Miami, Florida, August 6, 2007 – Harris Jamison, RN, CHPN, of Palm Springs, a medical/surgical nurse with a gift for music, was honored at the prestigious VITAS Innovative Hospice Care® National Employee Recognition Awards for his tireless work as a case manager and his efforts to reach his patients through music.

VITAS, the nation’s leading hospice provider with 8,640 employees, each year recognizes those who best serve their patients, families and fellow employees. Jamison, case manager for VITAS Innovative Hospice Care® of Palm Springs, was among this year’s 25 honorees. He received the Founder’s Award for Outstanding Service.

An employee with VITAS since 1999, Jamison left his career as a medical/surgical nurse after witnessing hospice nurses at work. “They had time to listen to their patients,” he says.

A believer in holistic healing, Jamison saw in hospice care an opportunity to use music to help his patients and their families on a physical, emotional and spiritual level. He recalls helping a stoic Norwegian man in his 70s grieve for his dying wife. Jamison played “Vaya Con Dios” in the living room as the man sat at his wife’s bedside. “Within moments, I could hear the man sobbing uncontrollably,” recalls Jamison. “The music became a channel through which he could express his grief.”

As one of the “best of the best,” Jamison was rewarded with a weekend celebration at a beachfront hotel in South Florida.