Sharon Hamill

But for everything there is a season. A valued mentor once told me, “Sometimes we are meant to cross the finish line and sometimes we are meant to carry the baton for a while and then pass to the next person.” Having established a firm foundation for the Institute, it is now time for me to pass the baton.

The CSU Shiley Haynes Institute for Palliative Care has been hard at work this year building opportunities for palliative care education across California.

As a young graduate student in 1984, I became extremely interested in family caregivers, those family members who took on the care

The CSU Shiley Haynes Institute for Palliative Care is proud to serve as a community builder, and we invite all who wish to become part of the palliative care community to join us.

When I think about palliative care, the image that comes to my mind is a group of people whose eyes are firmly fixed on caring for a person in need. In fact, my favorite definition of palliative care aptly describes this image. “Palliative Care is really about helping people to feel that they’re not alone” (author unknown).

Palliative Care education for the community is a key area of focus for the CSU Shiley Haynes Institute for Palliative Care. Patients

I recently had the pleasure of speaking at the monthly meeting of the Riverside County Medical Association about the state of palliative care education and the need for more crucial conversations about palliative care in both healthcare settings and in the community. A fundamental concern is how to address the growing numbers of people living with serious illness and how to support them and their families.

The year was 1987. It was December and most people were busy hurrying from shopping to holiday parties to religious observances, preparing with great anticipation for the celebrations to come. Thoughts of what to make for the holiday dinner or how to get all of the gifts wrapped in time consumed most of their days.

As individuals and organizations committed to palliative care education and services, we know that there is a great deal of misunderstanding about palliative care among the public. People often confuse palliative care with hospice and many believe that palliative care is only for those who are terminally ill.

I share this story to remind us that it is not so much what we say but the way we make people feel that determines the quality of the experience that patients and families carry with them on their illness journeys. Palliative Care professionals are in the perfect position to create positive feelings, even in difficult conversations.

My mom asked me why they don’t coordinate better and share information to make it easier on older people? I told her that this a goal for palliative care – to provide the best care possible, spare patients and caregivers unnecessary stress, and improve quality of life. This conversation was timely as it occurred just prior to the National Symposium for Academic Palliative Care Education and Research which was held March 2-3, 2023, in Long Beach, CA.

As the year draws to a close most of us spend time reflecting on where we have been in the last 12 months and where we are going. This is certainly true for me this year, as I’ve returned to the Institute in a new capacity to continue the great work of our most recent Executive Director, Jennifer Ballentine. In November 2022, I was delighted to assume the role of the Interim Executive Director of the CSU Shiley Haynes Institute for Palliative Care.