VNA Care Hospice Vice President Appointed to MassPI's Steering Council
Mary Whalen, RN, MSN, vice president of VNA Care Hospice, was recently appointed to serve on the Massachusetts Pain Initiative's Steering Council.
Whalen brings over two decades of expertise in care for the terminally ill to her role on the council. As vice president
of VNA Care
Hospice, an affiliate of VNA Care Network, Whalen oversees the nonprofit agency's specialized care for the terminally ill and their
loved ones including pain and symptom management as well as emotional, spiritual, and practical support. 
Care is provided in patients'
homes, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and other facilities in eastern and central Massachusetts. VNA Care Hospice also
operates three homelike residences for terminally ill individuals who are unable to remain in their own homes:
Chilton House in
Cambridge, Hospice Residence on Coes Pond in Worcester, and Tippett Home in Needham.
The Massachusetts Pain Initiative is a statewide, nonprofit, voluntary organization dedicated to ending unnecessary suffering from persistent and acute pain and to improving quality of life for all people affected by pain. As a member of the Massachusetts Pain Initiative's Steering Council, Whalen will provide leadership, technical assistance and recommendations for strategic development in the pain-related areas of professional education, public awareness, legislative and regulatory issues and access to care issues, strategic planning, fiscal planning and funding. She will serve on the council through October 2006.
Posted: May 16, 2005