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Volume 16 • Issue 5 • $5.00 November 2019
THE REGION’S MONTHLY NEWSPAPER FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS & PHYSICIANS

Hospice & Education Hospice &
Palliative Care Palliative Care
Nexus University: Programs

Designed for Career Building

BY BARBARA R. FALLON

It’s the best of both worlds
… new and innovative but
founded on a decades-long
legacy. Miami’s Nexus Uni -
versity, established in 2017,
offers a new and innovative
transformative education
based on current student-
centric educational philo -
sophies of Leadership. It is
Dr. Tracy Romanello
the third branch campus Peggy Pettit
(and first in the United Dr. Janie Bailey Jessica Suito
“She Has States) of Universi dad
Mayor, a private institution in Santiago, Chile proud of a 30-year tradition of educa- Peggy Pettit
Horrible Pain… tional endeavors. Has Followed

Won’t Someone Nursing Leadership Hospice’s Growth
With significant experience as a Vice President of Academics in other institutions,
Janie Bailey, Director of School of Health Sciences and Nursing was enticed by the
Please Help Us.” Nexus opportunity to build an exceptional nursing leadership program. She draws
from her own education experience earning her PhD, MSN, MS and RN and focuses Every Step

BY TRACY ROMANELLO, DO Continued on page 14 of the Way

For people who suffer with pain,
today’s healthcare climate can seem From patient rooms to boardrooms,
like a harsh reality. The implications Technology she has watched hospice evolve for 36
for finding safe and adequate pain solu- years
tions exist for patients and families, In 1983 Peggy Pettit was a young,
and there are shared concerns and bur- OZ Digital Consulting: newly minted RN with a passion for end-
dens experienced by healthcare of-life care born of her own experience
providers who strive to be a part of the Enhancing Patient Experience caring for her dying mother. She heard
solution and to responsibly manage about a small hospice in South Florida
pain. Pain can be especially challeng- and Hospital Performance and made up her mind to get a job there.
ing for individuals facing serious, She did. Today Pettit is executive vice
chronic illnesses who experience debil- president of VITAS® Healthcare, now the
itating pain more days than not and BY DANIEL CASCIATO nation’s leading hospice provider with
have intensifying symptom burden as Pettit as one of its longest-serving
their disease progresses. While pain Providing a positive employees.
not only greatly influences the day to patient experience is Pettit has seen numerous changes since
day lives of people who face these ill- critical for any health- she began, which was coincidently the
nesses, it can also take a tremendous care system. Not only same year Medicare adopted the hospice
toll on those who love and care for does it make your benefit. Throughout her 35 years of
them. It is not uncommon for care- patients feel they are responsibility–from RN to patient care
givers of patients with poorly con- cared for, but it can lead administrator, general manager, COO
trolled pain to report their own dis- to better outcomes and executive VP–Pettit also has person-
tressing symptoms such as loss of which means more ally advocated for many of those changes.
sleep, poor appetite, neglected hygiene, patients and more rev- When she saw the difficulties with hos-
and mood changes, for example. These enue. pice acceptance among some cultures
findings can add to caregiver fatigue “Over the years, we Amjad Shamim Murray Izenwasser and faith-based communities, for exam-
and burnout, contributing to the vast have seen a radical shift ple, she persuaded VITAS to develop
psychosocial complexities of the sup- in the way things are being focused on in healthcare,” says Murray Izenwasser, VP materials in foreign languages and hire
port system for patients. Poorly con- Consulting and Healthcare Practice Lead for OZ, a leading global consulting com- employees to reach underserved popula-
trolled pain can have devastating con- pany whose services and solutions enhance Customer Experience through digital tions—Hispanic to African American,
sequences for patients, as well as for innovation. “Patient experience has become a real focus.” military veteran to LGBTQ.
Continued on page 26 Continued on page 9 Continued on page 22