Miami, Florida, August, 2007—Kalpana “Kal” Mistry, senior vice president of Human Resources for VITAS Innovative Hospice Care®, has been honored with the Excellence in Human Resources Award from the South Florida Business Journal. Mistry, who joined VITAS in 2002, also received the award in 2005.

At VITAS, Mistry is part of a senior management team that has steered the organization through rapid growth, from 4,000 employees in 2002 to more than 8,700 in 2007. Under her leadership and direction, the human resources department has developed a national employee committee and a formal reward and recognition program, key metrics to measure and reduce turnover, and instituted the VITAS CARES initiative to continue to brand VITAS as an employer of choice. Mistry also has served VITAS’ corporate social responsibility efforts. Through the company’s involvement with the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the global humanitarian work through the Himalayan International Institute, Mistry returned to her native Uganda to support new hospice programs there.

“VITAS is proud to have a human resources leader like Kal. She is a great role model for our company and our employees,” says VITAS Chief Executive Officer Tim O’Toole. “The professional recognition Kal receives reinforces the high value that VITAS places on every employee.” Born in Uganda and raised and educated in England, Mistry has spent more than 20 years developing HR expertise in recruitment, retention, affirmative action programs, employee relations, compensation and benefits, training and development, retirement programs, budget and staff management, vendor evaluation and negotiations, conflict resolution and claims management.

Prior to joining VITAS, Mistry served as associate superintendent of human resources for the School Board of Broward County—the fifth largest school district in the United States. She also served as vice president of human resources for FPA Medical Management, Inc., a national physician practice management company.

Mistry earned a degree in industrial relations and personnel management from the University of East London. As a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) she has received the lifetime designation Senior Professional in Human Resource Management and was presented with the SHRM’s first Human Capital Businesss Leader of the Year Award in 2006. In addition, Mistry has been named HR Professional of the Year by the HR Florida State Council. The Greater Miami Society of Human Resource Management honored her in 1996 with its Excellence in Achievement Award and in 2005 with its Lifetime Achievement Award.