Passing the Baton
In the fall of 2022, I began my work as the Interim Executive Director for the CSU Shiley Haynes Institute for Palliative Care. In May 2024, I was made the permanent Executive Director. During the past 2½ years, I have had the honor of leading the Institute toward goals of more firmly embracing its academic mission, revising the website, enlisting more campus partners, and obtaining funding for academic-related programs. I am so proud to have met each of these goals. Today, the Institute benefits from the incredible talents of its staff and their significant expertise in curriculum design and assessment. The new website more clearly shows our commitment to teaching, research, and practice in palliative care. We are honored to have 6 CSU campus partners collaborating with us and have received $250K in funding to (1) develop interprofessional education in the CSU and (2) to design/create an academic-unit bearing stackable certificate in Palliative Care. On top of all of this, we have held three successful symposia, which have resulted in building more professional connections in our palliative care communities. We have also successfully established multiple online communities to provide a venue for professional discourse in palliative care. I look back on this time and am in awe of the great collaboration and success of the Institute staff, the incredible people from our campus partners, and the gifted professionals who are working every day to make sure that patients and families have the highest quality of life possible when facing serious illness.
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. In the coming months, Dr. Patricia Prado-Olmos, Chief Community Engagement Officer at CSU San Marcos, will be leading the Institute and its staff as they continue moving forward toward realizing the vision that was established by the founders in 2012. I have complete confidence that they will bring the Institute to new heights.
Personally, I am retiring July 1, 2025, after 35 years in higher education, 29 of them at CSU San Marcos. I’ll be continuing my work to support family caregivers and spread palliative care education – I’ll just be doing it as a community member. But I wanted to be sure to thank all of you for your continued commitment to palliative care and support of patients and families. I know that we will get there, and we will all be so much better because of our collective efforts.
Finally, I leave you with the words of Maya Angelou that have meant so much to me in my career: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” May the peace, compassion, and kindness you show to others be returned to you.
