care landscape. Click here for Trinity Health's Hospice Care.

Individuals

• Phillip Heath, President & CEO, Samaritan Hospice, South Jersey Magazine’s Men of the Year
  
  
• Tom Koutsoumpas, CEO, National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), was selected for a 2024 Fierce [Pharma’s] 50 Award honoree in the Innovation category
  
  
• Angie Mey, Manager of Home Health and Hospice at Gundersen Palmer Lutheran Hospital and Clinics has been selected for 2025 Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse of the Year (CHPN)
  
  
• Cara Pace, CEO of United Hospice and HPCANYS Board Member, has been selected as one of this year's "Responsible 100" by City & State. 
  
  
• Telios Collaborative Network (TCN) announces Third Annual Care As It Should Be Award Winners
• Crystal Thomas, CNA II CHPNA, Tillery Compassionate Care 
• Carol Vanderwerf, RN Case Manager, Ancora Compassionate Care
• Jamie DeKorte, RN Case Manager, Emmanuel Hospice
• Kathy Johnson, Hospice Aide, Ancora Compassionate Care
• Teleios Announces Teleios University Graduates
• Justin Bryant, National Director of Payer Engagement, Teleios Collaborative Network
• Sue Ann Hamby, Chief Quality Officer, Four Seasons, the Care You Trust
• Alicia McKinnon, CNA Team Lead, Tillery Compassionate Care
• Kayla Oboyle, Team Leader Support Services, ANCORA Compassionate Care
• Lauren Purdy, Vice President of Employee and Volunteer Solutions, Four Seasons, the Care You Trust
• Robin Rose, Intake/Access Coordinator, Tillery Compassionate Care
• Jeanne Slayton, Growth Team Leader, ANCORA Compassionate Care
• Emily Stamey, Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner, Regional Director Palliative Care (West), Four Seasons, the Care You Trust
• Melissa Williams, Director of Social Services, Hospice of Eastern Idaho

In memoriam: Jimmy Carter helped build the hospice community 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 12/30/24 
... During his tenure as president, Carter was essential to the establishment of the Medicare Hospice Benefit. His administration launched the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ demonstration project to test the model, leading to passage of a law establishing the benefit during the subsequent Reagan presidency. Prior to these efforts, hospice care was delivered predominantly by volunteers who relied on philanthropy to operate. The scale of these early providers was very limited due to lack of payment, as was access to their services. “For decades, the Carter family has championed open dialogue about the needs of patients at the end of life,” Dr. Vicki Jackson, board president of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), told Hospice News in an email. “Their vocal support for hospice care over the past year has made an immeasurable impact and brought information about this essential subspeciality of medical care to a national audience.”

To build a strong leadership team, invest in the middle 
Forbes; by Marissa Morrison; 12/26/24 
An organization’s success is determined by the strength of its people—most notably, its mid-level talent. These leaders are mediators, connectors, drivers and collaborators. They communicate feedback, motivate junior staff, hold teams accountable and execute company goals. They also play a crucial role in shaping culture. With all these responsibilities, it’s clear why organizations need trusted mid-level talent. However, these employees often lack the developmental support they need. ... 5 Ways Organizations Can Support Middle Managers: ...

• Equip managers with the right information at the right time. ...
• Build new managers' internal confidence. ...
• Collect feedback to build and evolve your programs. ...
• Fight the urge to have fewer, longer sessions. ...
• Ensure training and support sessions are ongoing. ...

Human composting is rising in popularity as an earth-friendly life after death 
CNN; by Ella Nilsen; 12/29/24 
The first time Laura Muckenhoupt felt a glimmer of hope after the death of her 22-year-old son Miles was the drive home from the Washington state facility that had turned his body into hundreds of pounds of soil. There was an empty seat in the family pickup truck where Miles should have been sitting. But riding with her husband and daughter on the 12-hour drive home, Laura felt her son’s presence clearly. ... Human composting turns bodies into soil by speeding up “what happens on the forest floor,” according to Tom Harries, CEO of Earth Funeral, the human composting company the Muckenhoupt family worked with. “What we’re doing is accelerating a completely natural process,” Harris told CNN. Human composting is emerging as an end-of-life alternative that is friendlier to the climate and the Earth — it is far less carbon-intensive than cremation and doesn’t use chemicals involved to preserve bodies in traditional burials.

Hospice workers share the foods that bring patients comfort till the end: Plus, they reveal how families can support their loved ones with scents, small bites and shared memories 
HuffPost; by Julie Kendrick; 12/30/24
... We all live, we all die and we all enjoy food along the way. The memory and meaning of food, along with the bliss of being able to savor a cherished flavor, are still present in our lives, even as we head toward a last meal, a soothing sip of water or a final bit of sustenance. “Food often plays an emotional role in the last stages of life,” said Dr. Kurt Merkelz, the chief medical officer at Compassus, a home-based care company. “Some patients may reminisce about favorite meals or foods that connect them to fond memories and loved ones. There are instances where patients crave a specific dish that reminds them of their family or heritage, even if they can’t eat much.” ... People often ask for things like mashed potatoes, ice cream and chicken soup, according to Gail Inderwies, the founder and president of KeystoneCare, a hospice and home health provider in Pennsylvania. ... Sometimes, those comforts are part of a culinary heritage.
Editor's note: Click here for a caregiver/family educational video, "Small Words Big Meanings: EAT," by Composing Life Out of Loss, a sponsor of this newsletter.

As drugstores close, more people are left in ‘pharmacy deserts’ 
The San Diego Union-Tribune; by The New York Times Service Syndicate; 12/31/24 
In July, a notice appeared on the front door of The Drug Store, the only pharmacy in rural Kernville, in Kern County. After 45 years, the proprietor wrote regretfully, it would be closing in four days and transferring customers’ prescriptions to a Rite Aid about 12 miles away. ... Its closing created practical concerns. “We are an aging population,” Gordon, 69, said of the townspeople. ... Now, those services require a 20- to 30-minute drive to the Rite Aid, which is in Lake Isabella and which Gordon described as understaffed for its growing number of customers. “On any given day, there’s a line of 10 to 15 people waiting at the pickup window,” she said. Unlike The Drug Store, the Rite Aid doesn’t deliver. That leaves Kernville residents in what researchers call a pharmacy desert, defined as living more than 10 miles from the nearest pharmacy in rural areas, 2 miles away in suburban communities or 1 mile away in urban neighborhoods. Nearly 30% of pharmacies in the United States closed between 2010 and 2021, according to a new study in the journal Health Affairs. 

Preliminary research suggests that grief after the death of a public figure looks very similar to grief over our personal relationships and can have comparable levels of intensity 
News Wise; by Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center; 12/29/24 
Many people are surprised by the intensity of their response when a well-known person dies, and their feelings of sadness may last longer than they expect. In fact, that sadness and grief can be intense, and preliminary research suggests that grief after the death of a public figure looks very similar to grief over our personal relationships and can have comparable levels of intensity. Wendy Lichtenthal, Ph.D., a bereavement science researcher and founding director of the Center for the Advancement of Bereavement Care at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, is available to discuss “parasocial grief” – that which occurs when a celebrity, political figure or other highly recognized person dies.

AMA’s first chief health equity officer to depart at year’s end 
American Medical Association (AMA); by Staff News Writer; 12/30/24 
Under Dr. Aletha Maybank’s direction and guidance, the AMA has become a relevant national voice on equity in medicine and an important ally to organizations that have long been committed to this work. ... [She] will depart the organization at the end of 2024 following a successful five-year and a half year tenure ... “Dr. Maybank has been a true champion and advocate for health equity both inside the AMA and in shaping our health system. She created a strong, strategic foundation for this work to continue over the long term,” AMA Executive Vice President and CEO James L. Madara, MD, said. ... During Dr. Maybank’s tenure, the AMA has provided a platform for the organization to engage in more open and honest conversations about its own past failings and exclusionary practices that have contributed to some of the inequities that persist in medicine today and has expanded education opportunities for physicians, residents and students in numerous ways, including: [Click on the title's link to read more.]

American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Next Gen Scholars for Equity in Hospice and Palliative Medicine Program receives grant from Adtalem Global Education Foundation 
PR Newswire, Chicago, IL; by American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM); 12/30/24 
The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) is grateful to receive support from the Adtalem Global Education Foundation for the Next Gen Scholars for Equity in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. The Foundation supports programs and partners like AAHPM that strengthen the healthcare workforce, expand access to quality education and address healthcare disparities. The Foundation's sole member is Adtalem Global Education, the number one provider of healthcare education in the U.S. In May 2023, led by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, AAHPM launched the inaugural Next Gen Scholars for Equity in Hospice and Palliative Medicine Program. This program was initiated as a response to the growing demand for HPM practitioners and the need to increase representation in the field. 

[Wales] Inside a children's hospice, a life-affirming and laughter-filled place that offers so much 
WalesOnline; by Taite Johnson; 12/29/24 
When most people think of a children's hospice they often expect it to be a sombre place filled with sadness. But after spending some time at Ty Hafan I found it's actually quite the opposite. Laughter fills the halls as families make everlasting memories for themselves – and potentially the last for their child. Ty Hafan's hospice, overlooking the serene view of the sea in Sully in the Vale of Glamorgan, has been providing essential end-of-life care for children in a safe space in Wales for 25 years. It is often described at a place you wish you didn't need but you are glad to have.

Even one step a day gets you 365 steps farther in a year. ~ Andie Daniels