FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
Kal Mistry, Chief Administrative Officer/Senior Vice President
VITAS Innovative Hospice Care®, 305.350.5990
Megan Carella, APR, Public Relations Editor
VITAS Innovative Hospice Care®, 352.560.3415
Dr. Cleanne Cass Earns Fellowship Status
in American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Dayton, Ohio, June 15, 2010—Cleanne Cass, DO, FAAHPM, Regional Medical Director for VITAS Innovative Hospice Care® in Southwest Ohio, has been named a Fellow by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM). This distinction places Cass among an elite group of physicians who have demonstrated significant commitment to scholarship in the field of hospice and palliative medicine.
As regional medical director, Cass is responsible for overseeing the medical care and treatment of patients admitted to VITAS in its Cincinnati and Dayton programs. She also provides guidance to VITAS staff and volunteers, and educates practicing physicians and others engaged in healthcare services on the benefits of hospice and palliative care for patients and their families.
“Being awarded Fellowship in an Academy is recognition of the commitment a physician has to that particular specialty,” says VITAS Senior Vice President and National Medical Director Joel S. Policzer, MD, FAAHPM. “Dr. Cass is an expert in pain management, assessing hospice-appropriate patients and ensuring quality care. She is one of the best educators we have among VITAS physicians. She is a compassionate, caring physician who continually goes above and beyond to meet the needs of her patients and families.”
As a leader in end-of life care in western Ohio, Cass distinguished herself as the founding medical director of Mercy Hospice in Springfield and the innovator of palliative care services for Mercy Health System–Western Ohio. The first physician to be awarded the prestigious “Heart of Ohio” award for innovations and compassion in hospice care from the Ohio Hospice & Palliative Care Organization, she practiced family and geriatric medicine in Springfield for 25 years, where she also served as medical director for several skilled nursing facilities.
Prior to joining VITAS, Cass served as administrative medical director of a a Dayton area hospice. Earlier in her career, she was appointed by the Governor of the State of Ohio to the DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) Task Force, which formulated the rules for Ohio’s DNR law, and to the Ohio Compassionate Care Task Force, which addresses the concern of under treatment of pain in Ohio. Cass is a member of the board of directors of the Ohio Pain Initiative and an associate clinical professor at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Northfield, and Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine in Dayton, where she lectures on palliative care and pain management.
VITAS Innovative Hospice Care®, a pioneer and leader in the hospice movement since 1978, is one of the nation’s largest providers of end-of-life care. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, VITAS (pronounced VEE-tahs) operates 45 hospice programs in 16 states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin). VITAS employs 9,702 professionals who care for terminally ill patients daily, primarily in the patients’ homes, but also in the company’s 30 inpatient hospice units as well as in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living communities/residential care facilities for the elderly. At the conclusion of the Fourth quarter of 2009, VITAS reported an average daily census of 12,322. Visit www.vitas.com.
Listed on the New York Stock Exchange and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) operates two wholly owned subsidiaries: VITAS Healthcare and Roto-Rooter.
Photo: Cleanne Cass, DO, FAAHPM
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