NewsLine - March 2013 - (Page 33)

Member News and Notes Michelle Backlund Named Executive Director Chapters Health System (Tampa, FL) has named Michelle Backlund, MBA, the executive director of its Senior Independence program which offers nursing home diversion services and PACE. Most recently Backlund was vice president of a managed care company in Hernando County. Prior to that, she held roles with Chapters Health as director of business development and director of palliative care. Spectrum Health Hosts Gandalf’s Gala, Raising Nearly $24,000 San Jose Mercury News and Hospice of the Valley Co-host Free ACP Forums Hospice of the Valley (San Jose, CA), in collaboration with the San Jose Mercury News, hosted two free community forums on advance care planning. Attendees received a complimentary copy of an advance healthcare directive as the hospice’s manager of social work and spiritual care, Gary Bertuccelli, and Mercury News science and medicine journalist, Lisa Krieger, discussed the document and shared their respective insights on advance planning. [Krieger has published several outstanding pieces to help educate Americans about end-of-life care, including her award-winning series, the “Cost of Dying.”) Third Graders Help Sandy Hook Students Through a Fundraiser for Healing Hearts Bereavement Center When students at Gibbs Magnet School of International Studies and Foreign Languages in Little Rock, Arkansas decided to send a gift to those affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, they chose a fundraising project to support the Healing Hearts Bereavement Center for Grieving Children and Families, where many of the victims’ families and loved ones are receiving support. Last December, Spectrum Health (Grand Rapids, MI) hosted a gala event at a local cinema where guests arrived in costume and enjoyed an early viewing of “The Hobbit,” one day before its official release. Spectrum Health Hospice had cared for the cinema owner’s mother who was so impressed by the care she had received, he wanted to give back. The event, which included dinner and a live auction, was attended by 430 people and raised nearly $24,000. Their project is called “Kids Stick Together,” and its moneymaking products are decorative and useful items made from duct tape! NewsLine 33 http://www.mercurynews.com/cost-of-dying

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NewsLine - March 2013

Hospice Facts and Figures: A Six-Year Snapshot
A Message From Don
A Lesser-Known Report and How It Can Help You
Health Essentials (display ad)
Celebrating SW Month (display ad)
Serving Veterans: Does Storytelling Help or Hinder?
Related Resources on Serving Veterans
2013 NHF Gala (display ad)
Engaging and Educating a Mobile Workforce
MODEL Teams
#Speak4me Social Media Campaign
New Hospice Volunteer Ads
New National STAR Report
NHPCO’s Affinity Program (display ad)
HP Professional Scholarship Program (display ad)
Look Who’s Coming to MLC
Simione Healthcare Consultants (display ad)
Glatfelter Healthcare Practice (display ad)
Hospice Education Network (display ad)
Videos Worth Watching
Member News and Notes
Compliance Tip
NHPCO 2013 Webinars (display ad)

NewsLine - March 2013