On May 10th FHPCA announced the 2012 winners of the annual Awards of Excellence in Hospice and Palliative Care.
The Awards of Excellence program was created to identify, recognize and showcase the outstanding and innovative work of individual staff members and hospice programs throughout the state of Florida. The Awards aim to provide a venue for hospice professionals to honor their peers and highlight the very best hospice has to offer.
For many years, FHPCA has highlighted the contributions of clinical staff through our Awards of Excellence. Recognizing that all members of the hospice team, including non-clinical professionals, are critical to the achievement of our mission, FHPCA added two new awards for 2012;
- The Catalyst Award recognizes an individual in any role within an organization who has consistently demonstrated leadership in forging the collaboration that makes hospice unique.
- The Synergy Award recognizes a group of people in any role or configuration that has consistently demonstrated the ideals of collaboration and teamwork in working toward a goal or mission.
The 2012 Catalyst Award winner is Karen Stevenson, Chief Advancement Officer of Avow Hospice, Inc. Karen won this award because despite a failing economy and limited resources, she had the vision and skill to train and lead her team to the most successful campaign in Avow Hospice’s history – exceeding the original goal of $10 million dollars by more than 50%! Karen not only brought her own professionalism to Avow, she also equipped members of the Avow staff and Board to recognize their own gifts and abilities to advance the mission.
The 2012 Synergy Award of Excellence winner is Treasure Coast Hospice for “Building a Bridge of Hope”. In his presentation at the 2010 FHPCA Forum on connecting with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, Memory BridgeTM founder Michael Verde inspired three separate Treasure Coast Hospice workgroups to do more for dementia patients and caregivers. Their collaboration created the first hospice program in the country dedicated to building a bridge of hope and eliminating the loneliness and isolation of dementia.
An Honorable Mention in the Synergy Award was presented to Big Bend Hospice for “Body and Spirit Project”, an end-of-life booklet they developed to provide families with a guide through the dying process that was not only easy to understand, but also addressed the physical, emotional and psychosocial changes that occur while keeping all the terminology easy to understand.
Congratulations 2012 Awards of Excellence Winners!
Thank you for your hard work and dedication to quality hospice care in Florida.
Top Photo: Paul Mitchell, VP and Executive Medical Director; Karen Stevenson Chief Advancement Officer; and Karen Rollins President and CEO, Avow Hospice
Middle Photo: Rebecca Kelley, Lead Professional Relations Representative; Lori Posdal, Director of Community Relations; Lou Benson, CEO of Treasure Coast; and Paul Ledford, Executive Director of FHPCA
Bottom Photo: Cathy Adkison, President and CEO of Big Bend Hospice, and Paul Ledford, Executive Director of FHPCA