Beverly Paukstis, RN, MS, CHPN, CHPCA, is Executive Director of Community Hospices, and serves on the Board of Directors of the HPNA.  The session she will lead, "Climbing Up Capitol Hill and Loving It:  Influencing Health Care Through Legislation and Advocacy"  will focus on efforts by the palliative care nursing profession to be more involved in healthcare issues at the national and state levels.      

"The real opportunity to shape healthcare begins in the offices of Senators and Congressmen who serve on the key Committees and Subcommittees in Congress," Paukstis said.  "Under the leadership of the HPNA, nurses are for the first time speaking with a unified voice about the benefits of palliative care for patients with life-limiting illnesses," Paukstis continued.  "We hope to use the opportunity at the HPNA Conference to raise the awareness of our members to the importance of their participation in shaping public health policy at the local level where so many regulations affecting their hospice programs are decided."

 Mary Wheeler, an advanced practice certified hospice and palliative nurse, is the Director of Education and Quality Improvement at TWH&CH. Her session titled "Crossing International Borders with Palliative Care," will introduce the concept of hospice and palliative care to emerging and developing nations.  Wheeler is on the International Program faculty at The Institute for Palliative Medicine (IPM) in San Diego, CA, which, in association with the San Diego Hospice, is the largest resource in the world for training palliative medicine physicians and other specialists.

 "What makes the international program unique and effective is that clinicians are not trained solely in a classroom situation," Wheeler said. "Nurse-doctor teams at hospitals around the country, along with the program educators, spend time at the bedsides of patients and then apply their hands-on experiences to devising and applying a treatment plan.  That's how we build their skills...its real time."

 Wheeler and Dr. Ferris, Director of the IPM International Program, will discuss their experiences in Jordan, Mongolia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Georgia.   Later this month Ms. Wheeler and Dr. Ferris will travel to Vietnam to advise and consult with health officials there.

About The Washington Home & Community Hospices

The Washington Home & Community Hospices provides long-term, Alzheimer's, rehabilitation and hospice care in its facility at 3720 Upton Street, NW, and also provides hospice care to residents in their homes, assisted living facilities and hospitals in the District, Maryland and Virginia. The organization's Inpatient Hospice Unit in the Upton Street location, which is the only inpatient hospice facility in the District of