Press Release - March 17, 2009
HFA Welcomes New Members to the Board of Directors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2009
CONTACT:
Lisa Veglahn, 800-854-3402
lveglahn@hospicefoundation.org
Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) announces the addition of new members to its Board of Directors. JoAnne Reifsnyder, PhD, APRN is a Research Assistant Professor and Division Director at Thomas Jefferson University’s Department of Health Policy in Philadelphia and Robert Washington is Vice President of Counseling Services at Montgomery Hospice in Montgomery County, MD.
“Hospice Foundation of America is pleased to have experts Dr. Reifsnyder and Dr. Washington joining its board. They bring to HFA years of experience in hospice and palliative care, grief and bereavement, and end-of-life care, both from an academic perspective and from their work in the field. Their involvement will help HFA pursue its goals of furthering awareness, use and support of hospice,” said HFA Chairman Thomas J. Spulak.
Dr. Reifsnyder and Dr. Washington join current board members Thomas Spulak, David Abrams, Myra MacPherson, Priscilla Perry, and Patricia Spulak. Amy Tucci, President and CEO of HFA, also joins the foundation’s board with Reifsnyder and Washington.
JoAnne Reifsnyder, PhD, ACHPN, has served as a consultant to numerous organizations on hospice regulations and other end-of-life issues. She is the current President of the Board of Directors for the Pennsylvania Hospice Network and a Member of the Board of Directors for the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association. Her areas of interest include palliative and end-of-life care practice, ethical decision-making, and quality improvement in hospice. She is currently co-investigator on an NINR-funded study to evaluate the psychometric properties and clinical utility of a multidimensional, objective pain assessment tool in palliative care patients who are unable to self-report pain. Dr. Reifsnyder wrote a chapter for HFA's Pain Management at the End of Life, published in 2006,and was a panel member for HFA's 2005 teleconference, Ethics and End-of-Life Care.
Robert Washington, PhD, MDiv., is a licensed clinical psychologist and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. He has held various positions in mental health, including Commissioner of Mental Health Services for the District of Columbia and Executive Director for the Community Mental Health Council of Chicago, and William Wendt Center for Loss and Healing in Washington, DC. For the last 25 years, Dr. Washington has specialized in working with those who are ill, dying and/or bereaved and training others to do likewise. Through this work, Dr. Washington developed a strong interest in the interface of psychology and spirituality and subsequently pursued a second career in ministry. Dr. Washington served as a chaplain in the Inpatient, Bereavement and Admissions Departments of Montgomery Hospice. In 2005, he retired as adjunct professor in the End-of-Life Care Program at George Washington University. He currently serves on the Board of the Washington AIDS Partnership. Dr. Washington has written for HFA's blog and served as a panel member on HFA’s 2007 teleconference, Living with Grief: Before and After the Death.
Hospice Foundation of America (www.hospicefoundation.org) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help those who cope personally or professionally with terminal illness, death, and the process of grief and bereavement. Among its annual projects is a widely viewed educational program, Living with Grief®, which is viewed across North America by professionals and laypeople with an interest in end-of-life care issues HFA’s upcoming teleconference, “Diversity and End-of-Life Care,” will be broadcast April 29.
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