Hugh A. Westbrook
Chairman/CEO
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Under Hugh’s direction, VITAS recently helped launch both theI Foundation for End-of-Life Care and Duke University’s new Institute on Care at the End of Life. Both organizations focus on advancing care for terminally ill patients and family members, as well as advancing hospice education of both medical staff and the lay public.
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Esther T. Colliflower
Vice Chairperson/
Treasurer |
A co-founder of VITAS Healthcare Corporation, Esther Colliflower cared for the company’s first patient and has played a critical role in the evolution of the American hospice industry. She is largely responsible for developing the clinical processes and protocols VITAS employs in caring for the terminally ill. Esther has a nursing degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree with a focus on adult education from Lone Mt. College in San Francisco. She and her husband, Owen, have reared eight children and reside in Coral Gables. |
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Richard B. Fife
President
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Richard Fife is a nationally known expert on bioethics and pastoral care in hospice and end-of-life care. He is a widely published author and frequent speaker. He co-edited 'The Effects of Loss and Death on Health', and was one of the VITAS experts who collaborated on 20 Common Problems in End-of-Life Care. During his 23-year career at VITAS, Richard created and coordinated what is believed to be the first national ethics committee at any hospice provider. He was also a leader in launching a national Clinical Pastoral Education program. |
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Peggy Pettit
Executive Vice President
& Chief Operating Officer
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Peggy Pettit brings more than 20 years of experience in nursing and hospice care to her role as executive vice president and chief operating officer for VITAS Healthcare Corporation, the nation’s largest and one of the nation’s oldest providers of end-of-life care.
After starting her nursing career as a hospital staff nurse on ortho-neuro and oncology units, Pettit joined VITAS in 1983 as a registered nurse on a patient care team in Broward County, Florida, and quickly rose through the ranks. She served at various times as a nurse on a VITAS inpatient hospice unit, a Team Manager, Patient Care Administrator and General Manager. As General Manager she led two of the largest VITAS programs—Florida’s Broward County and Los Angeles–Ventura Counties in Southern California, where she was a vital part of the senior management team that successfully managed VITAS’ acquisition and integration of Anaheim-based Community Hospice Care, Inc.
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Dolores B. Messick
Secretary
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Dolores Messick is Director of Memorial Gift Giving for the Foundation for End-of-Life Care. Dolores has extensive experience in both the hospice industry and community service, including more than 12 years with VITAS Healthcare Corporation. She also specialized in life enrichment services at Hospice Inc. in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and helped optimize charitable giving at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
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Mary L. McKenna
Director
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Mary McKenna is Executive Director for the Southeast Texas Hospice. Her vast technical and clinical experience includes previously serving as a laboratory technician in the microbiology department at the University of Houston and as a neurochemistry research technician at the Texas Research Institute of Mental Sciences. Mary currently serves on several other boards, including the Dade Community Foundation, the Southeast Texas Coalition for the Homeless and the Memorial Hermann Baptist Orange Hospital Advisory Board.
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Dr. Kim Porter
Director
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Dr. Kim Porter is retired. He has a broad range of experience, including a bachelor's degree in social work and criminology, a master's degree from Emory University and a Ph.D. from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Kim has served as a United Methodist minister, a college professor and administrator, and has worked in employee education and training for VITAS Healthcare Corporation. He has been involved with the hospice industry for nearly 20 years.
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Rev. Harold Wallace
Director
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Rev. Harold Wallace is a retired minister and former administrator and professor for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) and Duke University. He has served as vice chancellor for University Affairs at UNC-CH since 1980. Rev. Wallace, a member of the Institute for the Study of Minority Issues, also has served as a senior advisor in many areas of minority affairs and has been active in supporting low-income students and in fundraising activities.
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