By Helen McNeal
“How time flies when you are having fun” … how true! It is hard to believe that the Institute recently celebrated our 4th birthday and, I confess, we are having fun … and making a difference too! After more than 40 years as an educator and 30 years in palliative care, it is wonderful to be reminded daily that both are possible simultaneously!
As you will see in our latest newsletter, we had a ribbon-cutting that celebrated our new offices and the launch of a new award to recognize those pioneers who are advancing palliative care in their local community. It was a great event, and while so many of you who are so much a part of our extended campus family were not here, you were in our thoughts and we are so grateful. Without you, the Institute would not have achieved the success that it has.
First National Palliative Care Symposium
This fall also represents a new and important milestone in the life of the Institute. Following the guidance of our National Advisory Board, we had our first national symposium for academic faculty. Engaging the Next Generation: Academic Palliative Care Education and Research was a huge success (read more below). This event, along with the addition of our eighth campus partner, CSU Monterey Bay, and a new Special Advisor, Dr. Adam Shapiro, marks the beginning of an expanded focus on the education of future health care professionals and community members.
The majority of this work, outside of the Symposium for academic faculty, lies in the wonderful work done by the Faculty Directors and faculty on our partner campuses, and we are very proud of all that they are doing to build the future workforce and advance access to palliative care at the local level.
New Palliative Care Courses
We are continuing to introduce new courses by national experts … recent ones include our Billing for Palliative Care by Dr. Janet Bull and Jean Acevedo, and coming soon is Working with Payers by Torrie Fields MPH, Senior Program Manager, Palliative Care, Blue Shield of California. For those of you who are feeling the effects of being busy palliative care professionals, I am also pleased to announce The Journey of Self Awareness by the delightful Redwing Keyssar RN, Director of the Palliative Care Program at Jewish Family and Children’s Services of the SF Bay Area. Based on her book, it is a wonderful opportunity to feed and nourish your soul.
Along with the growth of our courses, we are pleased to welcome Kendra Deja LCSW, MSN, GNP-BC, ACHPN to the Institute team as our Manager, Clinical Curriculum. Kendra has been a faculty member on our APRN program so some of you may already know her, but we are excited to have her transdisciplinary expertise on her team.
And there is lots more to look forward to from Team Institute in the coming months … stay tuned and stay in touch!