NewsLine - February 2013 - (Page 33)

Quarter 1 – 2013 FOCUS ON COMPASSION a quarterly newsletter From Continent to Continent, VITAS and FHSSA Work Together for a Greater Good By Kal Mistry, Senior Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer VITAS Innovative Hospice Care As part of our mutual mission of working for a greater good, establishing partnerships through FHSSA has been a natural fit for VITAS Innovative Hospice Care, one of the nation’s first and leading providers of end-of-life care. Together, we have made significant strides since 1999 in helping ensure access to high-quality care for patients and families at a critical moment: the end of life. VITAS has been a strong catalyst in supporting the growth of FHSSA since its inception. Currently, 20 of VITAS’ 51 programs nationwide have active partnerships with African hospice and palliative care organizations through FHSSA. And every year, more VITAS programs express interest in matching with a FHSSA partner. Our programs provide their respective FHSSA counterparts with financial aid, medical and educational supplies, books, resources and technical assistance. One VITAS program is currently raising funds to help purchase a motor vehicle for its partner. Another raised money for its partner to buy bicycles that facilitate staff member visits to patients and families. VITAS programs organize FHSSA fundraising activities among their staff members and in their local communities, and many VITAS employees across the country donate money to their FHSSA partner through payroll deductions. Many of our VITAS programs that have a partner have sent one or more employees as “delegates” to visit their counterparts in Africa. And, in some cases, representatives of the African organizations have visited our Don Dolan, RN, manager of the VITAS inpatient hospice unit at Florida Medical Center in Broward Country, FL, enjoys some down time with children at St. Bernard’s Hospice in East London, South Africa. Don visited the FHSSA partner in 2009, bringing as gifts copies of “20 Common Problems in End-of-Life Care,” which VITAS physicians wrote and edited. VITAS locations in return, thus realizing true exchanges of knowledge and ideas about hospice and palliative care, while also building long-standing friendships. “For all that we provide, our FHSSA partners give us tremendous inspiration and friendship,” said VITAS Senior Vice President of Operations Bob Miller. “We also get the satisfaction of knowing we are supporting hospice in a region where there are minimal resources.” continued on page 2 February, 2013 | 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NewsLine - February 2013

NewsLine - February 2013
Your Volunteers as Hospice Advocates
Managing a Child’s Pain
Online Pediatric Training
An Excellent Resource on Pediatric Best Practices
Balancing a Caring Sanctuary and Sound Business Design
My.NHPCO: A Great Resource for Hospice Managers
NHPCO 2013 Board of Directors
Free ACP Symposium in April
2013 NHDD
Spreading the Word on “comfort.love.respect”
New RWJF Campaign Focuses on Disparities
NHPCO 2013 Webinars (display ad)
Member News and Notes
Compliance Tip
MLC 2013 Plenaries (display ad)
Videos Worth Watching
News From FHSSA

NewsLine - February 2013