Q&A

What was Florence Wald known for?

What was Florence Wald known for?

Florence Wald (April 19, 1917 – November 8, 2008) was an American nurse, former Dean of Yale School of Nursing, and largely credited as “the mother of the American hospice movement”. She led the founding of Connecticut Hospice, the first hospice program in the United States.

When did hospice nursing start?

The concept of providing specialized care for dying patients, linking pain and symptom control with compassionate care, began in England in the 1950’s, when a pioneering physician named Dame Cicely Saunders created the first modern hospice there in 1967.

Who was the first hospice nurse?

Biography of Cicely Saunders – Early Life Cicely Saunders was born on June 22, 1918, to a wealthy family in London and was the first of three children.

Where was Florence Wald born?

New York, NY
Florence Wald/Place of birth

Is hospice for the dying only?

“Is hospice only for the dying?” Most people would answer yes to this question. Patients are eligible to receive hospice services if they meet hospice criteria and have been diagnosed with six months or less to live if their disease runs the typical course.

Who started hospice?

Dame Cicely Saunders
Hospice care, as we know and define it today, was founded by Dame Cicely Saunders. She was a physician who founded the first hospice—St. Christopher’s Hospice in the London area in 1967.

Who was the first visiting nurse?

The current VNA model finds its origins in the Visiting Nurse Service of New York founded by nursing pioneer Lillian D. Wald in 1893 to teach home classes on nursing and healthcare to poor immigrants in New York’s Lower East Side. Today there are over 12,000 home health care agencies listed on the Medicare database.

When did Florence Wald start the hospice program?

In 1966 Mrs. Wald left her position at Yale to focus on setting up hospice in America. She traveled to London to learn about hospice under Saunders and returned to Connecticut where she and some colleagues opened the first American hospice program in 1974. This in-home program was joined by a free standing hospice home in 1980.

Where was the first hospice in the UK?

In 1967, Dr. Saunders founded St. Christopher’s Hospice in London, the first hospice for terminally ill patients in the United Kingdom. Dr. Patricia Wald, Dean of the Yale School of Nursing, took a sabbatical in 1968 to work at St. Christopher’s to experience hospice first hand.

When did hospice care become available to nursing homes?

Hospice care was made available to terminally ill nursing home residents as well. For the next three decades, legislation was passed, funding was improved, and Medicare reimbursement rates were increased, resulting in the proliferation of hospice care providers.

Who is the founder of hospice and palliative care?

Saunders began work with terminally ill patients in the London area in 1948 as a nurse and earned her medical degree in 1957. In 1963, during a talk at Yale University in the US, Dr. Saunders introduced the idea of specialized care for the dying, which centered on palliative care rather than treatments to cure.