Each year, we honor those who help others face the challenges of life in its final stages by selecting a recipient of the Art Buchwald Award. Art Buchwald became a symbol of dying with dignity after he made the courageous decision to forgo further medical treatment and enter the Washington Home & Community Hospices to live out his remaining days. He was a well-known humorist and columnist, who wrote his last book, Too Soon to Say Goodbye, after a stay in our inpatient hospice unit.

In 2007, the award went to Radio Talk Show Host Diane Rehm and in 2008 Jeffrey Zaslow accepted the award on behalf of Randy Pausch for The Last Lecture, the book they co-authored. The Last Lecture has been on the New York Times Bestseller list for more than a year now. And the lecture can be seen on YouTube.